Author: Xu Shanshan
Recently, the first imported blockbuster in the Year of the Tiger, “The Massacre on the Nile”, was released in mainland China. This is the third time that Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name has been remade into a film and television drama.
“Murder on the Nile” (2022) poster.
“Murder on the Nile” (1978) poster.
As the world-renowned “queen of mystery novels”, Agatha Christie is a big IP with its own traffic, and has attracted the attention of readers and fans around the world. However, after the new version of “The Massacre on the Nile” is released in mainland China in 2022, the current word of mouth and box office are not as good as expected, but instead aroused many viewers’ nostalgia for the original novel and the 1978 version of the film of the same name.
Undercurrents lurking under the Nile
“What is the most common motive for murder, M. Poirot?” “Money is the most common, that is to say, for various interests. Then there is revenge, and then there is love, fear, sheer hate…” This It is a dialogue between Mrs. Allerton and the great detective Poirot in the novel “The Massacre on the Nile”.
“The Massacre on the Nile” is a novel written by Agatha Christie. It was first published in November 1937 and is regarded by many readers as a classic work of “Apo” (Chinese readers’ nickname for Agatha Christie). Lynette, a beautiful young girl, has a huge fortune. She fell in love with her friend Jacqueline’s fiance Simon, and quickly married. The newlyweds started their honeymoon in Egypt. On the luxury cruise ship “Karnak” on the Nile, Lynette was shot dead in her sleep, and the expensive pearl necklace on the table disappeared. Who is the real murderer who killed her? What was the murderer’s motive? The contradictions and relationships of many characters are intertwined, like the undercurrent lurking under the calm Nile River.
The case of “Murder on the Nile” took place in a relatively confined space – a luxury cruise ship. Everyone on the cruise appears to have a murderous motive. This relatively closed space has appeared many times in Agatha Christie’s writings. It is the luxury train that stopped in the heavy snow in “Murder on the Orient Express”, the Finley Manor in “Roger Mystery”, and the “Murder on the Orient Express”. Mr. Shatana’s house in Hole Cards…
So, how do you rip through the intricate mix of characters and relationships to find the real culprit? Poirot once explained his case-solving process: “I sifted through all the facts. You know, it’s like having a bunch of jigsaw puzzle pieces at hand, irrelevant, seemingly prosaic details that have to be used. Fragments make up a perfect picture.” In “Murder on the Nile”, these fragments include jealous and resentful rivals, boulders that fell from the sky while visiting temples, missing expensive pearl necklaces, A never-ending maid, an unexpected property broker, etc. Following in Poirot’s footsteps, the audience joins in this “jigsaw puzzle” on the Nile.
A third adaptation of the Agatha classic
“The Massacre on the Nile” is similar to the plot of many detective mystery novels, including the accidental death of the rich, huge inheritance, love and betrayal, serial murders, endless conspiracies, seemingly perfect alibi, etc. There is also a big detective who stands by and hides from the sidelines. The ups and downs of the novel and the suspenseful storyline have whetted the reader’s appetite. What is the effect of the film adaptation?
In 1978, the novel “The Massacre on the Nile” was first put on the big screen, with a very strong cast, including several Oscar winners. In 1979, China introduced this blockbuster, and the dubbing actors of Shanghai Film Studio, such as Bi Ke, Ding Jianhua and Tong Zirong, dubbed the film, which has become a classic memory in the hearts of generations of Chinese people.
This film, released more than 40 years ago, focuses on the whole process of reasoning and solving cases and the subtle twists and turns of human nature, and restores Poirot’s reasoning clues throughout the process. At the same time, famous Egyptian attractions such as the Nile River, Pyramids, Karnak Temple, Abu Simbel Temple and other famous Egyptian attractions and scenes of local market life were displayed. When Poirot and others traveled on the banks of the Nile, many hawkers came forward to sell the scenes and travel experiences such as the characters riding donkeys and camels in the play, all originated from the experience of Agatha Christie, who likes to travel around the world.
In 2004, ITV filmed the third episode of the ninth season of the TV series “Detective Poirot” – “Murder on the Nile”, starring David Suchet as the great detective Poirot.
The above two adaptations have been recognized by many book and movie fans of Agatha Christie, and currently have high scores of 8.5 and 8.4 on Douban.
In 2022, the film “Murder on the Nile” directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot and others will be released, which is Kenneth Branagh’s second Played Poirot. The film currently has a Douban score of 6.0, and it has been released for 8 days, and the box office in mainland China is less than 54 million yuan. Five years ago, Kenneth Branagh directed the film “Murder on the Orient Express” based on Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name, in which he played the detective Poirot for the first time.
Why is the classic remake cold?
Why is the 2022 version of “The Massacre on the Nile” cold in mainland China? Some viewers believe that compared with the film of the same name released in 1978, the new version of the film reduces the appearance of some characters, lacks suspenseful colors, and has too long foreshadowing and too little reversal. Some media commented that the film was “a boat full of novice ‘script kills'”, and some media even thought that “The Massacre on the Nile” became a massacre.
Agatha Christie’s works have many fans all over the world, they are very familiar with her works, and many audiences already know the case and the real murderer in advance. Therefore, adapting her classic novel that has already been “spoiled” into a movie is faced with the problem of how to create more movie viewing pleasure.
The 2022 version of “Murder on the Nile” adds a piece of Poirot’s battlefield experience and emotional history to the title, and explains why he grows a beard. The calm, thoughtful and wise detective in the book is portrayed as a somewhat impulsive character, and some audiences do not agree with such an adaptation. They consider unnecessary character histories to be drowsy and ineffective in shaping characters.
In addition, the shaping of the main characters is insufficient. Compared with the old version, the new version of the film has insufficient depiction of the main line of the emotional entanglement of Lynette, Jacqueline and Simon, making it difficult for the audience to have more empathy for their experiences and choices.
In fact, Agatha Christie is full of compassion and sympathy for the protagonist who is caught in an emotional entanglement, and depicts a thought-provoking love elegy in the book. “Just as we start our journey on this boat, so you start your own journey—over turbulent currents, among dangerous rocks, into inauspicious waters…” Poirot reminds Jacqueline in the book Stop indulging in this emotional predicament. “If a person misses an opportunity, he will make another mistake, and there is no second chance.” As Agatha Christie’s novel “The Long Night” reminds , “People often don’t know the really important moments in their lives-until it’s too late.” However, Jacqueline, who blindly invested in this hopeless love, eventually inevitably went to the road of no return, such a fate The tragedy is even more embarrassing. (Xu Shanshan)
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责编：崔益明 ]