Further Thoughts On The Golden Globes

Scattered, more detailed thoughts on those Golden Globe nominations, and what they mean for Awards Season overall...

1) A lot of people are stunned and angry about Jordan Peele's absence from the Best Director lineup at the Golden Globes. I will be shocked if he actually winds up nominated at the DGAs or the Oscars. That's nothing to do with the quality of his work; there's a reason why it's sustained its level of hype from February, and not just because it captures The Moment in terms of our current conversations regarding race and whiteness - it's because of the craftsmanship, the originality. Still, while Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay nominations are all but guaranteed, Peele's working in a genre seldom given due at the Oscars. Besides, it's a crowded field in general: Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg, Luca Guadagnino, Sean Baker, Martin McDonagh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Greta Gerwig, Ridley Scott, Dee Rees. Peele's a more likely nominee than a good chunk of this group, but with no consensus yet on even the top three frontrunners, he's got hurdles.

Talking 'bout Wonder Woman, Three Billboards, and more, after the jump....

It Came True: Murder on the Orient Express, 2017

The day has finally come! I have seen a brand new Agatha Christie movie in the theater! Did it do the Queen of Crime justice? How did it compare to the many other versions we've watched and discussed? Was it any good? My dears, it's the exciting conclusion of Murder on the Orient Express week!

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

dir: Kenneth Branagh

Tell Me More, Tell Me More: Murder on the Orient Express, 2015

With the new Murder on the Orient Express in theaters tomorrow, we're taking a look at every adaptation of Agatha Christie's infamous novel. Each version has its own unique spin on the story. We've talked about the all-star cast of the original cinematic version, the updated setting of the 2001 TV Movie, and the serious themes of the 2010 TV movie. Today, a Japanese miniseries gives us...a lot. More spoilers than usual, so if you don't know the material, proceed at your on peril...

オリエント急行殺人事件 (2015)
[Oriento kyuuko satsujin jiken]
dir: Keita Kono

Law or Order: Murder on the Orient Express, 2010

With the new Murder on the Orient Express in theaters this Friday, we're taking a look at every adaptation of Agatha Christie's infamous novel. Each version has its own unique spin on the story. We've talked about the all-star cast of the original cinematic version and the updated setting of the 2001 TV Movie. Today, the definitive Poirot takes it on, with a much more dour tone...

Agatha Christie's Poirot: Murder on the Orient Express (2010)

dir: Philip Martin

Timeless?: Murder on the Orient Express, 2001

With the new Murder on the Orient Express in theaters this Friday, we're taking a look at every adaptation of Agatha Christie's infamous novel. Each version has its own unique spin on the story. Yesterday, we talked about the old school homage approach Sidney Lumet took with the original cinematic version; today, Poirot gets a 21st-century update...with mixed results.

Murder on the Orient Express (2001)
dir: Carl Schenkel

There Is Murder In Your Eyes: Murder on the Orient Express, 1974

Murder on the Orient Express is in theaters this Friday, undoubtedly my most anticipated film event of the year. Based on the novel by Agatha Christie, the world-famous whodunnit has Hercule Poirot traveling on the Orient Express when the train becomes snowbound...and murder strikes. The solution is simultaneously shocking and one of the most famous in literature. The mystery is glamorous, with Poirot interviewing thirteen suspects from around the world, from butlers and car salesmen to diplomats and royalty. It's the quintessential Christery.

Small wonder, then, that it has inspired filmmakers time and again over the years. Including the new film, starring and directed by Kenneth Branagh, there are five adaptations of Murder on the Orient Express. We're taking a look at each one every day this week, and what better place to start than at the beginning? Let's go back 43 years, so we can check out...

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

dir: Sidney Lumet

A Special Announcement...

It's Agatha Christie's birthday!

The Queen of Crime was born on this date in 1890, 127 years ago! More than 41 years after her death, she is still the world's best-selling fiction author - but, more relevant to what we do here, she is also experiencing a cinematic comeback! For not one, but two films based on her works are coming to the screen this winter. One is the first ever adaptation of her infamous crime thriller Crooked House; the other is the fifth screen version of one of her most famous novels, Murder on the Orient Express:

Mom was right: prayer does work! I've been wishing and hoping for a resurgence of silver screen Agatha Christeries for ages. Sure, we've had the recent Poirot, Marple and Partners in Crime series to keep us company - in addition to the new miniseries of And Then There Were None and The Witness for the Prosecution - but the last time Christie was on the big screen* was 1989's Ten Little Indians, a re-working of her most famous novel that transferred the action from a British island to an African safari. Now...now, we have two!

(*I'm speaking strictly American/British releases. I am well aware that India and France have had a number of theatrical adaptations in the past decade, but none of them seem to leave their respective continents.)

Let us celebrate properly. Throughout the month of October and into the first week of November, we're celebrating the on-screen works of Agatha Christie. Every Tuesday, a Casting Coup, in which we dream-cast adaptations of some of her most popular works. Each week, a set of films to watch so we may explore her characters, interpretations of them, and their international appeal.

The schedule, after the jump:

Hollmann Awards 1974: The Technicals

At long last...22 years of life...37 years of cinematic history....Ladies and gentlemen, the 1974 Hollmann Awards. No, there's no list of nominees to get acquainted with; it's all here, winners and runners-up, in one fowl swoop. First up, the technicals. Catch them after the jump:

UPDATE: Realized I hit publish before I made my final changes in Art Direction. The winner and runner-up have been switched so that the proper film is given its due.

Painting with Light: Cinematography, 1974

I try not to be too focused on the nighttime cinematography, where the play with light is most obvious. That actually helps Orient Express, which has a kind of bright, dreamlike sheen throughout the film, like there's nylons and Vaseline on the lens.

CHINATOWN

John A. Alonzo, director of photography

***

How did they even get that first shot?

EARTHQUAKE

Philip Lathrop, director of photography

*

Honestly, I am very shocked that this was nominated. I think it's one of those special effects nominees whose camera tricks and matching templates just wows us. Which is fair, but this is soooo dulllllll.

LENNY

Bruce Surtees, director of photography
*****

Ugh. So much beauty in every frame.

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

Geoffrey Unsworth, director of photography

****

I love love love the kind of bright, dreamlike sheen used throughout the film, like there's nylons and Vaseline on the lens. And then at night, shit like the first shot. Outstanding.

THE TOWERING INFERNO

Fred Koenekamp & Joseph Biroc, directors of photography

***

I'm actually pretty impressed with the cinematography here. A lot of great power outage/night time shots. Some hokey light effects, like shining a big red light on their faces when they open doors. It's clearly not fire, because it's not flickering. But I do love the last section.

--------------------------------------

The Towering Inferno won the Oscar, which is pretty cool, to be honest. It's a little predictable, maybe, but once again, I love that movie with the comedian. The Oscar goes to shoulda gone to...

BRUCE SURTEES

for

LENNY

this movie is so fucking perfect 

One Good Turn...: Adapted Screenplay, 1974

We're up to the last leg of our grand 1974 tribute. Will we make it in time? Probably; tomorrow's my day off. For now, let's talk about works inspired by other works.

Mordecai Richler and Lionel Chetwynd for The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, adapted from the novel by Richler

**

Two hours with an itchy Richard Dreyfuss scrimping and lying for every penny he can better be damn interesting. It really is throughout a lot of it, but then every now and then it decides to throw subtlety out the window and directly address the issues of greed, materialism, the American Dream and antisemitism by, you know, naming them in very on-the-nose conversations. But for the most part, it's an interesting story, though I do think it's waaaaaaay bloated. Also, I don't even remember how he got into films. It was pretty vague.

Mario Puzo & Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather: Part II, adapted from the novel by Mario Puzo

****

Puzo and Coppola give us two arcs to follow. The main one concerns Michael Corleone's further descension into evil as he expands the family business to Nevada and Cuba while facing betrayal within the family and a senate investigation. My love of cinematic senate committees certainly helps, but the relationship between Fredo and Michael is the real selling-point here. Forget the miscarriage, forget Bruno V. Gazzo; this one is all about the conflict between a younger brother in control and an older brother who always falls short. This is the story that wins Best Picture. Cazale and Pacino are selling the hell out of it, sure, but the big scene written for them -- "I'm smart! Not like everyone says, like dumb!" -- is surely one of the best-written moments in the series. I'm also rather fond of all the Hyman Roth scenes.

The second plot is the part adapted from Puzo's original novel, in which we witness Vito Corleone's rise to power in early 20th-century New York. The decision to juxtapose these humble beginnings with Michael's dealings with high-powered senators and the Cuban government is an intriguing, make no mistake, but it tends to interrupt the flow of the main narrative. Perhaps what keeps me from fully embracing this section is the lack of time given to it. Surely it's deserving of its own film entirely, the better to explore the era and get to know Vito. Its inclusion here seems a little forced, as though Coppola and Puzo are too insistent on making the Corleone saga the Great American Epic.

Julian Barry for Lenny, adapted from his play

*****

First and foremost, I am impressed by the characterizations, from the sweet and sad Honey to the enabling Sally to the confused yet caring Artie. Oh, and of course there's Lenny, whose written with enough consistency to make a fully-developed character but loosely enough to reflect on whoever is narrating. The script is without judgment, and the structure of the story -- Lenny's life as conveyed in interviews with his nearest and dearest -- allows for truths, half-truths and legends to get all mixed together, giving us joy, laughter, anger and deep sadness. Barry's work is funny and, more importantly, relatable...to the extent that one relates to a comic provocateur who OD'd. This movie really is pretty perfect.  

Paul Dehn for Murder on the Orient Express, adapted from the novel by Agatha Christie

***

Dehn deepens the characters/suspects, keeping each interview with Poirot from feeling same-old or episodic. One really must credit Dehn for getting Bergman her Oscar, for his rendering of Greta Ohllson is far deeper and more complicated than in Christie's original. He doesn't take the proceedings too seriously -- an element that sort of bogged down the recent television version -- and allows the characters to engage in witty repartee throughout (Poirot's interrogation of Vanessa Redgrave is an excellent example).

Of course, Dehn is not perfect. I think his characterization of Anthony Perkins' role is tired, for one. He also gives too many hints to the solution throughout the film, and he clearly has no idea what to do with Bianchi (Martin Balsam) or some of the suspects. Should those ten minutes really kill the remaining 120 of fun, though? Of course not.

Mel Brooks & Gene Wilder for Young Frankenstein, adapted from the Universal films and the novel by Mary Shelley

*****

It's obvious Wilder and Brooks have great affection for their spoof material; indeed, this is not a parody so much as it is a tribute with a sense of humor. It's a sharp contrast to the kitchen-sink approach of Blazing Saddles: Young Frankenstein is not only hilarious and intelligent, but it's also genuinely moving in places. The monologue at the end is a perfect example of this, as is the scene just preceding the famous "Puttin' on the Ritz" number. Every character gets their great moment, whether it's Inga's knockers, Frau Blucher's confession, Elizabeth's seduction, or Inspector Kemp's game of darts. I also love the subtlety of certain gags: when young Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced Fronkensteen) is taking trains to get to Transylvania, the conversation a couple has on the German train is an exact translation of the conversation a couple has on the American one.

--------------------------------

Oscar was feeling the love for the gangster drama, and so The Godfather: Part II won here. Were I to check off a box on my ballot, though, the Oscar would go to...

BROOKS & WILDER

for

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

I suggest you put on a tie

Passing Notes: Original Score, 1974

Jerry Goldsmith for Chinatown

**

One problem I've never been able to get over is my dislike for saxophone in noir films. It seems to always show up in scores to neo-noirs, yet I can't for the life of me think of a precedent for it. Many of the original noir films had those big Elmer Bernstein orchestras, didn't they, like any other Hollywood film of the time? Someone point out to me the exceptions, because I can't think of any.

Anyway, I didn't care for Goldsmith's score, and I think it isn't needed except for the opening credits. Hell, there's barely a score in the movie anyway, right? That's one of the things I love about Chinatown, it's naturalistic take on the noir genre. Then, here and there, the score comes up again, and while I don't hate it, it's not my cup of tea.

Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola for The Godfather: Part II

*****

I feel like I would pick a fight with anyone who doesn't like the score to these films. Rota brings the old themes back with beautiful new work, and Carmine Coppola (father of director Francis Ford) adds some great work to complement him. Coppola's work can mostly be heard when young Vito is in New York, the most notable track coming during a neighborhood Catholic festival during which Vito makes a significant move to power. Rota, of course, is still giving us that immortal trumpet theme, but gives Vito his own theme, as well.

Really, it would still be amazing if it was the same old music from the last film. But it isn't, and the result is just as high-five worthy.

Richard Rodney Bennett for Murder on the Orient Express

****

Sidney Lumet was very clear that everything have a capital letter in his vision of Agatha Christie's whodunit. The performers Acted while wearing Costumes and walking amongst Production Design. So, naturally, Bennett wrote an Original Score, beginning with a loud, cymbal-crashing opening theme that sets the mood just perfectly. Eerie strings punctuate the unfolding of a child kidnapping/murder case. The jaunty Orient Express theme has the energy and glamor of a train ride with Lauren Bacall. The greatest crime is that the idea for an opening song was scrapped. If only!

Alex North for Shanks

***

Shanks is an odd little film, a semi-silent flick starring Marcel Marceau and his fellow mimes, in William Castle's final effort as director. It's beautiful and funny, and more than a little uncomfortable -- I'm pretty sure the 50-year-old titular puppeteer and the 15-year-old girl with him are supposed to be in love or something. It's more than a little weird, especially when he starts puppeteering corpses.

Since it does play out like a silent film, title cards and all, this is perhaps the most-scored out of any of the movies on this list -- hell, in this year, probably. The results are mixed, but I have to say it was, for the most part, a great success. The finale works as well as it does because of the music. If it wasn't for North's work, the corpse-puppets would just be creepy. It's really his score that makes this such an effective dark comedy. It's an odd little gem that's worth seeking out, movie and music both.

John Williams for The Towering Inferno

***

Suitably epic in parts, with that groovy 70s-ness for the more intimate moments. There are moments that drag, and I don't think it's as exciting as Williams' own Earthquake score, or as important as Alfred Newman's for Airport. But dammit, you've got John Williams scoring a big, epic disaster flick, so it must be great, right? Oh, sure, maybe a little unmemorable in parts, and maybe you don't even remember there being music in the helicopter scene even though the IMDb trivia specifically mentions it as a point of disagreement that Williams won -- sure, maybe you don't remember stuff like that. But then there's the main title theme and the finale and the theme for Fred Astaire's romance. I only wish it was two solid hours of pure music magic.

-------------------------

UPDATE: How did I forget to weigh in on my vote? Of course, you can see the stars, but just to reassure you, I agree with Oscar.

NINO ROTA & CARMINE COPPOLA

for

THE GODFATHER: PART II

though maybe it should've been in Adapted Score ;)

Greatness at the Edges: Supporting Actress, 1974

Remember when StinkyLulu had a 1974 smackdown on his blog? I consider this my way-late weigh-in, just like it's my way-late Academy vote. I need a watch. And a calendar.

Ingrid Bergman in Murder on the Orient Express

**

When I first saw this movie as a young lad, I remember a "huh?" moment when hearing Bergman won the Oscar. Bergman is very good in this, I think, and it's absolutely shocking to see Ilsa Lund play this frumpy missionary. I believe every word she speaks, I believe her naively referring to the children of her mission as "black babies born more backwards than I" just as I believe her yelling, "Thou shalt not kill!" after the discovery of the body. It's a role that strikes one as merely stereotypical in the novel, but Bergman manages to convey some humanity in it.

But while I don't think this performance is deserving of the bile it's received in recent years, I certainly don't think it's Oscar-worthy. It's a solid performance of a simply-written character, but with such a large ensemble, there were at least three other superior supporting actresses to choose from. I really do love this movie, though I admit to being an Agatha Christie fanatic!

Valentina Cortese in Day for Night

***

Cortese is so electric and hilarious at film's beginning, it's a shame we rarely get to see her. I really only remember three key scenes with Cortese's character: the dressing-room, the Big Scene that she keeps flubbing, and the farewell dinner. My sister once said that she hates people who declare themselves divas, because real divas don't need to declare it, and they're rarely aware of it. Certainly this describes Severine, who boozes her way through the set of May I Present Pamela. Of course, she has her reasons, but these are hastily explained and dispensed with, never to be heard of again. Yet now the subtext is there, deepening our perception of the character.

Is the performance that deep? Not in the same way, but sure. Cortese seems to be playing with her own motivations, ones that work just as effectively and heartbreakingly as the one scriptgirl Joelle offers. Severine is confused, now jolly, now deeply unhappy, now joking, now motherly. Really, I miss Severine when she's gone, and her last scene made me wish for more. And that...that's an accomplishment.

Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles

*****

Madeline Kahn is probably one of the funniest women to ever appear on screen. Her performances are as legendary as they are hilarious: Mrs. White, Elizabeth, the "brave, unbalanced woman" in What's Up Doc?, and of course, the Dietrich-parody that is Lili von Shtupp. She gets an entire sequence to herself, one in which she is tasked by the evil Hedley Lamar (Harvey Korman) to seduce and destroy the town of Johnson's black sheriff, Black Bart. She croons, she dances, she seduces, she falls for him. After all, what they say about men like Bart is twue.

Kahn's great ability as a comedienne, though, was not just to sell the jokes themselves, but to sell the character with sincerity. Seeing Lili go from exhausted singer-spy to a smitten romantic is not only amusing, but pretty adorable. Only Kahn could sell a song as corny/funny/bawdy as "I'm Tired" (They're alvays coming and going/And going and coming/And alvays too soon). Only Kahn could follow up an evening of carnality with the line, "Vat a nice guy." There's a reason why, more than ten years after her death, she's still one of the most admired and quoted character actresses around. It's a shame she quickly disappears after ten straight minutes of her hot comic genius, but I guarantee you'll be thinking about her at film's end. She;s easily the best part of one of the best comedies ever made.

Diane Ladd in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

****

Alice... takes an awful long time to get going. Maybe this is because I knew she had to get there, but the first 40 minutes really feel like one long set-up to getting Ellen Burstyn to that diner to be a waitress.

You know who makes that 40-minute wait worthwhile? Diane Ladd's Flo, the greatest of all greasy-spoon waitresses. She's loud, she's crude, and you know that hair put a hole in the ozone. Of course, like everyone brassy individual the movies throw at us, Flo has some simple wisdom to impart, shrugged off with a cigarette in the bathroom as her friends break down. Really, anyone who doesn't want to be Flo's best friend is probably a real drag.

Talia Shire in The Godfather: Part II

*

Shire has two big scenes: playing boozy, negligent mother who wants to run off with Tory Donahue; begging Michael to forgive Fredo after that famous kiss of death. Shire plays both pretty lousily, in my opinion. Clearly, it was the second scene that got her the nomination, and it's a damn well-written piece. Unfortunately, Shire's the actress in this case, and for some reason she's just no good in this movie. Like, at all. From her first scene to her last, I grit my teeth and begged for the end. I don't even think Shire's a bad actress for the most part, but this does not work for me.

------------------

I can't believe Oscar chose Bergman, and that Bergman chose Cortese, because for me, it's so obvious that the Oscar should have gone to...

MADELINE KAHN

in

BLAZING SADDLES

she's pooped

The Men In Charge: Best Actor, 1974

Let us begin with the men.

 
1974 was dominated by male-centric films, whether focusing on an ensemble of Hollywood stars saving the women and children from disaster (Earthquake, The Towering Inferno), a mafia don and the saga of his sons (The Godfather: Part II), a vengeful father (Death Wish), or a parody of the classic Hollywood cowboy (Blazing Saddles). It was also dominated by a slew of classics and cult flicks -- how many times have The Godfather: Part II, Young Frankenstein and Chinatown appeared on "best of film" lists? These are movies we have memorized before we even see them, and they needed someone with balls in charge. In the case of these five films, quite literally.

Art Carney in Harry and Tonto

**

Check out the other performances and you'll see actors headlining a murder mystery with a morally ambiguous ending, a warts-and-all biopic with a sad ending, a cynical noir with a pessimistic ending, and a crime epic with a exhaustingly tragic ending. Then there's this film, a light-hearted road movie centering on an octagenarian going cross-country with his cat after his New York apartment is demolished. I'll get into what I feel about the movie itself when I cover its screenplay nomination, but let me preface my take on Carney's performance with these words: I just don't like this movie. It means well, but as a whole I just don't care for it.

Not that Carney is the issue. I think he's quite capable in the role of Harry, subtly underplaying it most of the time so that his outbursts of real emotion are all the more effective. When I think about what I like about Harry and Tonto, I think about his forcing a Greyhound bus to stop because his cat needs to pee. Or his tearful exit after identifying a body at the morgue. Or, my favorite scene, his visit to a nursing home that ends in a dance with an old flame. That moment is just beautiful enough to make me like the film and performance a little more. In the end, though, I don't think the role is challenging, and I don't think Carney's performance is either.

Albert Finney in Murder on the Orient Express

***

Agatha Christie once stated that she could never write her popular detective Hercule Poirot for the stage because he was too over-the-top. In close-up the role is just as jarring as Christie expected. Heavily made-up and speaking with a gruff accent, it's hard to believe this is Albert Finney. He gets Poirot's watchfulness, ego, and amusement, in ways both subtle and not very subtle at all. The challenge, of course, is to make an interesting character out of someone who is conducting interviews for two hours, and Finney rises to the occasion. He's soothing here, accusatory there; Poirot adapts to the occasion spontaneously.

This also makes Poirot pretty inscrutable. When David Suchet went from righteous anger to soothing calm in the television version, you could chart that progress. Finney's Poirot, on the other hand, is a cartoon, yelling at inappropriate moments and muttering Shirley Temple tunes under his breath. His individual interviews are great, and he nails that final ten-minute monologue, but the performance rests on the mannerisms.

Dustin Hoffman in Lenny

*****

Is there a more perfect marriage of actor and role? Hoffman, as we've seen, is a notorious improviser who never plays the same scene twice. Lenny Bruce, according to Albert Goldman, was a notorious improviser "whose ideal was to walk out there like Charlie Parker, take that mike in his hand like a horn and blow, blow, blow everything that came into his head just as it came into his head with nothing censored, nothing translated, nothing mediated". Bring the two together and you get a performance that just sizzles.

I don't know how to express my love for this performance. Never before have I seen Hoffman this hilarious, vulnerable, adorable, maddening and charming. His nerdy exuberance when romancing Honey is infectious; his single-minded obsession with his obscenity trials is frustrating. His performance makes the disparate images of the responsible father and the drug-abuser just different parts of the same man. I really just want to show you the movie and yell, "SEE? LOOK AT THIS!" every scene. But that would be annoying, so I won't.

Jack Nicholson in Chinatown

*****

I imagine it must be difficult to play a gumshoe, since your role is either to react or offer exposition. Yet it's not hard to see why Nicholson was the frontrunner this year. Of course, Robert Towne's screenplay and Roman Polanski's direction lay enough groundwork for Nicholson to work with, but it takes a special kind of actor to make the private dick effective. I'm not talking charm, I'm talking smarm, and Nicholson has it. It's a sleazy job -- and that defense at the barbershop seems to be more for his benefit than his neighbor's -- but dammit he's good at it.

Perhaps the strongest element of his performance is his incredulity. Jake Gittes can usually weasel his way into anything, but this case, taking him from a simple case of adultery into a conspiracy within the Los Angeles County Water Department, manages to catch him off guard at every turn. He trusts the wrong people, follows the wrong leads, accuses the wrong culprit. Gittes is as human as you or I, a man whose past hurts inform his present relationships. He's vulgar, quick-witted, suspicious...really, there are few I'd rather spend two hours watching. Indeed, this was one of the few movies that I never took my eyes off of once, and Nicholson's performance is a HUGE part of the fascination.

Al Pacino in The Godfather: Part II

****

Pacino ups his game from the original. There's no trace of the Michael Corleone who once assured Diane Keaton, "That's my family, Kay, that's not me." Michael is calculating and cold-blooded. The man calmly orders the assassination of Hyman Roth, gives his brother the kiss of death, and manipulates the witnesses of a grand jury investigation. He rages at his wife and his consigliere -- powerful moments, indeed, for they go against his usually controlled demeanor. It's fascinating to see a man so changed, yet refusing to acknowledge that his relationships have. The aforementioned argument with Kay is rightfully legendary, and that final shot of Michael sitting alone after "settling business" haunts me still, a full two months since I saw the movie.

------------------------

Oscar chose Art Carney, but if I had to choose between these five, the Oscar goes to...

DUSTIN HOFFMAN

in

LENNY

a magnetic performance, beautiful and ugly, triumphant and tragic

Casting Coup Month: Murder on the Orient Express

Busy couple of days. Sorry about missing the last two, maybe I'll make them up this weekend. Maybe tonight. Maybe. But don't push the maybe, baby.

Speaking of babies, it was the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh's that led to the film being cast today. (How's that for a segue?) At the center of Agatha Christie's most famous whodunnit is the kidnapping and murder of an aviator's daughter, an event that destroyed both her parents and the people around them. The man responsible gets away with it, flees the United States, changes his name....and winds up stabbed to death in his compartment. Fortunately, Poirot happens to be traveling on the very same train.

Hollywood has always had a weird relationship with Agatha Christie. No matter how well she does (Witness for the Prosecution, Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple films, etc.), they are still reluctant to adapt her work. It doesn't help, of course, that so many filmmakers either camp it up (The Mirror Crack'd) or stay too deadly serious (And Then There Were None, 70s edition), but when done right, Christie is thrilling and amazing.

This is one of those films that was "done right", allegedly the only film adapted from her work that she herself liked. Sidney Lumet found just the right tone. It wasn't camp, but it wasn't exactly straightforward. He didn't want a train, he wanted SETS. He didn't want the actors to wear clothes, he wanted COSTUMES. He didn't even want actors, he wanted STARS and FACES. And honey, when Sidney Lumet wants FACES, he gets FACES.

Though the highest-grossing British-produced film (at that time), though nominated for six Academy Awards, Murder on the Orient Express has since gotten an unfair reputation. There are those who claim the solution is ridiculous, while the characters are, at best, caricatures. That the acting is atrocious and too broad. That the lighting is overdramatic. That the final sequence goes on for much too long, and is too confusing. Balderdash, I say! Lumet delivers an old-school, all-star production that greatly honors the original text. Perhaps it was overshadowed by the Oscar Titan of 1974: The Godfather: Part II.

It won only one of its six nominations. Richard Rodney Bennett's score lost out to The Godfather: Part II's, composed by Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola. Toni Walton's costume design lost out to another period piece: The Great Gatsby, with designs by Theoni V. Aldredge. Geoffrey Unsworth's cinematography lost to the tag team of Fred J. Koenekamp and Joseph F. Biroc, who worked on The Towering Inferno (seriously?). Paul Dehn's adapted screenplay lost to The Godfather: Part II, written by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo. And 35-year-old Albert Finney lost to 56-year-old Art Carney for Harry and Tonto.

Ah, but history was made. Ingrid Bergman was the first to tie with Katharine Hepburn as the winningest actress in Academy Awards history. Though Hepburn would go on to win another Oscar (she collected them like some collect spoons), no actress has yet to tie Ingrid for second place. Not even Meryl. Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for a 15-minute performance, most of which relegates her to the background. While accepting her Oscar, she named competitor Valentina Cortese (Day for Night) as more deserving. Awkward. But it's a good performance, though it may not be the best one on the film.

Still, it was the second time an Agatha Christie movie would be recognized at the Oscars. Death on the Nile won Costume in 1978, and then nothing. Nobody cared.

Except me.

The Victim
SAMUEL RATCHETT
Who is He: Ratchett is the man who organized the kidnapping and murder of little Daisy Armstrong, but six years old. He has a private compartment on the Orient Express, between Poirot's and Mrs. Hubbard's. Tagging along with him are his valet and secretary, plus his gun. He tries to hire Poirot to protect him, but he winds up stabbed to death anyway.

Quote:
RATCHETT: Mr. Poirot, I am a rich man. Rich men inevitably make enemies. I have an enemy.
POIROT: Just the one?

Originally played by: Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Kiss of Death), Golden Globe Winner for Most Promising Male Newcomer (Kiss of Death)

Richard Widmark (How the West Was Won, motherfuckin' The Swarm)

My Choice: Academy Award Winner for Best Actor (Raging Bull) and Best Supporting Actor (The Godfather: Part II), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Actor (Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas) and Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (The Godfather: Part II), Golden Globe Winner for Best Actor in a Drama (Raging Bull), Razzie Award Nominee for Worst Screen Couple (Show Time, with Eddie Murphy), SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (Marvin's Room)

Robert De Niro (Analyze This, Stardust)
Picture it: One of the most respected actors of a generation. A living legend who can still sell tickets. Once again, he's an amoral, vicious gangster. But you kill him a quarter of the way through the film. Such a risk would win him some respect, I'm sure, but it would also be surprising and entertaining.


The Professionals
M. BOUC
Who is He: Director of the Compagnie Wagon Lits, he is in charge of the Orient Express. he also happens to be an old friend of Poirot's. Confused and frustrated, he asks Poirot to solve the case. Called Signor Bianchi in the original film.

Quote:
BIANCHI: Who is next?
CONSTANTINE: Mrs. Hubbard.
BIANCHI: Oh God.

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor (A Thousand Clowns), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, All the President's Men), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams)

Martin Balsam (Psycho [1960], Breakfast at Tiffany's)

My Choice: Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor (Eastern Promises), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Actor (Eastern Promises), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actor (Eastern Promises), SAG Award Winner for Best Ensemble (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)

Viggo Mortensen (Psycho [1998], A History of Violence)
It's not the Psycho connection that made me think it. I just thought of character actors that would be great in the role. And his face just popped up, and it made sense. Look at that 'stache, for God's sakes! Besides, Mortensen is, surprisingly enough, the right age for this role. I would love to hear his take on a Flemish accent. It would be awesome, I am sure.


DR. CONSTANTINE
Who is He: He just happens to be on board, and just happens to have had no opportunity to commit the murder. He becomes third wheel to Bouc and Poirot after examing the body. Serves as coroner.

Quote: "In my professional opinion, the murderer is with us now."

Originally played by:

George Coulouris (Citizen Kane, Papillon)

My Choice: SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (My Big Fat Greek Wedding)

Michael Constantine (Don't Drink the Water, Thinner)
Yes, Constantine as Constantine. But Michael Constantine is a great character actor who knows when to take center stage and when to back off. He has a stern, professional look about him (not pictured), but has the humor the good doctor needs.


PIERRE MICHEL
Who is He: Conductor of the Orient Express, he is stationed in the Calais coach. The very coach, that is, where Ratchett is murdered.

Quote: "Eh bien, M. Ratchett. Please to have pleasant dreams."

Originally played by:

Jean-Perre Cassel (Ready to Wear, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

My Choice:

Jean Reno (Leon: The Professional, The Da Vinci Code)
Reno is one my favorite French actors, as well as one of the most recognizable. Reno, to me, looks like the working everyman, the blue collar type. Reno also possesses a ceratin amount of gravitas. His Pierre Michel would be human and sympathetic.


The Passengers
COUNT ANDRENYI
Who is He: A Hungarian aristocrat and diplomat. Young, protective of his wife, looks great in a tux.

Originally played by:

Michael York (Romeo and Juliet, Cabaret)

My Choice:

Rodrigo Santoro (300, Love Actually)
This Brazilian actor has played Americans, Persians, Frenchies. Playing the young, sophisticated, fashionable Hungarian diplomat would be cool. He would get to do more than what American cinema has let him do thus far. Plus, imagine him sharing scenes with the next actor....


COUNTESS ANDRENYI
Who is She: The Count's beautiful wife, widely known for both her wonderful figure and her fashion sense.

Originally played by: Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy (Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?), Best Supporting Actress (Under the Volcano) and Most Promising Female Newcomer (The Sweet Ride)

Jacqueline Bisset (Casino Royale, Domino)

My Choice: Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (Monster), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Actress (Monster, North Country), Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress in a Drama (Monster), Razzie Award Nominee for Worst Actress (Sweet November), SAG Award Winner for Best Actress (Monster)

Charlize Theron (In the Valley of Elah, Hancock)
Though born in South Africa, we have seen Theron play American (The Cider House Rules), English (Arrested Development) and Swedish (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers). She is unquestionably beautiful, and that body -- DAMN! Why, she even played a supermodel in Woody Allen's Celebrity. There's this sad look about her sometimes, too, one that would be a great asset to this role.


COLONEL ARBUTHNOT
Who is He: A very English Englishman, reserved and stern. Yet he seems to be very familiar with Miss Debenham, calling her by her first name upon first seeing her, although he denies knowing her when questioned.

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor (The Untouchables), BAFTA Award Winner for Best Actor (The Name of the Rose), Golden Globe Winner for Best Supporting Actor (The Untouchables), Razzie Award Nominee for Worst Supporting Actor (The Avengers) and Worst Screen Couple (Entrapment, with Catherine Zeta-Jones)

Sean Connery (Goldfinger, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

My Choice: Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor (The English Patient) and Best Supporting Actor (Schindler's List), BAFTA Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor (Schindler's List), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actor in a Drama (The English Patient) and Best Supporting Actor (Schindler's List, The Duchess), Razzie Award Nominee for Worst Actor (The Avengers) and Worst Screen Couple (The Avengers, with Uma Thurman), SAG Award Nominee for Best Actor and Best Ensemble (The English Patient), Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (The Duchess)

Ralph Fiennes (Wallace and Gromit in: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Red Dragon)
Fiennes is considered sexy, so he could play that dashing aspect of the Colonel. For rest assured, the Colonel must be dashing. James Bond played him, after all. But, as seen in The Duchess, he can play up that British reserve (stiff upper lip and all that). Between you and me, I also believe he could add a touch of humor to the proceedings, very subtly. He's certainly done so in every movie I've ever seen him in.


MARY DEBENHAM
Who is She: Coming back from some secretarial work somewhere, Miss Debenham is pretty bad-ass. She is never ruffled, not even by Poirot's cleverness. When the Colonel calls her by her first name, she gets him to calm down. A mystery she is, this Miss Debenham.

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (Julia), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best British Actress (Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment) and Best Supporting Actress (Prick Up Your Ears), Golden Globe Winner for Best Supporting Actress (Julia)

Vanessa Redgrave (Howards End, Atonement)

My Choice: Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (The Constant Gardener), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Actress (The Constant Gardener), Golden Globe Winner for Best Supporting Actress (The Constant Gardener), SAG Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (The Constant Gardener)

Rachel Weisz (Runaway Jury, Envy)
Weisz can be cool and reserved. She has that mischeivous grin, though, that hints at a darker side. Seeing her stay calm while Poirot tries to spin circles 'round her would be mesmerizing.


PRINCESS DRAGOMIROFF
Who is She: An unsociable, ancient Russian princess. She is the godmother of Sophie Armstrong, mother of the dead daughter, Daisy. Her best friend is stage actress Linda Arden.

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (Separate Tables), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best British Actress (Sons and Lovers), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Separate Tables, Toys in the Attic)

Wendy Hiller (Pygmalion, A Man for All Seasons)

My Choice:

Danielle Darrieux (Persepolis, 8 Women)
I wish I had gotten a more regal picture, for she is rather royal-looking. Rightly so, too, given that she is one of France's greatest actresses. Now, they got an English broad to play a Russian, so I find nothing wrong in my finding a Frenchie for my version. Especially since, in the novel, she and Poirot converse in French. Darrieux is a great actress, and when I saw 8 Women, I knew she was a formidable presence, one who never lost sight of implications both tragic and humorous in a single line reading.


ANTONIO FOSCARELLI
Who is He: An Italian car salesman, vulgar and loud.

Originally played by:

Denis Quilley (Anne of the Thousand Days, Evil Under the Sun)

My Choice: Academy Award Winner for Best Actor (Life is Beautiful), BAFTA Award Winner for Best Actor (Life is Beautiful), DGA Award Nominee for Best Director (Life is Beautiful), Razzie Award Winner for Worst Actor (Pinocchio), SAG Award Winner for Best Actor (Life is Beautiful)

Roberto Benigni (Son of the Pink Panther, Coffee and Cigarettes)
It is time for his American comeback. I am serious. I love Life is Beautiful and think Benigni is able to capture something quite human within all his odd clowning around. As Foscarelli, his caricature would be his strength.


CYRUS HARDMAN
Who is He: An undercover detective working for Pinkerton's, he claims to also be working for Mr. Ratchett. Despite this guy, in addition to Poirot, the valet, and the secretary, Ratchett still gets it. You can't get good help these days.

Originally played by: BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Equus)

Colin Blakely (The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Evil Under the Sun)

My Choice: Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor (The People vs. Larry Flynt), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actor in a Drama (The People vs. Larry Flynt), Razzie Award Winner for Worst Supporting Actor (Indecent Proposal), SAG Award Winner for Best Ensemble (No Country for Old Men)

Woody Harrelson (A Prairie Home Companion, Anger Management)
Woody Harrelson is a good ol' boy. And Hardman is a laid-back, plain-speaking American. Look, they're een making the same face. I think, though, that harrelson could add a bit of smarminess to the role, something to pep it up a bit.


MRS. HUBBARD
Who is She: Your typical American tourist: loud, easily shocked, demanding, full of stories about her children.

Originally played by: Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (The Mirror Has Two Faces), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Actress (The Shootist) and Best Supporting Actress (The Mirror Has Two Faces), Golden Globe Winner for Best Supporting Actress (The Mirror Has Two Faces), SAG Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (The Mirror Has Two Faces)

Lauren Bacall (To Have and Have Not, Dogville)

My Choice: Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (Sophie's Choice) and Best Supporting Actress (Kramer vs. Kramer), BAFTA Award Winner for Best Actress (The French Lieutenant's Woman), Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress in a Drama (The French Lieutenant's Woman, Sophie's Choice), Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy (The Devil Wears Prada) and Best Supporting Actress (Kramer vs. Kramer, Adaptation.), SAG Award Winner for Best Actress (Doubt), Hollmann Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (A Prairie Home Companion)

Meryl Streep (Death Becomes Her, The River Wild)
I DO NOT NEED A REASON SHE IS AWESOME


HECTOR MACQUEEN
Who is He: Ratchett's secretary, he speaks French. He shares a compartment with Poirot the first night, but Poirot is moved to his own the next night. You know, that of the murder.

Originally played by: Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Friendly Persuasion), Golden Globe Winner for Most Promising Male Newcomer

Anthony Perkins (Psycho [1960], The Matchmaker)

My Choice:

Chris Messina (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Humboldt County)
A nice, unassuming fellow. Very professional, looks a little on edge. Yeah, he could play Hector. He's also young and trusting and American, so that helps.


EDWARD MASTERMAN
Who is He: Ratchett's valet. The proper English servant, he shows little surprise in learning his late master's true identity. Indeed, he shows little surprise at anything. The film named him Beddoes.

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor (Arthur), BAFTA Award Winner for Best British Actor (Julius Caesar) and Best Supporting Actor (Murder on the Orient Express), Golden Globe Winner for Best Supporting Actor (Arthur), SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (Shine)

John Gielgud (Elizabeth, Gandhi)

My Choice: SAG Award Winner for Best Ensemble (Gosford Park)

Charles Dance (Michael Collins, Ali G Indahouse)
Dance is a solid enough actor that he would approach this methodically and wonderfully. But he is also such a chameleon that he could disappear, just as a proper servant should. It helps that few in America really know who he is.


GRETA OHLSSON
Who is She: A high-strung, religious Swedish nurse. She is very nervous and superstitious.

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (Gaslight, Anastasia) and Best Supporting Actress (Murder on the Orient Express), BAFTA Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (Murder on the Orient Express), Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress (Gaslight, The Bells of St. Mary's, Anastasia)

Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca, Cactus Flower)

My Choice:

Maia Morgenstern (The Passion of the Christ, Orient Express [but not this one])
Morgenstern was amazing in Mel Gibson's Jesus flick. She has such sad eyes. The terror of the interrogation. The strictness of the religion. Perhaps the only thing that could be said against this casting is that Morgenstern is almost breathtakingly beautiful. of course, so was Ingrid Bergman, so slap some makeup on 'er, and she's good to go.


HILDEGARDE SCHMIDT
Who is She: Princess Dragomiroff's strict, humorless German lady's-maid.

Originally played by: Academy Award Nominee for Best Actress (This Sporting Life), BAFTA Award Winner for Best British Actress (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, This Sporting Life) and Best Supporting Actress (Yanks), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actress in a Drama (This Sporting Life)

Rachel Roberts (A Flea in Her Ear, O Lucky Man)

My Choice:

Suzanne von Borsody (Run Lola Run, Joy Division)


HERCULE POIROT
Who is He: Master detective. According to Sparknotes: "A retired Belgian police officer. Poirot is Christie's most famous detective and is known for his short stature and long, curly moustache. Poirot is very intelligent, extremely aware and instinctual and is a brilliant detective."

Orginally played by: Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor (Tom Jones, Murder on the Orient Express, The Dresser, Under the Volcano) and Best Supporting Actor (Erin Brockovich), BAFTA Award Winner for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning), Golden Globe Winner for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy (Scrooge) and Most Promising Male Newcomer (Tom Jones), SAG Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor (Erin Brockovich) and Best Ensemble (Traffic)

Albert Finney (Big Fish, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)

My Choice: Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy (Yentl)

Mandy Patinkin (The Princess Bride, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland)
I'm just gonna say this: mustache. End of story.