Crichton is after a giggly quality as if it’s being told as a pub yarn, soaked in exaggeration and acute trickery to defeat impossible hurdles, while never far from redoubtable moral lesson.
The Great Train Robbery (1979)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 23
Fresh: 18
Rotten:5
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: Michael Crichton's most accomplished directorial effort, THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY is a stylish thriller based on his best-selling book about the first robbery to take place aboard a moving train.... Michael Crichton's most accomplished directorial effort, THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY is a stylish thriller based on his best-selling book about the first robbery to take place aboard a moving train. Set in 1855 England, Edward Pierce (Sean Connery) is a master thief with the ambitious goal of stealing a shipment of gold bars en route to the Crimea. Conspiring with his beautiful mistress, Miriam (Lesley-Anne Down), and England's greatest locksmith, Agar (Donald Sutherland), Pierce sets out on a quest to copy each of four keys needed to open the train's vault, keys that are kept and guarded by different parties. Giving a smooth performance reminiscent of his James Bond role, Connery infuses Pierce with a disarming confidence as he seduces his way through the upper-class environment of the key holders, who seem to have their own low-brow weaknesses. From the decadent parties and mansions of the wealthy to the brothels and dog fights of the underclass, THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY is a historical tour de force that culminates in the suspenseful, dangerous climax of this true story. [More]
Starring: Sean Connery, Lesley-Anne Down, Donald Sutherland, Alan Webb
Starring: Sean Connery, Lesley-Anne Down, Donald Sutherland, Alan Webb, Robert Lang, Malcolm Terris
Director: Michael Crichton
Director: Michael Crichton
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
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Reviews for The Great Train Robbery
An entertaining thriller that stumbles occasionally on overlong dialogue sequences.
Crichton's films drag in dialog bouts, but triumph when action takes over.
The characters stay largely undeveloped, while -- despite superficially peculiar features -- the robbery is stripped of the ingenious exposition of the novel.
he climactic heist of the gold, with Mr. Connery climbing atop the moving railroad cars, ducking under bridges just before a possible decapitation, is marvelous action footage that manages to be very funny as it takes your breath away.
Connery is one of the best light comedians in the movies, and has been ever since those long-ago days when he was James Bond.
The Great Train Robbery offers a peep into Victorian society with its strange sports, public hangings and high society rituals.
Excellent period film featuring great performances by Connery and Sutherland. Crichton's direction builds some very tense moments, particularly in the execution of the robbery, but the movie isn't too serious to throw in an occasional gag. Deserves to be
Latest News for The Great Train Robbery
November 05, 2008:
Michael Crichton Passes Away (1942-2008)
Best-selling author, screenwriter, and director Michael Crichton has passed away at the age of 66. The medical doctor-turned-filmmaker was best known for writing... More...
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