SYNOPSICS
The Train (1964) is a English,German movie. John Frankenheimer,Arthur Penn has directed this movie. Burt Lancaster,Paul Scofield,Jeanne Moreau,Suzanne Flon are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1964. The Train (1964) is considered one of the best Thriller,War movie in India and around the world.
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.
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The Train (1964) Reviews
An intense suspense War drama from the beginning to the end
The big star of Frankenheimer's film is the train itself... And the plot is based on the characteristic of railroadsengines and cars all over the tracks, cabs and steamall shown on enough detail to keep the viewer in great suspense The aerial strike shots are also wonderfully taken The film begins in Paris, August 2, 1944 It's 1511th day of German occupation The liberation of Paris seems very close Nazi Colonel Von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) decides suddenly to remove by train to Germany the best of Impressionist masterpieces His objective is clear: "Money is a weapon. The contents are as negotiable as gold and more valuable." Mademoiselle Villard (Suzanne Flon) informs the Resistance of the shipment The Resistance reaction is to stop the train without damaging the national heritage "They are part of France." But stopping the train is not a simple task You can get killed especially if you are French and the train is German Labiche (Burt Lancaster), the Chief Inspector of the French Railway System, is not impressed However, he never communicates his political, ideological, or nationalistic convictions, "For certain things, we take the risk," he said; "but I won't waste lives on paintings." When an aged engineer, Papa Boule (Michel Simon), is accused of sabotage in spite of saving the train through the Allied's bombs at the risk of his own life, Labiche is forced into combat It begins with a long sequence where an armament train and the art train are both trying to leave the yard in the morning As they are being moved back and forth across the tracks, the viewer knows that British planes will hit the yard in that moment at exactly 10:00 o'clock New complications are introduced, but the central conflict always returns to an obsessive art lover against a man with no appreciation for art Labiche's only concerns is to slow down the Nazis keeping himself and his compatriots alive Now, two forces control the film The first is Frankenheimer's cleverness to choreograph the real trains Frankenheimer and his cinematographers capture the heat of the engines, the noise and sound of the cars in motion, the fault in the oil line, the crushing strength implicated when the machines come into collision and the derailment The second force is Lancaster, the "headache" of the fanatical obsessed Colonel whose desire is to see the priceless paintings in Nazi Germany...
Peerless war movie
The movie is about the Nazis taking 'degenerate' modern paintings out of Paris as the allies are approaching. The officer in charge of the spoils, Colonel Von Waldheim, is secretly in love with the art he is supposed to hate; his official motivation is based on "cash value." The French train workers, led by Labiche, have no appreciation for the art and are unaware of its cultural importance, but nevertheless fight the Germans out of patriotism, against their better instincts. Frantic, weary tension comes from the closeness of end of the war, a desperate time that drives the characters well past sane restraint. The Germans can no longer deny their impending doom. Grit comes from massive steam locomotives shot in black and white. The mortal struggle plays out on a personal level. The action is relentless. The director, John Frankenheimer, relies on the intelligence and empathy of the audience to convey his story. Much of the movie is concerned with the mechanicals of how a railroad works. It shows the dignity and solidarity of the workers, and their huge effort. The theme is the waste, the cost of war -- what is worth fighting for, what you actually do fight for even though it does not seem to be worth it, and the capricious outcome. The tally comes at the final scene. "The Train" is a perfect action-adventure war drama.
A personal favorite and semi-overlooked classic
A standout WWII drama, loosely based on a true story. In 1944, as the Allies spread across France from the Normandy landings, the Nazis looted Paris art museums and loaded the works onto a train, with the intention of carrying them back to the Fatherland and selling or bartering them for scarce war materials. A fairly hare-brained scheme, to be sure, and in reality the train never made it further than a siding just east of the city, but that shouldn't hinder one's enjoyment of what turns out to be a classic action film. The centerpiece of the movie is a clash of wills between Von Waldheim, a cultured but iron-backed Nazi colonel (well-played by Paul Scofield) charged with getting the stolen artworks to Germany, and a taciturn railway troubleshooter named Labiche (Burt Lancaster). Von Waldheim first enlists Labiche as 'insurance' against any monkey business during the train's journey. Labiche, though, happens to have Resistance connections and, with serious reservations, is drawn into a desperate, improvised plot to stop the train, preferably without damaging the precious artifacts inside. Although easily enjoyed as a straight action flick, what gives the film weight is the supporting story, in which Labiche at first argues against wasting precious lives on a few crates of paintings he's never seen, then gradually comes round as he begins to understand that the Nazis are effectively carrying off a large piece of the heart of France. Beautiful deep-focus black and white photography, and solid supporting performances by a mostly French cast (of which Jeanne Moreau may be the best-known), convincingly evoke the bleak misery of the Occupation. John Frankenheimer's economical direction manages to present highly-charged action scenes without glossing over the human cost, as Von Waldheim exacts savage reprisals against escalating efforts to hinder the train's passage. Lancaster, who performed his own stunts, is excellent, furiously athletic as he slides down ladders, leaps onto moving locomotives, and charges over ridges and fields in pursuit of the train. At the same time, he manages to effectively bring a subtle authenticity to his portrayal of the weary, fatalistic railwayman. Finally, the action set-pieces are nothing short of stunning, and include the train's mad dash through an Allied carpet-bombing attack, a strafing raid on a speeding locomotive, and several wrecks and derailments, all staged full-scale with period equipment donated by the French national railway. Well worth obtaining on DVD, the film may be hard to find on broadcast television these days.
A Different Kind Of WWII Movie, And One Of The Best
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.
Interesting sidenote...
Like everyone else who has posted here, I think this film is superb. Brilliant screenplay, excellent acting, exceptional directing, and so on and so forth. I think there is one little twist to the screenplay that deserves mention. Burt Lancaster has not one spoken line in the final 20 minutes of the movie. I can't recall ever seeing that done with a major character in a mainstream film. His actions ARE his words. In the final scene, we know exactly what he is thinking without him saying a word. A lovely subtle touch and the crowning moment in a truly great film.