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44 out of 48 people found the following review useful: A Comedy-Suspense Masterpiece!, 18 January 2005 Author: Brandt Sponseller from New York City
Eccentric millionaire Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) invites five of the world's greatest detectives, each allowed one guest, to dinner and a murder. Can the detectives, who turn out to be even more eccentric, stop the murder before it happens, and solve it if it does?I first saw this film as a kid in 1976 with my parents at the theater. Although I could remember I liked it at the time, I hadn't seen it since, and it was at best a vague memory. I certainly didn't remember it being so hilarious and entertaining. Written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore, Murder By Death is a very funny spoof of some of literature/filmdom's most famous detectives, set in a beautifully designed, creepy mansion, and at times, becoming a fine mystery film in its own right.The jokes fly by very quickly and range from subtle to over-the-top, so attentiveness is required, and multiple viewings are rewarded. The cast is incredible, as you should expect by combining such luminaries as Peter Sellers, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, James Coco and David Niven.A comic masterpiece--10 out of 10 from me.
32 out of 34 people found the following review useful: Crazy comedy-mystery, 26 February 2001 Author: jhaggardjr from Chicago, Illinois
"Murder by Death" is a comic murder-mystery done in absolute lunacy. I mean this is one screwball comedy that made me laugh out loud quite often. And yet, there are so many confusing moments that I didn't know what on earth was going on. It seems that writer Neil Simon was trying to complicate moviegoers with his screenplay to this movie which pays homage to detectives of old classic movies such as Charlie Chan, Miss Marple, Sam Spade, and Hercule Poirot. In "Murder by Death", a mysterious man invites the 5 greatest detectives to his home for "dinner and a murder" as he describes it. An all-star cast is featured here and all of them are very funny. The best: Peter Sellers in the Charlie Chan take-off. Sellers is of course best known for playing the inept Inspector Clouseau in the "Pink Panther" movies, but his role here as Chinese detective Sidney Wang is a hoot. He made me laugh the hardest. Just looking at him made me laugh. The way he talked made me laugh. He's naturally funny everytime he's on screen. Also funny: the great Sir Alec Guinness as a blind butler. I thought he was supposed to be a serious actor! I don't think I've ever seen Guinness in a movie comedy, but he makes the most of his character here. He comes second behind Sellers in the laugh department in "Murder by Death". Two other funny performances are turned in by James Coco and James Cromwell ("Babe" and "L.A. Confidential") as the Hercule Poirot sendoff and his chauffeur. It's funny to watch a younger Cromwell here speaking with a bad European accent. David Niven, Maggie Smith, Peter Falk, Eileen Brennan, Elsa Lanchester, and Nancy Walker also register laughs too. But the most downright goofiest character in "Murder by Death" is the host orchestrating this crazy game, played by Truman Capote. He's very funny too. Another major factor in the film are the sets of the old mansion the movie takes place in. They're marvelous. But at times the story gets real complicated and seems to get parts dislocated. It bothered me a little the first time I saw this. Now I just sit back and let the movie play on. Neil Simon intended on this to be a crazy comedy and in that way he succeeded. "Murder by Death" is all-in-all a very enjoyable movie.*** (out of four)
30 out of 32 people found the following review useful: One of my all time top 10 films, 13 March 2004 Author: LauraAS from Surrey, England
An amazing ensemble cast who must have all had their tongues most firmly planted in their cheeks to produce their performances in this highly amusing murder mystery spoof.By incorporating plots and characters from your favourite classic crime genres and gently poking fun at them all it is both funny and comfortingly familiar.So if you want great visual gags (blind butler, deaf maid), superb one liners (especially from Maggie Smith & David Niven) and to escape for 90 minutes back into the gentler, less realistic Golden Age of Crime then you need look no further.If only there were outtakes.
32 out of 36 people found the following review useful: Great Comic Ensemble Piece, 13 June 2004 Author: fx_gent from Fairfax, VA
This movie is a wonderful example of what you can achieve when you combine a great script with a fantastic cast. It is one of the great comic ensemble films, ranking up there along with Its a Mad, Mad, Mad World and Clue. I have loved this film since I first saw it back in the 70s and still find it just as funny today. I had hoped for sometime that a special DVD would be released to mark this film and allow us to know more about how it was made and hear comments from the surviving cast. Sadly, the DVD does have a great interview with Neil Simon, but nothing else. I was also disappointed to see absent missing scenes, especially the one showing Sherlock Holmes showing up at the end. Still, it was great to retire my dogeared video tape.
31 out of 38 people found the following review useful: Silly Films, 24 December 2004 Author: otm___shank (otm___shank@hotmail.com) from London
I will make myself out to be a lover of films with absolutely no point, i especially love this film. The cast alone should make this a film on everyones watch list, never before has so much quality been brought together on one screen. Peter Sellars, at the height of his comic brilliance. Sir Alec Guiness, brilliant in any role, a credit to English acting, possibly the greatest ever actor. David Niven is a brilliant actor, then there are the other roles filletted out with the likes of Dame Maggie Smith, James Coco, Peter Falk, i could go on but i am running out of superlatives to describe the talent on view.The film itself is a pastiche of great detectives brought together to prove, who is the greatest? Added to the good script the talent of the actors, i am surprised the IMDb has rated this film so low, but i must accept that there are people on this earth, though inferior to me who are allowed to vote.Watch it, it is worth it.
21 out of 26 people found the following review useful: Sellers Shines In This Wild Spoof, 10 January 2006 Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States
One of the most fun movies I've ever watched but I liked it better 20 years ago, frankly, than today. In a recent viewing, it seemed a bit sleazier than I had remembered. Nonetheless, it still has tons of laughs.This film has one of my all-time favorite characters: Sidney Wang, played by Peter Sellers. The late English actor did a fabulous job of imitating Charlie Chan. He is the highlight among a very talented cast that includes Peter Falk, David Niven, James Coco, Elsa Lanchester, Alec Guinesses, Maggie Smith, Nancy Walker and Truman Capote.Today, the character oddest for me to view is a young Cromwell who speaks with a French accent! I've never seen him in any role remotely resembling this. The other actors play roles typical of them, such as Niven and Smith's dapper "Thin Man" couple and Falk's, Columbo/Mike Hammer-style American detective.This a spoof of all the great detectives and the story has a purposely exaggerated amount of twists, particularly at the end....but, despite some of the typical crude 1970s type sexual innuendos, it provides entertainment start-to-finish with absolutely no lulls. It's a classic!
15 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Great fun, 16 March 2002 Author: Jeff (Inthegoodlife@Aol.com) from Jacksonville, FL
Murder by Death is a fun movie that will no doubt be more enjoyable for fans of detective fiction and detective movies. The plot is about a group of detectives that are invited to a spooky house to solve a murder that hasn't been committed yet. The cast is star studded. Peter Sellers steals the show as the Charlie Chan character Mr. Wang. David Niven is typically classy and fun as the Nick Charles ripoff and Maggie Smith is great as the Nora Charles character. Peter Falk does his best Humphrey Bogart impression as Sam Diamond and it's pretty good. Elsa Lanchester makes a decent Ms. Marbles and the age factor is nicely aped when Estelle Winwood is mistaken for her character. James Coco is great as the Poirot character and overacts brilliantly. Truman Capote is extremely annoying but funny in spots as Lionel Twain. He's given some great lines to work with. The atmosphere is thick and the music is cool. The plot meanders toward the end and some of the "solutions" are pretty ridiculous but the rest of the movie is extremely enjoyable. 6.9/10
18 out of 24 people found the following review useful: Interesting cast make interesting spoof!, 14 March 2001 Author: the amorphousmachine from Australia
I remember seeing 'Murder by Death' once as a kid, so I thought I might rent it again. Unlike my numerous viewings of 'Clue', watching 'Murder By Death' seemed a new yet reminiscent experience.'Murder by Death' is written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore. It stars Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith, James Coco, Peter Falk and David Niven. It's about five of the world greatest detectives that are invited to a mansion for dinner and a murder. It's basically a spoof of the on the mystery genre and the great detectives of literature and film. I am not familiar with Neil Simon's written work but the script did have some funny but also repetitive moments. Robert Moore's direction was adequate and the performances were good- most notably from Peter Falk and Peter Sellers.Made in 1976, it's hard to imagine comedies being produced like this today. The main problem with 'Murder By Death' is that it seems to forget it's visual medium, and most of the gags come from the script. It's safe to assume that anyone could have directed this film, as it was the scriptwriter (Neil Simon) who was credited alongside the title. I felt that the mansion wasn't explored enough and therefore the mystery element was lacking. But then again, it was a comedy/spoof! I particularly liked the blind butler (Alec Guinness) and deaf cook (Nancy Walker) interaction! Peter Seller's Wang was very funny too, but I'm afraid some of today's politically correct audience will have a hard time separating racism from the obvious stereotypes in the portrayal of Wang and the other characters in the film. One must understand that the humour isn't based on race, rather Sellers was portraying a modern (at the time) 70s comic take on depictions of stereotypes within the character displayed in earlier detective, Charlie Chan. It was an obvious spoof on stereotypes already established in the famous detectives of the early era of film and literature.There is also a really interesting performance by a young James Cromwell in this film, which was pretty funny. 'Murder by Death' is an interesting film, if only for it's cast in an unusual spoof on the unique mystery genre. It's fairly enjoyable to watch but it isn't a laugh-a-minute experience. *** out of *****!
11 out of 11 people found the following review useful: A hilarious whodunit spoof, 23 January 2004 Author: Grann-Bach (Grann-Bach@jubii.dk) from Denmark
This is an utterly hilarious parody, spoofing detective stories. Much of the humor is verbal, some of it relies on stereotypes and such related (mainly) to the crime story genre. Some of the humor is a tad dirty, and a bit of it is quite dark. Personally, I loved it, but if you have anything against such humor, you may want to skip this one. It doesn't try too hard to make you laugh. The laughs roll in quite naturally, as it parodies a few of the most well-known fictional detectives; Agatha Christie's Mrs. Marble, among others. The setting is one typical to detective stories, and the atmosphere is simply perfect. The plot is very good, and develops nicely while still remaining interesting. The pacing is mostly flawless, but it seemed to lose momentum some, around the last third. The acting is all good, especially from Alec Guinness, Peter Falk and Peter Sellers. One wouldn't expect particularly good performances in a comedy, but this manages. The film is well thought out and equally well-executed. The only thing I didn't like, was that the ending, or maybe the entire third half of the film seemed a bit anticlimactic. At this point, all the action is done, and we're just waiting to find out who's behind it all. The very end is quite good though, a very funny and entertaining twist to say the least. And everything leading up to it is incredibly funny. The characters, while admittedly based somewhat on stereotypes, are all entertaining and each have their own shtick; among them are Milo Perrier, the perpetually hungry and ridiculously sensitive Frenchman, and the *very* British Dick Charleston, played to perfection by David Niven, and last but most definitely not least, Sam Diamond(Peter Falk, doing his Columbo thing), borrowing from noir and Bogart, complete with nonsensical, lengthy rants. I recommend this to anyone into detective movies and/or spoofs. Do keep the humor I mentioned early in the review in mind when considering whether or not to watch. 8/10
11 out of 12 people found the following review useful: What A Hoot, 19 August 2006 Author: Lechuguilla from Dallas, Texas
An all-star cast, superb dialogue, effective lighting and editing, great production design, and interesting costumes rev up the technical quality of this cinematic spoof of literary whodunits. An eccentric genius named Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) invites the world's five greatest fictional detectives to a dinner party, at which time someone will be murdered. The detective who solves the crime first gets $1 million.Everything in this film, from the acting to the sound effects to the plot ... is deliciously exaggerated ... hence the humor. For example, mystery readers accept that Hercule Poirot and Charlie Chan are so observant as to spot the most obscure clue, which conveniently points to the solution of the puzzle. In "Murder By Death" writer Neil Simon exaggerates that gambit. A guest detective draws the most outlandish conclusion from the most irrelevant fact, which in turn is shot down by another guest detective who points out the flaws, and then proceeds to do exactly the same thing.The dialogue is marvelous. In one scene the blind butler serves non-existent soup from an empty bowl, to which Miss Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) protests: "Murder by starvation, maybe that's his game". In another scene, Inspector Perrier (James Coco) reads from a list, and then concludes: "Everything here has been rented for tonight". Miss Marbles responds in a melodramatic voice: "You mean?" "Yes", answers Perrier momentously: "this entire murder has been -- catered".And then there's the scene wherein Sam Diamond (Peter Falk) ruminates: "I don't get it; first they steal the body and leave the clothes; then they steal the clothes and bring the body back. Who would do a thing like that?" To which Dick Charleston (David Niven) responds in a serious tone: "Possibly some deranged dry cleaner".The film's casting is wonderful. Truman Capote may not be much of an actor, but he brings to the film a personality that is appropriately eccentric. My only problem is that the amount of screen time for the cast is uneven ... too much for Peter Falk and Peter Sellers, and not enough for Elsa Lanchester, who arrives late."Murder By Death" is a wonderful film classic that still holds up thirty years after it was made. The film conveys no heavy-duty political or social "message", no great insight into the human condition. But when you're in the mood for lighthearted, escapist entertainment that provides some laughs, this film is a great choice.
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