cjconnoy *** This review contains spoilers ***Death on the Nile is my favorite Poirot so far. 10/10.A desperate love affair, timeless Egypt, and Hercule Poirot. We see Jacqueline's fateful love for Simon drive her to manifest their perfect life together - they are beyond the world.It felt so intimate to see Poirot's vulnerability when he admits to Jacqueline that he's missed out on ever knowing true love. It was even better when this was paid off during his interaction with Colonel Race at the end of the story. Great non-verbal acting.It's easy to end up feeling sorry for Jacqueline and Simon while also blaming them for throwing their lives away. You feel both haunted and grateful to see them happily dancing in the final flashback scene (or maybe they're together forever in the hereafter). Dialog, acting, costumes, locale, and music - it all comes together in Death on the Nile.

bensonmum2 Pithy plot summary: It's Agatha Christie, which means that someone is murdered in an elaborate manner and it's up to Poirot to find the killer. Oh, and it takes place on a boat on the Nile.As hard as I try, every time I watch the 2004 version of Death on the Nile, I can't do it without comparing it to the 1978 version. It's impossible. And the newer film, in my opinion, doesn't measure-up. While there are a number of things I could write about, there are two main areas where the newer Death on the Nile pales in comparison. Acting – with two exceptions, the actors in this film are not the world-class actors in the 1978 movie. Don't get me wrong, the actors here are fine – there aren't any poor performances. But they're not Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Maggie Smith, David Niven, or Jane Birkin. The two exceptions I mentioned are David Suchet and David Soul. As much as I like the 1978 movie, Peter Ustinov never really feels like Poirot. And, as much as I love George Kennedy, Soul is a better fit in the role.Tone – the newer film has a much darker, brooding feel to it that the earlier movie. As a result the newer movie's just not as much fun or enjoyable. This really hurts the 2004 production. The 1978 movie actually has quite a bit of comedy in it, but not enough to take away from the serious nature of the subject matter. Even other episode in the Agatha Christie's Poirot series have a lighter touch to them that would have worked much better here. That's not to say it's a bad movie, there's really a lot here to like. I've already mentioned the two Davids – Suchet and Soul. There's also some incredibly beautiful cinematography, nice costuming, and interesting locations. It's also as faithful to the significant plot points found in Christie's book as the earlier movie. On the whole, the good and bad just about negate each other and I rate it a 5/10.

grantss Hercule Poirot is on holiday in Egypt. Part of his travels includes a trip down the Nile on a passenger boat. On board are a mixed selection of characters. Most notable is a wealthy heiress, Linnet Ridgeway, and her husband, Simon Doyle. Also on board is the woman Mr Doyle left for Ms Ridgeway, Jacqueline De Bellefort. In revenge for Ms Ridgeway stealing the love of her life, Ms De Bellefort has been openly following Ms Ridgeway around and generally irritating her. One night, Ms De Bellefort, in a fit of anger and jealousy, shoots and wounds Mr Doyle. The next morning Ms Ridgeway is found murdered, shot through the head. However, the only two possible suspects - Ms De Bellefort and Mr Doyle - have perfect alibis and could not possibly have killed her. Who did then?Intriguing murder mystery, with a great twist. Not as good as the 1978 Peter Ustinov version - that had more atmosphere, better cinematography and generally was more entertaining - but the differences in quality are not large.Supporting cast includes Edward Fox, David Soul and Emily Blunt.

thirstyfriend : First of all, this is an Agatha Christie must. Reading the book is the most effective thing you could do if you really want to take part in the story. Now about the movie, I must say I'm not exactly thrilled about it and here are the positive and negative features.POSITIVE: the script was well written (with only small flaws), the music was appropriate, the scenery was amazing (I have to say I was even taken away from the story by the wonderful views of Egypt), and there were some wonderful actors in this episode. Suchet is brilliant as always and I really enjoyed seeing the likes of James Fox and Frances de la Tour. I think Emily Blunt/Linett did OK and i loved the acting of JJ Feild as Simon Doyle as he gave the character a certain subtlety and substance unseen before.The ending was truly magnificent: with the departure from the boat and the flashback.There was also a lot of emphasis on Poirot's feelings, and i think this was amazing as we don't usually see this coming from him.NEGATIVE: I really, really didn't like the actress playing Jacqueline de Bellefort. She seemed way too cold and hard and in my opinion she tried to hard. Never have i felt that she could do what she did out of love, but out of pure sadistic pleasure.I just didn't think she was the Jacqueline Agatha Christie had in mind. Another negative aspect was that, unlike other episodes, it tried to make obvious from the beginning who the culprit was, so as to probably let the viewer to digest the information more easily, without finding it hocus-pocus, but that's the main point of Hercule Poirot' mysteries.All in all, it was pretty good, that's why I'm giving it an 8. But if you want the real Death on the Nile, then read the book.