[.ca] The Great Train Robbery (Widescreen) (ISBN 0792839064)

From Amazon.com:
Best-selling novelist Michael Crichton had already directed Westworld and Coma when he tackled the ambitious production of The Great Train Robbery in 1978. Adapting his own novel (which was inspired by the facts of the first known train robbery), Crichton sets this attractive, highly enjoyable film in London in 1855, where Edward Pierce (Sean Connery) and Agar (Donald Sutherland) plot to steal £25,000 in gold that is being transported by train to pay British troops in the Crimean War. Lesley-Anne Down plays Miriam, Pierce's sophisticated paramour and the third partner in the scheme; while Pierce and Agar make copies of four keys for the train's closely guarded safes, she uses her feminine wiles to distract a variety of officials and businessmen with connections to the gold. A lively, humorous caper film of the first order, The Great Train Robbery also boasts a vividly authentic recreation of mid-Victorian England, all the more remarkable since the production was filmed primarily in Ireland on a budget of $6 million--a miraculously modest sum (even in 1978) for such a lavish-looking film. Although Crichton's directorial style seems somewhat detached and bloodless, he maintains a vivid respect for place and time, and his three leads are splendid in their charismatic roles. Meticulous attention to details of costuming and production design enhance the breezy fun of the heist, which climaxes with an exciting sequence on the rushing train, with Connery performing his own stunt work. While the later hit Mission: Impossible would take a similar sequence to its high-tech, high-velocity extreme, The Great Train Robbbery remains an entertaining study of crime in a less hectic age, allowing Crichton to emphasize ingenuity over special effects. --Jeff Shannon

Additional Features:
The DVD edition of The Great Train Robbery includes an informative, intelligent, and observant commentary (recorded in 1996) by writer-director Michael Crichton, whose memories of the 1978 production provide valuable insights into the economy, diplomacy, and ingenuity required to get any film finished. Interestingly, Crichton notes that one of his motivations in making films lies in the fact that he's rarely satisfied with the finished film, as it typically fails to compare to his idealistic hopes before starting the project. However, he does go on to observe that making The Great Train Robbery was very satisfying in terms of collaborating with cast and crew, and saves particular praise for Sean Connery, whom he describes as an underrated actor who actively participates in the filmmaking process.

A Good Movie Tainted:
Sean Connery plays his part well in this lively adaptation of the book about the first train robbery. His sidekick, Ager, is not so convincing, but Connery carries the team single-handedly. His crafty lover, played by Downs, brings nothing new to a role that we've seen overplayed in too many suspense and action films. My main criticism of this movie is the obsession with highly explicit sexual imagery interwoven throughout the film, which leaves one wondering how in the world it merited a PG rating. I expected to see a fun and witty action movie, and The Great Train Robbery is definitely that, but whoever decided to add the sexual elements made a bad call. Most, if not all, are uneccessary to the plot and must therefore have been tossed in to satisfy those movie-goers that can't enjoy a good action flick without a cheap sexual thrill. What an insult.

Little Known Exciting Thrill Ride. Superb Cinema!:
This over-looked gem is superb in every detail. The plot concerns a charming rogue, faking a 'sharp businessman' played by Sean Connery, trying to relieve a fortified railway train of its gold. The film is based on a thriller written by Micheal (Jurassic Park) Crichton and is quite thrilling. It has superb Cinematography by the master Geoffrey (Superman) Unsworth B.S.C. and the outstanding score is by the superlative Jerry (Star Trek) Goldsmith. The film grips you from the start and includes a superb cast. The film details the planning and exection of the robbery of a railway train transporting gold from London to the Crimea. The effort of relieving the gold from the train by Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland is meticulous and quite exciting, helped by the fast moving script, cinematography and score. The atmosphere of 1850s London is startling and extremely well conveyed to the screen. This is a highly recommended and thrilling movie.

A Grand Time But The Transfer Could Be Better:
"The Great Train Robbery" is a grand old fashioned adventure that keeps it's tongue firmly in cheek. Connery's conversation in the garden with a banker's wife has enough sexual inuendos and puns to fill a text book. Set in mid Victorian England it details something that was novel for the period, robbing a moving train. The ploting and planning unfolds with both clarity and wit thanks to Connery and Sutherland who play off each other nicely and are clearly enjoying every minute of it. On VHS this film had an at times dull and grainy look. Sadly it appears that this transfer has been made from those same sources. To be sure the newer medium does give us a cleaner and brighter picture but those grainy spots, while less intense than before, are still evident. Happily the film is such a grand time that one can easily live with that.

"No respectable gentleman...is that respectable":
I remember being completely taken with this movie when I saw it in 1979. Sean Connery was on THE TODAY SHOW when it was released and discussed doing his own stunt work during the robbery scenes. Stumbling atop the rattling train, he was certain they had to be moving much faster than 35 MPH. When he asked the engineers how they knew they were going 35, they said they calculated it by counting the telephone poles going by! The train was actually going well over 50 MPH! Director Michael Crichton recounts the same story in his commentary. I would've given this film five stars but, after listening to him voice his disatisfaction with it, I took one star off. I should've left the commentary for another time! Crichton does offer a lot of interesting insights into the film. The difficulties of recreating a London that doesn't exist anymore, the moral dilemma of filming a dog killing rats (the "ratting" scene is real), the filming of the train scenes. Connery brings his cool authority to the proceedings and Donald Sutherland is always interesting. Lesley Anne Down is gorgeous. I really loved Jerry Goldsmith's elegant score. It really pulled the film together musically and I still have the soundtrack album. I just wish I'd been in the soundbooth with Mr. Crichton after he finished his commentary: I would've said, "Come on, give yourself a break: you made a very cool movie!"

"Because I wanted the money" he told the judge.:
Director: Michael Crichton Format: Color Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios Video Release Date: July 1, 1997 Cast: Sean Connery ... Edward Pierce/John Simms/Geoffrey Donald Sutherland ... Robert Agar, Screwsman Lesley-Anne Down ... Miriam/Madame Lucienne/Miss Brigid Lawson Alan Webb ... Edgar Trent, President Huddleston & Bradford Bank Malcolm Terris ... Henry Fowler, Manager Huddleston & Bradford Bank Robert Lang ... Inspector Sharp Michael Elphick ... Burgess, Railway Guard Accomplice Wayne Sleep ... William 'Clean Willy' Williams, Snakesman Pamela Salem ... Emily Trent Gabrielle Lloyd ... Elizabeth Trent George Downing ... Barlow, Coachman Accomplice James Cossins ... Inspector Harranby John Bett ... McPherson Peter Benson ... Station Despatcher Janine Duvitski ... Maggie Brian de Salvo ... John, Trent's Butler André Morell ... Judge Donald Churchill ... Prosecutor Brian Glover ... Captain Jimmy Noel Johnson ... Connaught Peter Butterworth ... Putnam Patrick Barr ... Burke Hubert Rees ... Lewis Agnes Bernelle ... Woman on Platform Frank McDonald ... P.C. London Bridge Station Joe Cahill ... Rail Guard on Folkestone Train Cecil Nash ... Newgate Prison Chaplain Susan Hallinan ... Emma Barnes Oliver Smith ... Ratting Assistant John Altman ... First Pickpocket Paul Kember ... Second Pickpocket Geoff Ferris ... Third Pickpocket Jenny Till ... Woman on Strand Craig Stokes ... Urchin on Strand Donald Hewlett ... Club Member Geoffrey Unsworth Brooke Adams Nuala Holloway ... Call Girl The inimitable Edward Pierce (Sean Connery), in 1855, pulled off the first robbery on a moving train of a shipment gold bullion intended for the Crimea. After months of planning, making wax impressions of four keys, effecting a prison break for one of their henchmen necessary to their plan and the escape of Pierce after the fact of the robbery, the robbery was completed without a hitch. Taking part in the robbery was Robert Agar (Donald Sutherland), Miriam (Lesley-Anne Down), and sundry other characters. Due to the fine acting and direction by Michael Crichton, the story, which was based on an actual robbery, was a great success, and was endlessly entertaining. Joseph (Joe) Pierre author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance and other books