Luxor4u

I've just looked at the the trailer for this and I'm not sure whether it's worth paying to see it. If it's anything like Murder on The Orient Express with Kenneth Branagh then forget it.

There's only one Poirot and it's definitely not Kenneth Branagh

Totally agree Hatusu, we watched the complete David Suchet Poirot series during the last year or so and then along came the Branagh film.
Branagh doing Branagh came to mind. I really do not rate him as an actor.

I am in two minds about watching this film. There is so much about it that I should enjoy, and yet I know that would be greatly overshadowed by much that will annoy me, not least Brannagh trying to be Poirot.

I have just read the critique post written by Hafiz after watching Death on the Nile years ago. (It is listed under this thread.)
Change a few names and you could be forgiven for thinking it had been written about the Brannagh version.
It is probably more entertaining than this film is going to be.

Back to my dilema. I will inevitably see Brannagh's version of Death on the Nile sooner or later. Do I forfeit the price of a couple of coffees (thankfully their is a cinema close by that only charges a fiver) and go and see it now on the big screen and get the full cinematographic and over acting effect now? Alternatively, do I wait until it's on tv and I'm feeling just a little bit curious and too lazy to hit the OFF button on the controller?

Those that watch it will no doubt find many errors and differences from the original story. For example did Karnak (Sudan) ever get to Abu Simble?

Not many Branagh admirers here !

I’m sure I’ll watch it in due course……but the main problem for me will not be comparing Branagh’s Poirot with Ustinov….or Suchet…but with the fact that I’ve seen the original ( 1978) version so many times that the plot is as familiar to me as, say, any remake of “Jesus of Nazareth” would be.

Rather takes much of the enjoyment out of an Agatha Christie thriller!

But it might be interesting to see whether they’ve corrected some of the bloopers in the original….or added some new ones.

I've never actually read Death on the Nile. In fact, I can't think of an Agatha Christie book that I have read. Murder mystery is not my normal reading genre. That being the case, I at least don't have the problem of comparing plays and films to the author's original story and characterisation.

HEPZIBAH wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 1:32 pm I've never actually read Death on the Nile. In fact, I can't think of an Agatha Christie book that I have read. Murder mystery is not my normal reading genre. That being the case, I at least don't have the problem of comparing plays and films to the author's original story and characterisation.

I’ve never read any of her books either. I suspect I’d find them a bit “dated”.

But several have been turned into excellent films. Whether they followed the book exactly I neither know…nor care. I can’t imagine she actually indicated in her book “Death on the Nile” that it was feasible to travel from Karnak to Abu Simbel in the space of a few hours.

She was, after all, a frequent visitor to both!

I've just watched the movie in full and I wasn't that impressed. "Karnak" is a computerised effect that wouldn't look out of place in Florida cruise. Parts of it reminded me of the musical "Showboat" too much singing and dancing!! Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French were good though. The Old Cataract hotel looked like an Indian Temple that bore no resemblance to the real thing. I'm sure the whole movie was probably shot in Vegas. Branagh wasn't that good as Poirot in my view.

Judge for yourselves.

I would imagine, (and think I read), that much of the film was made using computer generated images. Murder on the Orient express relied greatly on this film making method, so I doubt Death on the Nile would be any different.
Whilst CGI can be a good film method, I think it can be overused.

crewmeal wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 5:45 pm I've just watched the movie in full and I wasn't that impressed. "Karnak" is a computerised effect that wouldn't look out of place in Florida cruise. Parts of it reminded me of the musical "Showboat" too much singing and dancing!! Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French were good though. The Old Cataract hotel looked like an Indian Temple that bore no resemblance to the real thing. I'm sure the whole movie was probably shot in Vegas. Branagh wasn't that good as Poirot in my view.

Judge for yourselves.

I expect I’ll have a look in due course.

If I recall correctly, there were no scenes shot in Egypt. The crew and cast never actually set foot in the land of the pharaohs

The thing is if you make an egyptian film it's always better to film in Egypt.
Makes sense really the actors get the egyptian vibe, heat, food + the 'runs ect....

Take Poirot in Egypt or that Carter thing, making films makes money for everyone.
I don't fancy Branagh's film at all...

I did watch Angela's Ashes in O'Connell St Dublin in the Savoy one afternoon full of
weeping pensioners, quite a moving memory .....

Ps: He just won Belfast for the score I hear...

Who2 wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 1:31 pm or that Carter thing,

You might remember my comment on here after those programs were made, location costs were a small fortune, the inside note afterwards by the B.B.C. was 'It will be a long time before the corporation will be back in Egypt'. You were correct at the time it did make a good profit for them in the end, though I suspect Mr Branagh did not want to risk it.

newcastle wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 12:17 pm
If I recall correctly, there were no scenes shot in Egypt. The crew and cast never actually set foot in the land of the pharaohs

Egypt does not seem keen to tap into the revenue that issuing film licences can bring.
Morocco and Tunisia don't seem to have the same issue and are often used as film locations, sometimes oirtraying Egypt.
A few years ago there was a tense drama, The Night Manager, which started off set in Egypt. Unfortunately, some very basic mistakes were made, and it was very clear that those scenes were shot in Morocco.

HEPZIBAH wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:41 pm

newcastle wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 12:17 pm
If I recall correctly, there were no scenes shot in Egypt. The crew and cast never actually set foot in the land of the pharaohs

Egypt does not seem keen to tap into the revenue that issuing film licences can bring.
Morocco and Tunisia don't seem to have the same issue and are often used as film locations, sometimes oirtraying Egypt.
A few years ago there was a tense drama, The Night Manager, which started off set in Egypt. Unfortunately, some very basic mistakes were made, and it was very clear that those scenes were shot in Morocco.

The
Yes…the hotel in The Night Manager was far too classy for anything I’ve seen in Cairo….and subsequent scenes ( near the end) could have been, and were, shot in any North African location.

Filming for foreigners in Egypt is now hopelessly expensive and overburdened with bureaucracy. The paranoia of the regime regarding “image” , “security” etc knows no bounds. And you can imagine the difficulty of getting a tourist-free shot in Luxor or Giza….or portraying realistic scenes of past decades.

You occasionally get low- budget films…such as “luxor” recently. But that was marred by some strange and unrealistic scenes…like having your Egyptian boyfriend pop over and spend a night of sex with you in the Winter Palace and then attempt to cavort in the hotel pool in his underwear!

"low- budget films…such as “luxor”"

Yes indeed, the pay was even worse than that for the usual Ramadan series!