Death on the Nile (1978)
I have been hearing this funny line everywhere - Denial is a river in Egypt." After I was done watching this particular film, I was laughing a little bit since both De and Nile were there in the title and there were some denials there too. Yesterday, I wrote about Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and today I'm back with the sequel Death on the Nile (1978). And again I watched the remake before I watched the old film, so no wild guesses there why I chose the latter. Let's dive into the Nile.
Death on the Nile (1978)
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My love for murder mysteries is immense and as much as I talk about it isn't enough to explain exactly how much I enjoy them. Suffice it to say, I feel the thrill just as much as I feel the disappointment. I enjoy quite a few of them whereas others let me down easily. It's not just murder mysteries but also detective stories. And I wasn't going to miss out on the great detective Hercule Poirot. Though some of the time I can't quite put my finger down on how he concluded it's a genius move how all the puzzles eventually fit perfectly together.
This sequel is just as packed with great actors as its prequel and the characters are played beautifully. In the beginning, some of the characters felt as if there were sardines packed into a tin can but in the end, it all helped with the story or shall I say, the misdirection. So many of the characters acted as bait or diversion that I was confused - it was a good type of confusion. When I can't figure out how the murder took place till the end, I call it a good mystery. Let's not mention that the film is set in Egypt, the land of pharaohs. A detective story in a place full of visual wonders, mixed with the right amount of suspense, thrill, and chase; the result is fabulous.
The antagonist of the film, Jacqueline de Bellefort, had such an obsession that although during most of the film, she could only be seen as just a run-in-the-mill bad guy or a jealous ex-girlfriend, I could only feel sympathy towards her for a brief moment. The sympathy was gone in a flash. But I can say that the antagonist had so much dominance in the overall plot that she could believably be the protagonist.
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While I sat through the 2022 remake a few months back, I didn't quite enjoy it much. Needless to say, I was looking forward to being wowed and it didn't deliver. After watching the 1978 version, I ended up believing that some films shouldn't be remade. The plot had a level of drama and theatrics that just didn't suit this time and era. The amount of obsession and greed although on par with our time but there's something that didn't feel right with the remake. Perhaps some things are better suited for the past? Maybe. But if you have watched the latest version and not the old one, you have no idea what you have skipped out.
Death on the Nile has become one of my top favorite murder mystery films.
Posted using CineTV