Behind the scenes on Death on the Nile
Interviews with cast and crew (excerpt)
Kevin Elyot (screenplay) on Poirot: “What appeals to me about him is that he’s a foreigner, an outsider, a refugee in a very class-ridden and snobbish and xenophobic society. That instantly gives any situation he’s in an edge, and I found that very full of potential dramatically.”
Margaret Mitchell (producer): “Death on the Nile is one of Agatha Christies probably, well, one of two of her best-known novels, that and Murder on the Orient Express, and the wonderful script that Kevin Elyot has written... gave me a tremendous sense of responsibility... and I hope the production values and everything that has been brought together for this particular film, hopefully, will live up to peoples expectations.”
Suchet: “We’ve got a lot of comedy from Agatha Christie in the book with the [?] eccentricities of the characters and you got three murders... so it’s a heavy story as far as death is concern. And it’s a light story as far as characterization is concerned in terms of the mention of the eccentricities. And what she [Christie] does in the book, which is clever, is juggle the two constantly. And that’s what we hopefully are doing here”.
Suchet on Poirot: “This is the character, the only fictional character that I’m aware of, that received front page news on the New York Times, an obit in the New York Times, when Agatha Christie killed him off! So what is it about this man, both in his literary [?] and in the television version that is so captivating - it’s got to be him, it can’t just be the stories, it’s got to be this incredible creation by Agatha Christie and I just feel enormously proud and very thrilled to be able to take on the mantle of that role.”
Emily Blunt (Linnet) on Linnet: “She is very cold... She’s ruthless, she’s been brought up to be ruthless with everybody she meets. Poirot, I think, is the one character that actually unsettles Linnet. She’s sort of unshakeable before she meets him, and I think it’s because he just sees straight through her, he knows exactly what she’s about, doesn’t like what she’s about, makes it apparent but in a nicest possible way, because he’s a gentleman, but he’s on to her...“
Emma Malin (Jacqueline): “The books are still fresh, it keeps you getting to the last page, it’s a wonderful way to kind of loose yourself... If I feel a bit depressed, there’s nothing like dipping into an Agatha Christie, loosing yourself in the characters.”
David Soul (Andrew Pennington): “To be here is a wonder. To realise that you are such a small and insignificant part of an incredible history, you can’t even imagine 4000 years of civilisation and be here. Here we are sitting on the Nile, so to film here is secondary to being here.”
Judy Parfitt (Miss van Schuyler): “People always love a who-dunnit, and she [Christie] always peoples it with these extraordinary eccentric characters. I think people love Poirot and Miss Marple... I suppose because they are very precise people in an imprecise world... they are safe and secure, and maybe people like that too, I don’t know... ”
Judy Parfitt on Suchet: “Occasionally there comes a part in some lucky actor’s life that they are meant to play. And I think David was completely meant to play this part. You can’t imagine anybody else playing it, he’s just absolutely perfect.”
James Fox (Colonel Race) on Suchet: “He’s so fastidious, isn’t he, he’s got that sort of prissy thing and brilliance and [his] brain is working at 90 miles an hour. He’s an actor of tremendous precision as well... Experience and profession makes it all look very easy, but it’s clockwork. He’s a well-oiled machine and a delightful man, of course, very different in life to Poirot.”
Barbara Flynn on Suchet: “I think David is definitive as Poirot and this makes it very exciting... He’s very detailed on certain matters, always interesting to work with and alongside.”
Behind the scenes - screenshots
Director and producer behind the camera...
Barbara Flynn getting make-up before shooting a scene in the desert...
One of the blocks used in a scene at the Temple of Dendera...
The famous moustaches...
Silence, s'il vous plait...
Voila!
Every detail matters... Poirot has to be spotless and dustfree, even in the desert...
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