The Train
Paris, August 1944. With the Allied army closing in German commander and art fanatic Colonel Von Waldheim steals a vast collection of rare French paintings and loads them onto a train bound for Berlin. But when a beloved French patriot is murdered while trying to sabotage Von Waldheim's scheme, Labiche, a stalwart member of the Resistance, vows to stop the train at any cost. Calling upon his vast arsenal of skills, Labiche unleashes a torrent of devastation and destruction - loosened rails, shattered tracks and head-on collisions - in an impassioned, suspense-filled quest for justice, retribution and revenge.
Member Reviews
not your usual war story - sooz
The Train directed by John Frankenheimer. on the one hand this follows a pretty recognizable World War 2 Nazi's bad / French Resistance good theme, but on the other hand there are no battles and the mission the plot revolves around is a trainload of paintings, which is definitely outside the usual battle parameter. i was really impressed with some of the camera work. Frankenheimer went to a lot of trouble to set up some really interesting angles, and shots that really capture the train as the setting of the movie and as the means by which the plot moves forward. lots of the supporting cast are French actors - including a part played by the fabulous Jeanne Moreau who acted in so many of the French New Wave films.Very good World War II movie - Coconut_Willy
I am not a big fan of war films but I certainly can enjoy one once in a while. I would not go as far as saying that this is the best I've seen but it is nonetheless very good. This is not really typical of war movies as it does not concentrate on showing big battles or combat scenes. It tries to show what was possibly happening behind the scenes; acts of sabotage and deception designed to slow down the enemy made by ordinary men. The storyline is very good and is fairly well developed using an appropriate pace. The cast is good doing a very good acting job with a well written dialogue and some credible characters. The sets and locations are appropriate, the soundtrack is good and the camera work is appropriate. If you want non-stop war action, you will have to look somewhere else but if this sort of espionage thriller is a genre you like, this is a very good choice.The best of all WWII Thrillers - jabroni
There were a slew of these WWII actioners designed for thrills as opposed to straight laced drama. This is the best
Unlike other WII which involve blowing something up or killing someone, this is about stopping a train without destroying it and with limited resources. These are not soldiers but patriots. French Resistance.
Filmed gloriously in B&W Frankenheimer, who is no stranger to the suspense genre, has fashioned a finely detailed, superbly acted genuine thriller. The movie is not loaded with wall to wall action or explosions but it is not slow or boring. It takes it's time to set the stage and characters. Something we don't get anymore.
The look of the film is most important as it adds such a realism that I think would seem fake in color.
Rent this, buy it. Whichever way, just see it.
Member Reviews
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not your usual war story - sooz
The Train directed by John Frankenheimer. on the one hand this follows a pretty recognizable World War 2 Nazi's bad / French Resistance good theme, but on the other hand there are no battles and the mission the plot revolves around is a trainload of paintings, ...Very good World War II movie - Coconut_Willy
I am not a big fan of war films but I certainly can enjoy one once in a while. I would not go as far as saying that this is the best I've seen but it is nonetheless very good. This is not really typical of war movies as it does not concentrate on showing big ...The best of all WWII Thrillers - jabroni
There were a slew of these WWII actioners designed for thrills as opposed to straight laced drama. This is the best
Unlike other WII which involve blowing something up or killing someone, this is about stopping a train without destroying it and with ...