Murder on the Orient Express – perhaps the most famous title among the novels published by Agatha Christie. Over the years, the mystery unfolding on the luxury train has been at the center of numerous reshuffles. The most recent of these is a 2017 film directed by Kenneth Branagh who also plays the role of detective Hercule Poirot. Murder on the Orient Express it will air tonight at 21:45 on Rai 3.
Murder on the Orient Express plot
After solving a mysterious case in Jerusalem, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) asks for nothing more than some time to relax in the city of Istanbul. However, the detective’s work never stops, and Poirot is soon called back to London, where he is expected for his deductive abilities. Thanks to the intervention of my friend Buk (Tom Bateman), Poirot manages to get a cabin on the magnificent Orient Express departing from the Turkish city. Among the passengers on the train is Ratchett (Johnny Depp), a man with illegal dealings and a terrible reputation, who fears for his life to the point of asking Poirot to be his bodyguard during a move. Poirot, however, knows the man’s character, and his high morality does not allow him to accept the offer. Despite this, the Belgian detective will still find himself working “for” Ratchett when the man’s body is discovered in his cabin, and Poirot must investigate to discover the culprit among the other passengers, including Hubbard’s widow (Michelle Pfeiffer), Russian princess Natalya (Judi Dench) and Spanish missionary (Penelope Cruz)
Kenneth Branagh’s misfortune
WITH Murder on the Orient Express Kenneth Branagh, a British director and actor considered the heir to Sir Laurence Olivier, wanted to start a real movie saga. An anthology series whose common denominator is the explorer, born from the pen of Christie and the third chapter recently released in theaters. Murder in Venice. Making a film that respects the source material, is entertaining, and also serves as the first chapter of a saga is a difficult task for even the most experienced director like Kenneth Branagh. It should be said, however, that installation on stage he did not expect that he would also have to face problems and obstacles that were beyond his control and beyond the scope of simple filmmaking. After that Deadline and other industry publications announced in 2016 that the film would star Johnny Depp, Internet users showed their displeasure by saying they were ready to boycott the film starring Johnny Depp. This is because the actor Pirates of the Caribbean this was due to the terrible accusations made against him by his now ex-wife Amber Heard. Allegations that were then “dismantled” in a libel trial that led Johnny Depp to victory and “clearing” his name. But in 2016, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Johnny Depp’s name was almost a “sacrilege” and anyone who associated themselves with him was destined to suffer from tweets, posts and comments about how unfair it was to give the job to the accused man. about the maid’s violence against her partner. Moreover, according to some rumors reported Cinema playerJohnny Depp appeared on the set of Kenneth Branagh’s film in a state altered by alcohol and drugs. This meant that the film’s reputation was in constant danger of decline, and only the director’s steady hand could avert disaster. Murder on the Orient Express had a good response in the cinema, but this did not prevent Kenneth Branagh from treating the production and, above all, the distribution with anxiety, realizing that the success or failure of his film depended on public opinion related to the personal events of the director himself. the actor he chose for his feature film.
“Case” Murder on the Nile
Concerns that were then repeated when Kenneth Branagh announced pre-production on the film in 2017. Murder on the Nile. The film, another highly acclaimed Agatha Christie production, began filming in 2019 but is reportedly Each eye he already had the cast ready in 2018, and among the selected actors he was there Armie Hammer which was a great success thanks to the film by Luca Guadagnino, Call me by your name in which he starred alongside Timothée Chalamet. This time there were no scandals surrounding the main characters, and Kenneth Branagh was able to work more calmly than in the first chapter. In the second case, problems began at the distribution stage. The film was originally supposed to be released in the fall of 2019 and then later that year. But some production problems pushed him further: However, in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic shuffled all the cards on the table, and Kenneth Branagh saw his film delayed again, first to October 2020 and then to December of the same year. However, when production noticed that even Nolan’s film Dogma failed to do well at the box office, after theaters reopened it was decided to push the release to September 2021, a date that could foreshadow a stylish preview presentation at the Venice Film Festival. However, in February 2021, actor Armie Hammer was publicly accused of sexual harassment, abuse and even cannibalism. These were very serious allegations and certainly did not reflect the values of Disney, which has always been a production company. family. For this reason, it is also reported Deadline, the film was pushed back to February 2022, and the production’s marketing campaign all but decided not to mention Armie Hammer anymore, to talk about the film as if the actor who faced the scandal of which he was the protagonist and which pushed Hollywood was not present. , as he always does, erase it completely before allowing justice to take its course. So, unwittingly, Kenneth Branagh was faced with two films filled with scandals and threats of boycott.