Press materials of the film “Death on the Nile” from Galapagos Films
Reliable Belgian detective Hercules Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) plans to spend an exotic Egyptian vacation aboard a luxury steamboat. But when gloomy events interrupt the idyllic mood of a couple’s honeymoon, the journey turns into a frantic search for a murderer. Set in a desert scenery , Death on the Nile , with a stunning view of the pyramids and a star-studded cast, is an adaptation of the timeless novel by Agatha Christie from 1937. A dark tale of obsessive love and jealousy meanders mysteriously like a river, preventing viewers from guessing the ending until its shocking finale.
Press materials of the film “Death on the Nile” from Galapagos Films
When Branagh and Green started thinking about another movie based on Christie’s novel, one of the title ideas kept coming back – Death on the Nile .
The hunger for sex in this novel is overwhelming, people lose their heads in pursuit of it. The desire for physical gratification becomes so dangerous that it is close to crime, says Branagh. – It is the most disturbing book by this author. It presents a thin layer of refinement, sex appeal, luxury and romance, under which there is always fragility, uncertainty, danger and confusion.
The filmmakers managed to hire two relatives of the famous writer: Mathew Prichard and James Prichard, representing the Agatha Christie Foundation. They have been an invaluable resource when it comes to understanding the writer’s personal attitude towards this particular novel.
We were lucky to get to know a lot about this human layer, which is one of the elements of the success of her work, explains Branagh. – Christie not only created complicated puzzles, she created real people.
By adapting a novel rich in complexities and characters into a screenplay, the filmmakers dug their way through the plot in search of key elements that should be expanded and developed.
This book is well written, Green admits. – This is one of Agatha Christie’s best prose works, it has a great plot with a great solution. It makes a great impression.
But the most important task that the screenwriter set himself was to develop the themes of love and jealousy:
We stubbornly returned to these feelings, exploring them so that each of our characters was involved in them – explains Green. “In the case of Agatha Christie’s novel, a good procedure is to introduce to the fringes of the main plot of interesting people who do not fall within the circle of suspicion,” he continues. – As a result, the scenario was slightly adjusted, increasing the importance of some characters at the expense of others so that they became more cinematic, because each of them must have a potential motive and the possibility of committing a crime.
Ultimately, Death on the Nile is a story of infatuation and betrayal, set against the backdrop of a carefree Egypt tour on a luxury ship. However, when the idyllic mood is interrupted by a tragic event and the idyll turns into a search for the murderer, they are headed by one of the participants in a cruise on the Nile, the reliable Hercules Poirot.
Press materials of the film “Death on the Nile” from Galapagos Films
In this role, we can once again see the director of the film – Kenneth Branagh, and next to him also Gal Gadot ( Wonder Woman ) in the role of Linnet Ridgeway, a joyful, stylish and disgustingly rich heiress coming from a prominent and respectable family, or Armi Hammer ( Those days those nights ) as the unemployed but handsome and naturally graceful Simon Doyle who is in love with Jackie de Bellefort, played here by Emma Mackey ( Sex Education ).
Wonderful actors perform against the backdrop of equally magnificent scenery, which consists of the fantastic interiors of the Aswan Hotel Cataract, Egyptian temples, or of course the majestic SS Karnak steamer traversing this amazing exotic world. All these decorations were made with great care in such a way as to maintain the highest possible level of realism. The action of the film takes place in the 1930s in Egypt and all buildings consciously draw from the style of this era. The huge ship was in fact over 70 meters long, which made a huge impression on the actors appearing in the film. This is why Keneth Branagh decided to take advantage of their spontaneous reaction and included in the film the actual moment of the actors’ first boarding, as he himself says:
There is joy on their faces, as in children who are about to open their Christmas presents.
The ability to see it all on the screen is slightly less impressive. The combination of this colorful but realistic image, fantastic acting and an extraordinary story invented by the master of a crime novel gives an extraordinary effect, and following this story becomes an extraordinary pleasure.
Press materials of the film “Death on the Nile” from Galapagos Films
The film Death on the Nile debuted in Polish cinemas on February 11, 2022. Over 200,000 viewers watched it. It will be released on Blu-ray ™ and DVD on July 27th.
Special Features in the BLU-RAY ™ Edition:
- Death on the Nile : From Novel to Film
- Agatha Christie: Traveling can be deadly
- Building the world on the Branagh / Poirot Nile
- Unused scenes
You can watch the Harbinger of Death on the Nile here :
