The First Great Train Robbery (1979)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Michael Crichton

Writers:

Michael Crichton (screenplay)
Michael Crichton (novel)

Release Date:

2 February 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Never have so few taken so much from so many.

Plot:

In Victorian England, a master criminal makes elaborate plans to steal a shipment of gold from a moving train.

Plot Keywords:

Train | Coffin | Dead Cat | Planning | Key

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Pierce
Donald Sutherland	...	Agar
Lesley-Anne Down	...	Miriam
Alan Webb	...	Trent
Malcolm Terris	...	Fowler
Robert Lang	...	Sharp
Michael Elphick	...	Burgess
Wayne Sleep	...	Clean Willy
Pamela Salem	...	Emily Trent
Gabrielle Lloyd	...	Elizabeth Trent
George Downing	...	Barlow
James Cossins	...	Harranby
John Bett	...	McPherson
Peter Benson	...	Station Despatcher
Janine Duvitski	...	Maggie

Also Known As:

The Great Train Robbery (USA)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby (as Dolby Sound)

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario - 2006) | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (video rating) (cut) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Ireland:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (video re-rating) (cut) | UK:AA (original rating) (passed with cuts) | USA:PG (certificate #25484) | West Germany:12 (f) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Starling Films

Trivia:

Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland would both subsequently appear in other adaptations of Michael Crichton's work. Connery would appear in Rising Sun (1993), while Sutherland appeared in Disclosure (1994).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When looking at the mansion from the outside, you see lights coming on through the windows as a person is running from room to room in the middle of the night. These lights very rapidly come on as if someone is flipping electric switches. However the movie is set in 1855 England long before electric lights.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Edward Pierce: [narration] In the year 1855, England and France were at war with Russia in the Crimea. The English troops were paid in gold. Once a month, twenty-five thousand pounds in gold was loaded into strongboxes inside the London bank of Huddleston and Bradford and taken by trusted armed guards to the railway station...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Stranger in the Kingdom (1998)

Nice Period Piece For A Heist Flick

Wow, this is a wonderfully-filmed movie that especially looked good since it was one of the first DVDs I purchased a decade ago. Rich colors and good period detail of 19th century England made it visually attractive. However, the picture was too grainy. I hope someone has re-issued this and given it the transfer it deserves.

Beware that it takes quite awhile before the actual holdup takes place. This is almost a two-hour film and they build up slowly to famous heist. However, I didn't find any of it boring. This is rated PG but there are quite of bit of sexual innuendos early on by Connery as he woos Lesley-Ane Down. Other than that, it's a pretty tame film. Donald Sutherland adds a touch a touch of humor here and there as he and Connery pull off the suspenseful heist....and it is suspenseful.

Connery trying to maneuver on top of the train was a highlight, as was the "whooshing" sound of the train each time it passed under a bridge. The stereo in here is very good for a film almost 30 years old.