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The Train [1964]


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art or propaganda ?
Review date: 2008-07-23 Rating: 8 out of 10

the movie is well crafted and staged ,it is a fictional account and it raises some intersting questions about viability of art and value of human life.

the german colonel wants a trainload of stolen modern french art transported to berlin as the allies advance to paris ,he chooses only french painters like cezanne,renoir,picasso,lautrec,manet,van gogh ,matisse ,dufy ,braque and others for reasons known to himself alone ,his excuse to authorities is it is worth billions ,but he is secretly an art lover who worships these as a connoisseur.

london gives french resistaance orders to save the train and stop the art installment from being taken to germany .

the fact that most art stolen or destroyed in WW2 was from germany itself is not relevant here,so the plot shows holes right at start and then becomes a one man superhero chase as burt lancaster as the french rail man turned superhero stops the third reich from staging this offence,

the argument that germany was obviously defeated and could have done little with looted art or why had they not done it earlier is of np consequence here ,as what we have is an atmospheric thriller with french heroics and patriotism where french art symbolising french vision of life and national heritage has to be saved .

it is at times a ridiculous premise but continuously entertaining and the action is great on the trains and off the trains as well .paul scoffield is great as the ambiguous german art lover .worth seeing for the action and acting .
THE DVD IS A RESTORED COPY BUT NO EXRAS EXCEPT THE TRAILER -DISAPPOINTING

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Reviews


The Train was an exciting journey.
Review date: 2007-11-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

This has to be one of the greatest war time films of all time.
This is just begging for a special edition.Burt Lancaster is allways so great in movies.
Theres so much in this film action,drama,suspense.
A brilliant sunday afternoon movie.

An artistic war movie, but still a war movie
Review date: 2007-08-24 Rating: 10 out of 10

This film is a remarkable achievement. It is really a genre busting classic because it combines both the excitement of a WW2 action film and the thoughtful insight of a European art house movie. Its premise is based fairly loosely on real events, but the spirit of the peice rings very true. It manages to have quite a French feel to it, which I like, and the lead character is perfectly played by Lancaster, which was a great bit of casting. It is yet another of those war movies in which everyone speaks English, but I didn't feel it spoiled the experience at all, whereas in some films it does. This probably has to do with the fact that it carefully creates a Gallic aura in all other aspects of the film. The photography is very good indeed - all sharp and arty angles and seems even to gain something from being in black and white, as many good films do. Scofield's lofty Nazi officer in cahrge of the important operation, brings immense depth to the movie, and that's where the film becomes a thought piece as well. In that respect, Scofield's character was probably the most critical element in the film for it to achieve what it managed to achieve. Of course it's not too deep, it just floats the subjects of cultural heritage and national pride to elevate the film above being a mere action movie, but it does make its point. It builds very nicely towards the inevitable showdown between Lancaster and Scofield, the real action that viewers have been waiting for, and it delivers well. The brief but powerful interplay between these two very different men is a delight, and there is a fair bit of irony evident in this, as it becomes apparent that although Lancaster is the righteous victor and Scofeild, the defeated imperialist art thief, Lancaster is merely an art blind patriot, and for all Scofield's German superiority and haughtiness, you really do feel he cherished these art treasures for what they were. An unusual addition then to the overworked WW2 movie genre and a very welcome one, one of the best WW2 movies made, in fact.

What a great film
Review date: 2007-06-08 Rating: 10 out of 10

Have just watched this film "The Train" after a number of years and I had forgotton just how good this movie is. The trains are real and they crash! Burt Lancaster will well supported by a cast that act their parts really well. While this film is no 100% based on fact - it does have a sense of being real.

A film for any collection.

One of the best WW2 thrillers ever made
Review date: 2006-11-27 Rating: 10 out of 10

The Train is one of those films that is really more European than American. John Frankenheimer (taking over from Arthur Penn) was always the American director who was most influenced by French cinema, with the result that this, the last major action film shot in black and white, has more of a low-key more continental feel to it than a Hollywood one - aside from Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield (who for once comes perilously close to ham without ever quite crossing the line) and La Silence de la Mer's Howard Vernon, the cast is made up almost entirely of the great and good of French cinema, from Jeanne Moreau to Michel Simon. What's more, the realistic style - more pre-war French cinema than nouvelle vague - sells the action scenes which, in other hands, could become pure comic book stuff a la Von Ryan's Express. The fact that the key action scenes are done `for real,' with a condemned railway yard blown up during the air raid sequence and real locomotives crashing into each other, only shows up the weightless artificiality of much modern CGI or of the miniature work of the day. The crash in particular, which destroyed one camera, has a sense of weight and violence to it that you just don't see in films anymore. Still impressive stuff.

Sadly, John Frankenheimer's audio commentary included on the R1 NTSC DVD is NOT included on the R2 release - a great pity, since it's particularly good and enlightening. Very highly recommended nonetheless.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Suzanne Flon
Paul Scofield
Michel Simon
Burt Lancaster
Jeanne Moreau

Creators:
Burt Lancaster (Primary Contributor)
Paul Scofield (Primary Contributor)
Bernard Farrel (Producer)
Albert Husson (Writer)
Frank Davis (Writer)
Franklin Coen (Writer)
Rose Valland (Writer)
Walter Bernstein (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 5050070010015
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, PAL,
Release date: 2003-05-05
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 127 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1965-03-07
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: German (Original Language)

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