ITV and Boston Public Television made this documentary as a full one hour feature film. It was a safe venture for the subject and the considerable interest there would be among Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot fans.
"David Suchet on the Orient Express" almost says it all. Well, the acclaimed actor with the epitome persona of Poirot hosts viewers on the modern Orient Express, and he pays a lot of attention to the recreated original designs, art work and furnishings of the luxurious cars that the most famous European train had.
The scenery is quite good, and the aerial photography of the train along its route adds more to the sense of adventure that a ride on the train would have been in the early to mid-20th century. A fascinating aspect of this documentary was learning about the switching of crews during the three and a half day journey from London to Istanbul. What is most interesting though, was the change in engines that pull and push the train, in each of the respective countries it passes through.
Suchet meets and visits with various members of the crews during his trip - from the stewards to the chefs, and the train managers along the way. For this special film, the new company that operates the restored Orient Express turned out the welcome mat for Suchet, aka Poirot, in a few places along the journey. It's a very interesting and enjoyable travel feature.
One learns about the interruption of the train during World War I and then World War II. And, of the great snowstorm and blockage of the train for many days in 1929. That served as an inspiration for Agatha Christie in the writing of her novel based on the Orient Express. Of course, Christie and her archaeologist second husband rode the Orient Express, probably more than once when he traveled to work on digs in the Middle East.
The only catch about this film is that it didn't go the full route of the Express from London to Istanbul. Instead, from Venice, Suchet rode the leg they joins the main line there, back up to Prague where that train originated and where the actor called it quits. A one-way ticket on the Orient Express in 2022 from London to Istanbul would cost just over $23,000. The film doesn't say that, but a quick check on the Internet brought it up.
