Death, Deceit And Destiny Aboard The Orient Express
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''Death, Deceit and Destiny Aboard the Orient Express'' is a 2000
thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
about a group of international
terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
who, a few days before the start of the new millennium, lure a group of very rich celebrities and businesspeople on board the
Orient Express The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger luxury train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe, w ...
from
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
in order to extort large sums of money from them. The
screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
for the movie was written by Peter Welbeck (aka
Harry Alan Towers Harry Alan Towers (19 October 1920 – 31 July 2009) was a British radio and independent film producer and screenwriter. He wrote numerous screenplays for the films he produced, often under the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over 80 f ...
) and Peter Jobin. The film, which was directed by Mark Roper, starred
Richard Grieco Richard John Grieco Jr. (born March 23, 1965) is an American actor, artist, and former fashion model. He played Detective Dennis Booker in the popular Fox series ''21 Jump Street'' (1988–89) and its spin-off ''Booker'' (1989–90). He has a ...
, Joanna Bukovska,
Romina Mondello Romina Mondello (born 1 March 1974) is an Italian actress and television personality. Life and career Born in Rome, Italy, at young age Mondello attended a theater workshop under the stage director Candido Coppetelli and studied singing and c ...
,
Christoph Waltz Christoph Waltz (; born 4 October 1956) is an Austrian and German actor. Primarily active in the United States, he gained international recognition for his portrayal of villainous and supporting roles in English-language films. His accolades i ...
,
Sendhil Ramamurthy Sendhil Amithab Ramamurthy (born May 17, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as geneticist Mohinder Suresh in the NBC sci-fi drama '' Heroes'' (2006–2010), Jai Wilcox in ''Covert Affairs'' (2010–2012), Gabriel "Gabe" ...
and Götz Otto.


Plot

When an anonymous benefactor invites a party of celebrities and business magnates to a New Year's celebration aboard the Orient Express, it is the guests' greed which brings them all together. Apart from an enjoyable free trip on the luxury train, the businessmen among the passengers also expect to make a lucrative deal. However, just outside Paris the whole train is taken over by terrorists—without anybody noticing. Jack Chase (Richard Grieco), a young American actor who has also been invited, realizes that one of the waiters is missing but does not know that he has been killed together with all his colleagues. Very soon the passengers sense that something is wrong. For example, a powerful jamming station on board the train ensures that they cannot contact the outside world via their
mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
s. Then, before dinner, they get to know their host: It is Tarik (Christoph Waltz), a well-known, internationally wanted
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
terrorist, who communicates with them via interactive television. Tarik announces the "
Fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
", the "victory of
faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...
over
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
", and demands one tenth of each of his hostages' fortunes. Tarik himself is in fact on the train disguised as a cook, but no one has so far found out. The captives also learn that the terrorists have rigged the train with explosives: If the train slows, stops or passes the midnight hour the bombs are rigged to blow. Predictably, the passengers try to do something about their predicament. While the businessmen ponder the question of whether to pay up or not, it is the women who take an active part in fighting the terrorists, most notably Nadia (Joanna Bukovska), a young
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n dancer who has fallen in love with Chase and who even saves his life when he is attacked by one of the thugs. The couple secretly climb on the roof of the train and succeed in finding some of the explosives. In the end, shortly before their arrival in Istanbul, the
locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...
, with Tarik in it, is uncoupled from the rest of the train and blown to pieces by the bombs planted by the terrorist himself.


Themes

Although the film was released long before the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, the character of Tarik is a thinly disguised
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
. There are also some minor but obvious parallels to the
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
film ''
Murder on the Orient Express ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the U ...
'', which is based on an
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
novel. These parallels almost exclusively concern the setting and the constellation of characters: There are no similarities whatsoever regarding the plot.


Cast

*
Richard Grieco Richard John Grieco Jr. (born March 23, 1965) is an American actor, artist, and former fashion model. He played Detective Dennis Booker in the popular Fox series ''21 Jump Street'' (1988–89) and its spin-off ''Booker'' (1989–90). He has a ...
as Jack Chase *
Nicky Henson Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson (12 May 1945 – 15 December 2019) was a British actor. Early life Henson was born in London, the son of Harriet Martha (née Collins) and comedian Leslie Henson, a few days after VE Day, hence his middle name, Vi ...
as Tom Finlay *
Barry Flatman Barry Flatman (born March 12, 1950) is a Canadian actor. He began his career as a member of the comedy troupe Homemade Theatre Company, with whom he appeared on the CBC Television sketch comedy series '' Stay Tuned'' (1976–1977). Flatman later ...
as Reid Archer * Jennifer Nitsch as Rita Evans * Lou Hirsch as Fred Wallace * Gotz Otto as Boris *
Romina Mondello Romina Mondello (born 1 March 1974) is an Italian actress and television personality. Life and career Born in Rome, Italy, at young age Mondello attended a theater workshop under the stage director Candido Coppetelli and studied singing and c ...
as Klara *
Christoph Waltz Christoph Waltz (; born 4 October 1956) is an Austrian and German actor. Primarily active in the United States, he gained international recognition for his portrayal of villainous and supporting roles in English-language films. His accolades i ...
as Tarik * Yoanna Boukovska as Nadia * Hunter Phoenix as Natasha * Nina Muschallik as Polly *
Sendhil Ramamurthy Sendhil Amithab Ramamurthy (born May 17, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as geneticist Mohinder Suresh in the NBC sci-fi drama '' Heroes'' (2006–2010), Jai Wilcox in ''Covert Affairs'' (2010–2012), Gabriel "Gabe" ...
as Nikki * Jana Karaivanova as Imogen * Anjela Lauren Smith as Nora *
Hristo Shopov Hristo Naumov Shopov (, ; born 4 January 1964) is a Bulgarian actor. Shopov's father, Naum Shopov, was a famous Bulgarian actor as well. He is most noted for his 2004 portrayal of Pontius Pilate in Mel Gibson's ''The Passion of the Christ''. S ...
as Chief Du Train * Dechko Chuntov as Terrorist Leader * Ilian Simeonov as Terrorist * Delyan Dabov as Evil Barman * Antonio Milenov as Evil Steward #1 * Emil Videv as Evil Steward #2 * Michail Elenov as Evil Steward #3 * Hristo Paskalev as Evil Waiter #1 * Daniel Tzotchev as Evil Waiter #2 * Petia as Girl #1 * Rada as Girl #2


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Death, Deceit And Destiny Aboard The Orient Express Canadian thriller films Bulgarian thriller films 2000 films English-language Canadian films English-language Bulgarian films Films about terrorism Films about hostage taking Films shot in Bulgaria Films set on the Orient Express Films scored by Stelvio Cipriani 2000s English-language films Films directed by Mark Roper 2000s Canadian films