brianperry-74731 The worst Christie adaption ever, bar none. One of her best novels has been butchered beyond recognition. Suchet is superb, as usual, but even he can't save this fiasco.

bob the moo It took till the penultimate season of ITV's Poirot before they made their version of Murder on the Orient Express, so understandably it was quite a star-studded affair and was delivered with a certain amount of fanfare and event. This film screened some time before it and I do not think that it is too cynical to note that at least some element of it was promotional in terms of linking to the main film. Another aspect of it must surely have been Suchet perhaps wanting to remind people that he is behind the character and is not just this one thing. The final thing it does is of course to serve as a documentary into the journey and history of the titular train.In terms of success the film is reasonably good at all of these things. As promotion for the main film, it is lovingly shot and makes frequent references to Christie and Poirot, and it does rather focus the mind on the setting for the film. As a piece to meet Suchet as himself, it is pretty good and he is a good presence in the film, however it must be said he is never as much of a presence nor as charismatic as the character he is most famous for – and occasionally doing the voice doesn't help this feeling. The documentary aspect is decent enough; mostly it is a travelogue and aside from the link to Poirot, it would sit well in those lazy scheduling slots where such celebrity-driven pieces are welcome. This is not to suggest that it doesn't have some nice detail and information in there, but it is never a documentary per se, and the delivery of facts and stories is never the focal point for very long, and the comparatively short running time doesn't help with this feeling either.It is distracting in a light-entertainment way, and it does serve as a promotional piece for the series, but as one not given to such things, I did not find it much more than this.

gridoon2018 The title is self-explanatory: this 47-minute documentary focuses primarily on the Orient Express, but also tells us quite a bit about David Suchet himself. And it is actually still quite astonishing - not only for us, but also for the other passengers on the train! - to see - and hear - David Suchet as "himself", without the famous moustache, the characteristic Poirot voice, the French words and phrases dropped in nearly every sentence, etc; it shows how great an actor he is that he can make a transformation so complete. On the other hand, Suchet and Poirot do have some things in common: among them, is a love for all things elegant, tidy, high-class; Suchet recognized that he is lucky to be playing for so long a character whose surroundings usually have these qualities in abundance. Suchet also gets to live his boyhood dream - drive the Orient Express for a while. Speaking of the Orient Express, this documentary does a good job of putting it in a historical perspective: from a technological innovation at the turn of the 20th century to a symbol of glamor in the 1920s and from an outmoded relic after WWII to an icon of nostalgia in our days. This pleasant little film also includes a visit to one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Venice.

rec-5 It was difficult to follow David Suchet's route on the Orient Express.At one point, seemingly in Switzerland, we are told he was leaving Innsbruck (Austria) for the Austrian border. Then he is in Venice! Onward to Vienna (really?), he finishes in Prague, but not at Prague Main Station (Hlavní Nádraži), but at the out-of-the-way suburban Praha-Smíchov. What happened to Austria & Vienna? Did I miss something?On board, we have Suchet talking from the point-of-view of the fictional Poirot. Surely, this is supposed to be a documentary about the actual Orient Express. He speaks of Poirot's wonderful brain. Excuse me – Poirot is the successful invention of Agatha Christie. He mentions Christie's accurate descriptions, but despite her supposed frequent travelling on the train, 'Murder on the Orient Express' contains virtually nothing to reflect this, especially in relation to geography. Her Orient Express could have been stuck in a snow-drift near Maidstone in England for all the reader can tell.Misguidedly, because the Orient Express has the reputation of being an upper-class white preserve, Suchet has the token black attendant in an attempt to somehow "correct" matters. Let's hope the poor man was rewarded financially by the production company.An undemanding, inaccurate, and ultimately disappointing programme for middle-class readers of newspaper colour supplements and wool-over-the-eyes Suchet/Poirot fans, who undoubtedly will enjoy it. Good photography though.