The Train [Encore Edition]- Twilight Time [1964] [Blu ray]

This is a film about saving art from the Nazis in France at the end of WW2. It is an old black and white film of no particular visual quality. Burt Lancaster is excellent as expected from him. The story line does unfold with enough tension to keep you on your tows, but I feel in the hands of a more capable film director, like for example Billy Wilder, this could have been a far more exciting film.

They didn't mess around here, they used real trains to stage accidents

Like my delivery package

excellent movie-cast/filming/trains are real/story a composite of the real events.b&w just adds to the credability.Massive scenes handled so well.Most people never consider ww2 amongst other statistics was the greatest series of robberies in history done on a scale that was unimaginable.Want that bank, museum, laboratory, fleet -just take over the whole country & its ours.simple

As advertised.

A very good movie that shows the horrors of facism

I’ve been a fan of director John Frankenheimer for some time. The director of films like SEVEN DAYS IN MAY, THE FIXER, BLACK SUNDAY and RONIN always delivered plenty of action balanced with enough story to make the films hold your interest from start to finish. I’d recalled hearing of THE TRAIN years ago, remembered seeing it advertised when it was to be on television but never saw it until now.In 1944 the Germans were sensing the end was near. During the war they had ransacked the museums of the countries they invaded and a large collection of art has been stockpiled. In an effort to retain the art and insure it isn’t destroyed in bombings Colonel Franz von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) is determined to ship the treasures to Germany at any costs.Resistance leaders in France know that the allied forces arrival is imminent and want to make sure that the art never leaves their country. With that arrival around the corner all they need to do is make sure the train never leaves the country. They set into motion a plan to make sure that this happens.Resistance leader and an inspector for the SNCF (French National Railway Corporation) Paul Labiche (Burt Lancaster) argues that it’s not worth losing the lives of his men to save a load of paintings. When an elderly engineer is executed for trying to thwart the train on his own Labiche agrees to help and a plan is set in motion to stop the train.The movie offers more story than action here which many were expecting given the artwork found in posters for the film as well as the trailer. Even with that being the case it makes for an interesting movie, something different than most war films at that time or since. The clash of wills between the two men is classic. What is different is their motivations. Von Waldheim is the bad buy and yet cares more about the artwork than the good guy Labiche. That’s something different to mull over.Lancaster and Frankenheimer worked together on a number of films and their pairing here works well for both of them. Lancaster is provided a vehicle that gives him the chance to flex some acting muscle as well as add enough action to satisfy his fans. Frankenheimer adds to the list of films he made that showed he was a capable director no matter what he was given.Twilight Time released this film before but it quickly sold out. Requests were enough that they are releasing it once more in this encore edition but as is always the case it is limited to just 3,000 copies so those interested should jump before it’s gone once more. Extras include an isolated score track, an audio commentary with film historians Julie Kirgo, Paul Seydor and Nick Redman, an audio commentary with director Frankenheimer and the original theatrical trailer.

Great product!