American Cinematographer - December 2004 - 24

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difficulty of recreating the famous

seasoned detective

ular

a

train, and the pressures of working with

eventually comes to
startling conclusion.
This stylish film is graced with
sumptuous production and costume
design by Tony Walton and elegant
cinematography by Geoffrey Unsworth,
BSC [A Night to Remember, 2001: A
Space Odyssey, Superman). Unsworth's
approach was to create a soft, diffused
gaze with subtle but often high-key
lighting to enhance the lavish world of
the

1930s

aboard

aristocrats

the

famous coach.

Working on location in
Turkey and France and on soundstages
in England, Unsworth created a lush
and occasionally eerie visual tone that
gives the film an unusual quality; it pays
homage to romantic black-and-white
films of the 1930s while using a full
scale of pastel colors in the scheme.
Paramount Plome Entertainment

recently introduced Murder on the
Orient Express on DVD with solid but
occasionally uneven results. Overall,
the picture transfer is pleasing and
faithful to Unsworth's lighting and color

such

a

large and dynamic cast. Also
amusing theatrical

included is the film's
trailer.

Murder
was

on

nominated

the Orient Express
for six Academy

Awards, including one for Best Cine¬

matography. (Only Bergman took home
gold, for Best Supporting Actress.)
Although 30 years have passed since
the

the film's theatrical release, the meticu¬

lous

craftsmanship of Unsworth,

Walton, Bennett and Lumet and the

strength of the high-voltage cast keep
picture fresh. This DVD preserves
the air of mystery and romance required
to bring Christie's frothy "whodunit" to
the

viewers

and

seasoned fans alike will enjoy

going

life,

and

first-time

along for the ride.
-

Kenneth

Sweeney

scheme. There is little chroma noise or

transfer, but
contrasting
sequences - particularly the flashback
that opens the film - exhibit excessive
grain and source-material deterioration.
The audio track, highlighted by Richard
Rodney Bennett's lavish score, has been
remixed in Dolby Digital 5.1 well,
adding an excellent dimension to the
film for home screenings. A restored
artifacting
some

of

on most of the
the darker,

monaural track is also included.
This

package also features new
documentary
segments.
Agatha
Christie: A Portrait is
view with Christie's

a

10-minute inter¬

grandson, Mathew

Prichard, which features

rare

stills and

anecdotes about her life and career. In
the

50-minute

documentary

The

Making of Murder on the Orient
Express, Lumet, Walton, Bennett,
Bisset, Connery, York and producers
Lord John Brabourne and Richard Good¬
win share extensive information about

production; subjects include obtain¬
ing the rights to the novel and design¬
ing, casting, shooting, scoring and
releasing the film. These interviews
shed a good deal of light on the partic¬

the

22

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American Cinematographer - December 2004

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