140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Crichton adapts his novel into a screenplay, then directs this classic adventure story based on 1855 theft of gold for Crimean War soldiers.
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Great Train Robbery:
With the recent Crimean crisis, perhaps it is time to revisit The Great Train Robbery, Michael Crichton’s 1978 heist picture based on the 1855 theft of gold destined for English & French soldiers serving in the Crimean War.
A fantastic and exciting adventure, right from the start; Sean Connery’s voice-over exposition gives way to the energetic score by Jerry Goldsmith behind the title sequence and a fatal fistfight on board a moving train. You are instantly thrust into the time period and the tone of the film, and yet barely 4 minutes have passed. Michael Crichton wrote the screenplay and directed based on his own excellent novel.
The heist picture is a genre all by itself. I’m not sure exactly why so many people gravitate to these stories. I suppose like myself they are quite guiltless of any such crimes and would never seriously consider undertaking a confidence scam or robbery, yet are fascinated by those who turn their talents to these activities. There’s something wicked and thrilling about vicariously watching these illicit acts that we would not have the audacity to attempt.
So I must have read Crichton’s novel a dozen times. It’s a quick read, but like all of his works is meticulously researched. Maybe no modern writer was better at finding a searing narrative among a simple series of facts. I’m particularly fond of an audiobook version, which despite being needlessly abridged is narrated expertly by Michael Cumpsty.
With the author writing the screenplay and directing the movie the word adaptation barely applies – there’s no discernible difference between versions. One nice addition to the film is the role of Miss Miriam by Lesley-Anne Down; a minor associate in real life and in the novel, the expanded character works wonderfully as a device to tie together all of the steps of the job.
Connery & Sutherland are perfect in their turns as Edward Pierce and Robert Agar, respectively. They are simply charming and believable in their roles. One of the things that really sells the story is that Pierce has an undercurrent of danger about him. Connery plays him with an edge that makes it clear that while charm is his first weapon it is far from his only one.
Fair warning (and it’s not really a spoiler); about 15 minutes in there is a scene of a dog in a pit to attack rats. Some might find this upsetting. It’s brief, though.
One of the benefits of basing your movie on a real heist is that the plausibility of the crime doesn’t come into question. The plan is not needlessly complicated as in so many movies of this type. It is clever but practical, and the execution is filled with the sort of problems that crop up in a chaotic world.
In every respect, The Great Train Robbery is a classic adventure and a fantastic crime yarn.
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Fail
The Representation Test Score: D (3 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Sean Connery Pierce, Donald Sutherland Agar, Lesley-Anne Down Miriam, Alan Webb Trent |
| Rating | PG |
| Release Date | Fri 02 Feb 1979 UTC |
| Director | Michael Crichton |
| Genres | Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller |
| Plot | In Victorian England, a master criminal makes elaborate plans to steal a shipment of gold from a moving train. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 110 |
| Tagline | Never have so few taken so much from so many. |
| Writers | Michael Crichton (screenplay), Michael Crichton (novel) |
| Year | 1978 |
