Death on the Nile (1978, Peter Ustinov)

Hercule Poirot might think he's in for some downtime on a luxurious cruise down the Nile, but when an heiress is found murdered on board Poirot realises the killer must be found before they reach the end of the journey.
Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot
Jane Birkin as Louise Bourget
Lois Chiles as Linnet Ridgeway Doyle
Bette Davis as Marie Van Schuyler
Mia Farrow as Jacqueline de Bellefort
Jon Finch as James Ferguson
Olivia Hussey as Rosalie Otterbourne
George Kennedy as Andrew Pennington
Angela Lansbury as Salome Otterbourne
Simon MacCorkindale as Simon Doyle
David Niven as Colonel Race
Maggie Smith as Miss Bowers
Jack Warden as Dr. Bessner
I. S. Johar as Mr. Choudhury
Harry Andrews as Barnstaple
Sam Wanamaker as Rockford
Music by Ghostrifter Official | soundcloud.com/ghostrifter-official
Promoted by www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

[@HaveYouSeen]

Hi everyone! I started this channel in January of 2022 and here in April of the same year, this video has almost 14k views. I'm truly amazed at that. A brand-new channel shouldn't be getting such hits! So thank you for the views, the likes, and the comments. If I could ask one thing of any of you, it would be to try even more of my film review videos and, if you like what you see, consider subscribing to the channel. I do this for fun... no Patreon, no agenda... just a guy making film reviews as a bit of a hobby, not to make money, and looking forward to comments from people all over the world. Cheers!

[@thomasbarrientos6234]

I have seen the remake since I am such a huge fan of the original.The remake is nice to look at but my heart will always be loyal to the Ustinov version.

[@meljamie]

This is my favourite adaptation of any of the Agatha Christie books. The cast is perfect, the score is glorious & the locations shots are gorgeous. It also helps that some of my all time favourite movie stars are in the one movie (David Angela, Simon, etc.). You haven't asked for a rating but I give it 10/10. 😊

[@tonydiamond1875]

I agree completely! Well said!

[@yanitchka]

I have watched the 1978 film a few times (on tv) and I love it. The cast is superb! The pace is great. There are funny moments. The reveal is fantastic! I have read the book, too. Even if it feels like a TV movie, it’s still amazing. I have not seen the new version, but I doubt anything will beat the hilarious Angela Lansbury and the back and forth between Bette Davis and Dame Maggie Smith.

[@palecap]

For me, nothing beats Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot and Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple.

[@lorenzomagazzeni5425]

They were the best for the part, no doubt.

[@jeffsedam9827]

David Suchet is the most authentic Poirot.

Suchet is a much better Poirot IMO, but the 1978 Death on the Nile is the superior film.

[@Mikey_Sea]

Love this one. Saw it on a plane ride from the States to Europe as a 10 year old. Got me hooked on mysteries n thrillers, for sure.

[@jonathanmcvay4499]

I just saw the remake last night. It’s better than I was expecting after the awful remake of Murder On The Orient Express. Although the reveal is pretty much the same, there are some surprise changes. The art direction is beautiful, as was Orient Express. However the original still far surpasses it: the story is much clearer, the potential murderer’s motives are stronger and given much more detail, the murder victim is not likable so you somewhat find yourself rooting for the killer in a fun way, the suspense is tempered with some hysterical humour! No one can top Bette Davis, Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury, or even the minor role of the paddleboat Karnak’s majordomo. And the score is just lush!

[@HaveYouSeen]

That's really cool to hear! As you may have heard in the video I thought the new one would just blow it away. So that's really interesting!

[@char1737]

It's old Hollywood at it's best , no CGI great actors and lush sets & soundtrack as a teen I saw both Orient &Nile and thought that how I want to travel !

[@graphiquejack]

Branagh as Poirot is horrible horrible miscasting and he tries to make Poirot some sort of action hero which is pure rubbish. I suppose he was inspired by Guy Richie’s testosterone-injected Sherlock but I think that’s trash as well. Christie always write her main murder victims as unlikeable. Some nice people get bumped off if they ‘know too much’ but the victim who gets knocked off first is almost always a baddie. It helps explain why every other character has a motive for wanting that person dead. I haven’t seen the new Nile (I’ve only watched the new Orient Express) but I can’t see anyone beating the cast of the original film. The only weak spot there is Ustinov as Poirot who doesn’t really get the character right but at least he’s charming and amusing. Since we already know that Ustinov is still miles better than Branagh at getting the right characterization for Poirot, and there’s no chance anyone will be as good as Lansbury, Davis and Smith, why try? Even the costuming won an Oscar they were so good. I don’t care for the sort of modern action movie cinematography that is wholly unnecessary for a film like this… maybe the sound sets could have been a little better, but otherwise the cinematography in the original was quite good. I just think if Branagh was he’ll bend on making new Christie films, he shouldn’t have started off with redoing the two most iconic film adaptations when there are plenty of excellent Christie novels to adapt. Of course his new films are going to be compared to the originals and of course they are going to fall short.

[@ginnyhogan6386]

This is an entirely superior version than the new one. Give me Ustinov over Branagh’s version anytime!

[@1SpicyMeataball]

After seeing the 2022 remake... Stick with this one, is all I can say.

[@Stroheim333]

Angela Lansbury from the golden days of Hollywood was an old woman already 1978, and she is still alive and kicking. That's what amaze me most with this movie.

[@Dabhach1]

Old woman? The make-up and characterisation gave her a grotesque look, I'll grant you, but she was actually only 53 at the time. No chicken, but hardly an old woman.

[@Stroheim333]

@@Dabhach1 53 -- an old woman. Men and women becomes old after 40. And after 35, it gets hard for a guy to catch a chick in her 20's. It's even worse for a woman.

[@ryzardt]

This is my favourite Poirot movie of all time! The costumes by Anthony Powell are just simply out of this world and so deserving of his Oscar win. And I just love the music by Nino Rota.

[@Isabella-nh5dm]

I actually really liked Ustinov as Poirot. I think it was because he, in no way, looked like the Poirot I imagined consistently described by Agatha Christie.Yet Ustinov, the complete physical antithesis of the literary Poirot, was completely Poirot in his portrayal of the character. His mannerisms, his care to personal appearance, the list goes on. To this day I think 'that man could act'. He made me believe he was Poirot simply by portraying the true character. Enjoy many other actors interpretations but, Ustinov, he wins for me.

[@stephenfurches5091]

You are a man after my own heart! When I was a child in 1979, we finally got cable TV in my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. This is the very first HBO film I ever watched, and I've been hooked ever since. I remember watching every repeat of it then, and now with the DVD I've seen it at least 100 times. Part of Golden Hollywood's last great gasp, an era we'll never see again (remakes be damned!) and still easily among my top 3 films of all time. HEAT AND HEATHENS!

[@Squrtile101]

I love Death on the Nile (78) it was so good and a great cast, beautiful costumes, and score.

[@andrewnelson3521]

Yes, the 1978 version was a good film.

[@tonydiamond1875]

31st March 2022. I saw the Branagh remake last night. It was truly, truly, bloody awful and truly truly bloody boring. After 45 minutes I still had no idea about half the characters, or why any of them would have any motive to murder the first victim. Yes, there are some frankly silly mistakes, but there is no compensatory explanation for anything confusing or important in the plot. What IS the plot? What has any of it got to do with anything? How is it possible for Salome Otterburn to wield an electric guitar in 1937? How did she get hold of a portable microphone with perfect sound quality? Who is she, anyway? What is she supposed to be doing in this movie, other than siging great jazz/blues songs? What are any of the characters supposed to be doing? If Branagh's face has been so disfuigured in 1914 ("you must grow a mustache"- GEDDIT!!!) how come he's got no scars, not a one, in 1937? What the hell were French & Saunders doing in the movie? Why is Annette Bening supposed to be evil and horrible because she dotes on her son and paints badly? Who were or are all of these people? How are related they to the central character? This was by no means clear, much less motivation for murder. I give the film 90 out of a hundred for cinematic technique and photography and editing, but the script is a hopeless muddle and nobody in the cast seems to know what they're there for. I think that Branagh is one of the greatest actors and directors in the world, but this is a real turkey. Bear in mind that Branagh made Henry 5th, Hamlet, Much Ado, and Peter's Friends, all very good movies. Is he doing this for the money? His version of Murder on the Orient Express was nowhere close to the Albert Finney monie. Branagh is going backward. Nobody can question his magnificence as an actor, but this is evidence that the movie was made because somebody wanted to make it and had the money to do so. The 1978 movie with Ustinov is a millon times better than this piece of rubbish.

[@HaveYouSeen]

Thanks for the update! I still haven't seen it. And do note, at the time I made this video, it wasn't even out :)

[@thomascassidy8347]

The original is not to be ever matched, simply divine xx

[@johnanthonylucock7833]

The 1978 version was much better than the remake starring David Suchet. I haven't seen the latest version yet

[@sodiumlights]

yeah, I agree with you but I still don't know why it didn't hit the mark. Setting the final major scene in a cramped bedroom with few possible culprits didn't help.

[@phyllishammond9886]

I do used to the 1978 version then other versions.

[@phyllishammond9886]

One liners in the 1978 version were classic! Especially with Maggie Smith and Bette Davis!

[@brucekilby9957]

It's a great version. Ustinov was very good as Poriot, pompose and self important,in a Humorous way. Such a great cast of the Actors of a different era,Betty Davis as a bitch,perfect. Suchet was good and good to see all different the Poriots, Madam.🇨🇵No!🇧🇪 Merci.

[@Kwippy]

Please, don't bother with the Branagh remake. Save yourself the grief.

[@newtonduck1]

One of my most watched films of all time. I watched it last night! I enjoyed this version much more than the recent version, which was sumptuously looking and that's about it. This one is the best!

[@laxjetbear]

Both remakes were abominable. Kenneth Branagh made both films all about Hercule Poirot,-HIS character. The main plot becomes a subplot. Lovely to look at and that’s as far as they go. The originals were such amazing films and still a fun watch with amazing casts and characters. The new ones are just complete dreck.

[@claudefrollono1]

I've had my issues with Peter Ustinov, especially when it comes to his opinions on politics and history, but I've always thought of him as a genuine, and I mean genuine, gentleman and a personification of elegance and intelligence, be that in his acting, written works, interviews or just behavior.

[@badabing8884]

This is my favourite adaptation of Poirot.

[@futuremovieactor]

Great movie. I watched it at least a year before the new one and loved it. It definitely got me pumped for the new one--which I also enjoyed.

[@mediterraneanworld]

The new version is a real stinker!

[@HaveYouSeen]

I've heard that! I will have to try and catch it.

[@힐만94]

@@HaveYouSeen I will do it too, but considering Brannagh "abused" Poirot's character in Murder On The Orient Express, I won't expect that much..

[@bovnycccoperalover3579]

I may watch it but only as a rental. I despised Murder on the Orient Express. Newer isn't necessarily better despite the improved special effects.

[@andrewrobinson8305]

Why do you say that? I really enjoyed it. I definitely isn’t a “stinker”. (And I’ve loved the 1978 original since I first saw it as a kid - know it word-for-word).

[@char1737]

The original was Hollywood at it's best a grand tour we force (as was the original Murder on the Orient Express , they even traveled with Louis Vuitton luggage) I'm excited to see the remake as I liked the first outing on the Orient

[@jasnapanic3621]

Mia Farrow is brilliant😊😊

[@surrealist1976]

I always prefered David Suchet as Poirot, but in movie adaptation is Peter Ustinov, Death on the Nile with P.Ustinov is so perfectly made - that in my opinion there´s no need for reboot. And with the new Death on the Nile, I didn´t know that Agatha was into bombs and action....

[@drnosy]

Peter Ustinov is a great actor, but of his Poirot films this Nile and Orient Express are the only ones worth watching.

[@MrUndersolo]

Saw it as a child on TV and was curious about the whole process of solving a crime. Thank you for this!

[@truce1121]

Love this movie!!!

[@lorenzomagazzeni5425]

David Niven basically plays David Niven.

[@lauramars182]

Only two bring justice to Christie's Poirot: Ustinov and Suchet. Both play the famous Belgian sleuth equally to a "T" I've enjoyed Branaugh in other roles- excellent as Heydrich in "Conspiracy," but again, Poirot belongs to Peter Ustinov and David Suchet. Thanks for the review. Nicely done, and appreciated 👏 👍 👌 😉

[@debbieking5171]

Hello everyone, Peter Ustinov is the brother in law of Angela Lansbury.

[@char1737]

Alas I did not see a Birkin bag but it's name sake stared as with Dial M for Murder staring Grace Kelly & the handbag named after her !

[@niteowl365]

This is my favorite version although, David Suchet’s DOTN is also amazing. I wish I could say the same for the new one. It just didn’t appeal to me. Annette Benning was pretty good but the new Poirot is all wrong. Maybe Alfred Molina would be a better choice for Poirot.

[@emilsuda4101]

I saw the original DEATH ON THE NILE in first run in October, 1978. I just saw the anticipated remake this week. It was stated some minor changes were made to the plot and watching it there was some. Overall one has to ask why not follow the original as was. To me the original is better--most originals are, as was MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is superior to the remake. That by the way was directed by Sidney Lument.

[@MariaRodriguez-hb4ix]

WOKE points ?

[@emilsuda4101]

@@MariaRodriguez-hb4ix Of course, you got it right.

[@madiantin]

Ahhh, Herculeees Porridge. I absolutely love Ustinov as Poirot. He's not quite the right description, and he's not obsessed enough with his finicky appearance and amazing moustaches, but he plays Poirot so humorously. I love these Ustinov films. Well, frankly, I'm just basically a Ustinov fan. And Maggie Smith was so good! She and Bette Davis really riffed off each other well. The maid was awful. Oh my goodness that girl couldn't hold on to her accent to save her life. I have no idea why they didn't replace her with someone who could actually speak with a French accent.

[@davy91101]

Branaugh's Orient Express was a dismal affair, indifferently cast and bereft of style and wit. Why such a brilliant actor is spending his time doing an unnecessary remake when two previous efforts (Suchet on TV and the Lumet's stylish earlier version and cast as well as the Ustinov Nile) easily trumped his leaden remake. Suchet is clearly the best Poirot but Lumet's cast for Orient Express was beyond starry and made up for--I can't remember the actor who played Poirot--the detective. Branaugh's facial hair was ludicrous and physically he is light years away from the detective who was described vividly by Cristie.I will pass on this latest remake.

[@HaveYouSeen]

The video is about the 1978 version, just for your reference, not the remake. I mention the remake, but only as an overall framing device for the video.

[@goodowner5000]

Albert Finney portrayed Hercule Poirot in 1974's "Murder On The Orient Express". After Suchet, he's my favorite.

[@torim1233]

Great story. Want to watch all versions.

[@jeanpierredevos3137]

The old one is mutch mutch better. I saw the new one and the acting job is lousy and the music horrible The old cast was way better. More fun to look at aldo the technique is a bit outdated

[@paulvoorhies8821]

Angela Lansbury was such a hoot in this, and I thought Mia gave an amazingly strong performance.

[@Kwippy]

This 1978 version is far superior to Branagh's mess of a remake, in which the casting is terrible, the acting is dreadful, the direction is abysmal. There can be no reason to prefer the remake.

[@HaveYouSeen]

Do note that when I made the video, the remake wasn't even released. I had no idea how good or bad it would be.

[@debbieking5171]

Quite a few of the actors and actresses are dead from this movie.

[@HaveYouSeen]

Sadly, that is true.

[@luigipirandello5919]

História de Agatha Christie, elenco de primeira e música de Nino Rota. Não precisa mais nada para ser um grande filme.

[@HaveYouSeen]

I completely agree with you, even if I had to use Google Translate to cross the language barrier! :)

[@ysbel]

Even in 1978, Death on the Nike had a small screen feel compared to the earlier lavish production of Murder on the Orient Express. I even think the follow up movie was released as a TV movie so the budgets were cut even further. But the all-star cast was fantastic. I really enjoyed Mia Farrow and Simon MacCorkindale. This was back when the movies stayed pretty true to the books. Later movies strayed a bit.

[@HaveYouSeen]

I'll be doing 'Death Under the Sun' in weeks ahead :)

[@chaturongarchary9773]

@@HaveYouSeen Evil under the sun...?

[@HaveYouSeen]

@@chaturongarchary9773 April 13 for that one. The video's made, and is locked in.

[@paulvoorhies8821]

God, I loved lobby cards. I collected them in my last life.

[@lpquagmire3621]

Yes.

[@susantownsend8397]

I liked the remake of Orient Express. I enjoyed the campy quality of the earlier version but as a lifetime fan Christie’s work I thought the remake stayed closer to the vibes of the book. Hoping for the same reaction to Death on the Nile.

[@jeffsedam9827]

Kenneth is a terrible Poirot especially that silly moustache.

[@pillow4casestudies]

Hate the Branagh moustache

[@Thepourdeuxchanson]

Not to be compared with Suchet's matchless Poirot.