The Train (1964) 7.8
In 1944, a German colonel loads a train with French art treasures to send to Germany. The Resistance must stop it without damaging the cargo. Director:John Frankenheimer |
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The Train (1964) 7.8
In 1944, a German colonel loads a train with French art treasures to send to Germany. The Resistance must stop it without damaging the cargo. Director:John Frankenheimer |
|
| 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Burt Lancaster | ... | ||
| Paul Scofield | ... | ||
| Jeanne Moreau | ... | ||
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Suzanne Flon | ... | |
| Michel Simon | ... | ||
| Wolfgang Preiss | ... |
Herren
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Albert Rémy | ... |
Didont
(as Albert Remy)
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Charles Millot | ... | |
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Richard Münch | ... |
Von Lubitz
(as Richard Munch)
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Jacques Marin | ... |
Jacques
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Paul Bonifas | ... |
Spinet
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Jean Bouchaud | ... |
Schmidt
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Donald O'Brien | ... |
Schwartz
(as Donal O'Brien)
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Jean-Pierre Zola | ... |
Octave
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Arthur Brauss | ... |
Pilzer
(as Art Brauss)
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As the Allied forces approach Paris in August 1944, German Colonel Von Waldheim is desperate to take all of France's greatest paintings to Germany. He manages to secure a train to transport the valuable art works even as the chaos of retreat descends upon them. The French resistance however wants to stop them from stealing their national treasures but have received orders from London that they are not to be destroyed. The station master, Labiche, is tasked with scheduling the train and making it all happen smoothly but he is also part of a dwindling group of resistance fighters tasked with preventing the theft. He and others stage an elaborate ruse to keep the train from ever leaving French territory. Written by garykmcd
This is one of my all-time favorite war movies, always rated in the top three since I first saw it years ago. I rate it so high because of four main things:
1 - Wonderful black-and-white photography; 2 - an interesting cast led by two great actors, Burt Lancaster and Paul Scofield; 3 - An intelligent, different kind of war story revolving around stolen works of great art; 4 - Just the right amount of action.
Not only the blacks-and-whites look good but the grays, too. The nighttime train shots with the white steam coming out is just spectacular. You can feel the grease and grime on these railroad men as the work on the train. The person best exemplifying that is the Frenchman Michel Simon who plays "Papa Boule," the engineer who begins the train trip and then is shot after being discovered sabotaging it. What a great face this man had! He, Lancaster and other grimy railroad men with soot all over their faces give this a real authentic feel. Most of the cast is either French or German but if you have a hard time understanding a few lines, you can put on the English subtitles if you are playing the DVD.
This is a pretty long film but it doesn't have many lulls, especially the train starts to roll. I have viewed this a number of times and have never been disappointed with it. Director John Frankenheimer gives some interesting commentary on this, too, so you might to check that out on the disc.