THE TRAIN

THE TRAIN

1964 Artistes/Ariane/Dear 140 min

A superior WWII film that provides plenty of edge-of-your-seat thrills, THE TRAIN also poses a rather serious philosophical question: Is the preservation of art worth a human life?

Set in France in the summer of '44, with Germans in retreat, a German colonel is ordered to transport important art work from museums in France to the Fatherland. When the French resistance here's about the train full of French treasure they work with the French railroad to stop the train from crossing the border. Together they come up with a number of clever tricks to keep THE TRAIN from leaving France.

A review by Robert D. Ruplenas

This movie is one of my "desert island" flicks. It's an absolutely gripping and superbly directed story of a half-mad Nazi colonel who attempts to steal a trove of French masterpieces from Parisian museums as the Germans are about to give up Paris to the allies. Frankenheimer's decision to shoot in black and white was dead-on correct, adding to the period authenticity. Paul Scofield as the colonel and Burt Lancaster as La Biche, the train engineer, put in two of their greatest performances, and the gripping interplay between them under girds the movie. The ending gives us one of the most coldly effective cutaways I've ever seen. And, just as a gift, the movie includes one of the most superbly shot train wrecks in movie history. Don't miss this one!

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