Kino Lorber prepares 50th anniversary edition of “Murder on the Orient Express”

Kirk Sanderson

19 September 2024

On September 24th, the Lorber cinema will release a 50th anniversary edition of the Agatha Christie crime classic. Murder on the Orient Express in a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Disc combo package.

The 1974 British crime thriller was directed by Sidney Lumet (The twelve jurors) and is based on the crime novel by the famous author Christie from 1934.

In the film, Albert Finney plays the elegant detective Hercule Poirot, for whom solving a murder case is a precise, intellectual exercise. After an American millionaire is killed aboard the famous Calais carriage of the Orient Express, Poirot agrees to question everyone on board in the hope of solving the case before the local police arrive. Among the suspects: Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Roberts, Richard Widmark and Michael York.

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Murder on the Orient Express received six Oscar nominations, with Ingrid Bergman winning Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the somewhat slow-witted Swedish missionary who quotes from the Bible.

The 4K transfer comes from a new HDR/Dolby Vision master from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative on a triple-layer UHD100 disc with 5.1 surround and lossless 2.0 stereo audio. Extras include a new audio commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson.

The Blu-ray Disc transfer is from a new HD master from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative on a dual-layer BD50 disc, also with 5.1 surround and lossless 2.0 stereo audio. Extras include the same new audio commentary, plus a 48-minute making-of documentary, an interview with producer Richard Goodwin, a featurette on Christie, and the original theatrical trailer.