Some might think this post belongs elsewhere, but I suspect a lot of MRs would be interested…
I’ve had the DVD “The Train” for almost a year, having purchased it because it is considered one of the top 5 train movies ever made. As I am not particularly interested in European trains, I wasn’t in any big hurry to watch it.
Well, I just finished it and can only say “why did I wait so long?”. Yes, the movie is in black and white and over 2 hours long, but the realism of war, brutality, and steam railroading is absolutely top-notch. And, the story line is based upon real events, and the characters that are portrayed are pretty much “regular” folks.
If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it highly - with the caveat being “it’s not a chick flick”.
I saw The Train for the first time maybe 3 or 4 years ago and enjoyed it. As someone interested in steam, the inside views of the cab were of great interest to me.
I have no problem whether a movie is in B&W or in color. As long as it’s a good movie and has a good plot, it could care less if it’s 2 years old or 102 years old.
I watched the original Frankenstein (1931) last week again after 10 or so years. The fact that it’s in B&W actually makes the monster even more scary and foreboding. Not too shabby for a film that’s 80 years old and doesn’t show any blood or gore.
GREAT MOVIE! Burt Lancaster and entire cast were Awesome! Have seen it several times over the years and it always hooks me whenever I watch it. …papasmurf
if you like “The Train”, let me suggest another Black-and-White movie made in France: “La Bête Humaine” (1938), directed by Jean Renoir. You will see French express train steam at its best. IMHO this is THE railroad film, capturing the heyday of steam. In Kalmbach’s “100 Greatest Train Movies” this film is among the top five, and I am pretty sure that it would get a still higher score in a European classification. “La Bête Humaine” - just a “MUST SEE”.
A frequently overlooked train movie is Dark Passage starring James Stewart and Audie Murphy. It has great RR scenes made on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Dimitri Tiomkin scored and co-wrote the tunes “Follow the River” (the railroad follows a river in the canyons) and “You Can’t Get Far Without a Railroad.”
One of my favorite moves, just ahead of Emperor of the North.
I found at least 10 places online within 2 minutes that offer this movie on DVD. I haven’t seen anything about translated versions but I did see some listing English subtitles.
how about “The Titfield Thunderbolt” (UK 1952)? This color movie captures the bucolic atmosphere of a branchline in the Southwest of England. The inhabitants of a little town fight for the survival of “their” railroad condemned to be closed.
The movie has inspired a model railroader to construct a wonderful layout:
Michael’s right about “Le Bete Humaine”–it’s got thrilling railroad photography, and some great drama. Another French film that might serve as a ‘Bookend’ to THE TRAIN would be Rene Clement’s excellent docudrama LA BATTAILE DU RAIL, which is about the French underground (Maquis) interrupting German troop movements to the Normandy front in 1944. The film was begun in 1944, and won the ‘Palme d’Or’ at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. There is an unsubstantiated rumor that some of the film was shot right under the noses of the German occupation forces, but I don’t know if that’s true or not. However, director Clement weaves together a series of seemingly non-related episodes toward a spectacular climax–the derailment of a train carrying German tanks to the Normandy front.
And like THE TRAIN, there’s nary a model or miniature to be seen in the film. It’s all authentic French railway equipment, and the scenes of sabotauge are meticulously shot. Darned good film.
This documentary, realized for the German Federal Railway in 1967, compares steam locomotives with the more efficient, but less impressive electric and diesel locomotives. It is a movie with very few words and many pictures full of authentic late steam atmosphere. The main actress, Pacific 01 147, is shown at the engine terminal and on mainline duty in Northern Bavaria. The very same locomotive has been produced in H0 by Märklin and Trix a few years ago.