The Great Train Robbery

Name: The Great Train Robbery
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: February 2, 1979
Duration: 110 min
Rating: 68
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Sean Connery

1979

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Ratings

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5.8

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5.8	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Ratings

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The First Great Train Robbery

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Movie Details & Credits

United Artists | Release Date: February 2, 1979 | PG

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Sean Connery

Summary: Also known as "The First Great Train Robbery." In Victorian England, a master criminal makes elaborate plans to steal a shipment of gold from a moving train.

Director: Michael Crichton

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: PG

Runtime: 110 min

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Critic Reviews

Vincent Canby

Mr. Crichton's previous films as a director — "Westworld" and "Coma" — are skillful and, each in its own way, entertaining, but they give no hint of the amplitude he displays in this visually dazzling period piece. With Sean Connery as the gang's elegant leader, the sort of mastermind who denies his body nothing, Lesley-Anne Down as his magnificent moll, and Donald Sutherland as his locksmith —"the best screwsman in England" — The Great Train Robbery is classy entertainment of the sort I associate exclusively with movies. Read full review

Empire Ian Nathan

A splendidly detailed and rousing caper movie. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

An entertaining thriller that stumbles occasionally on overlong dialogue sequences. Read full review

Roger Ebert

Other pleasures: The wicked trick used to smuggle Connery into the locked car with the gold; the chase scene on top of the train; and, of course, the exquisite presence of Down, who has a bedroom scene with Connery that makes James Bond look curiously like Sherlock Holmes. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Crichton’s films drag in dialog bouts, but triumph when action takes over. Read full review

Pauline Kael

There's a total absence of personal obsession - even moviemaking obsession - in the way Crichton works; he never excites us emotionally or imaginatively, but the film has a satisfying, tame luxuriousness, like a super episode of "Masterpiece Theater."

Time Out London Staff (Not Credited)

Crichton's adaptation of his own novel falls badly between genres, never quite making up its mind whether it's aiming for comedy or suspense, and not succeeding very conclusively at either. The characters stay largely undeveloped, while - despite superficially peculiar features - the robbery is stripped of the ingenious exposition of the novel to become just another heist. Read full review

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User Reviews

timone

Jun 27, 2021

The First Great Train Robbery or you can call it The Great Train Robbery whatever you wanna call it. This is actually an extraordinary film with extraordinary cast like Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland. It all sets in the year 1855 where these two gentlemen are on a mission at the train toThe First Great Train Robbery or you can call it The Great Train Robbery whatever you wanna call it. This is actually an extraordinary film with extraordinary cast like Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland. It all sets in the year 1855 where these two gentlemen are on a mission at the train to rob a pile of gold along with the help of Lesley-Anne Down but they need to find four shiny keys to open the safe. Now this is a toughest challenge for those two gentlemen. It is actually based on the novel by Michael Crichton and he even directed the film which is really obscure. I really do like the thrills and I really do like the train sequence at the end. The entire movie is even thrilling and funny at the same time that add some scenes for the people to laugh at, like Donald Sutherland has to stay in the coffin pretending to be dead with stinky dead cat while covered in green paint. I really like this film for it's extraordinary production design, the thrills and it does gets some laughs. I actually do love every second of this and I think it's magnificent.… Expand

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amheretojudge

Sep 17, 2018

the special queue..

The Great Train Robbery The Great Train Robbery is a character driven thriller about a heist pulled off by a team on a running train. The feature is brimmed with tiny notions and tactics that steals away one's attention that is not only slick but smarter than onethe special queue..

The Great Train Robbery

The Great Train Robbery is a character driven thriller about a heist pulled off by a team on a running train. The feature is brimmed with tiny notions and tactics that steals away one's attention that is not only slick but smarter than one usually gets from such genres. The feature is much simpler and executed with conviction which is always safe to go for rather than implanting a convoluted concept and eerie perspective with unexplainable twists and turns that are mostly carried out to draw in the audience. Annoyingly, for the most part of the feature the subjective procedure is depicted which is often impactful, but with a calculative script like such that spends most of its time on setting up the plots and characters, that shucks away the intensity and uncertainty. It is short on technical aspects like background score, sound department, cinematography and editing. Connery adapts the character aptly and his three dimensional take on it makes it much more appealing along with a decent support from hilarious Sutherland with his slick one liners. There are few sequences installed in so perfectly that it leaves the viewers in an awe of it on its excellence of weaving out on a large glorifying scale. The adaptation by Crichton is layered and adaptive but lacks the essential grippiness that could have been much more impressive. But with a knowledge on withholding the cards on his execution skills, Crichton respects both his material and characters equally. The ruggedness oozing from each character that is foliated by the poised reputation among the society, the enthralling heists at the heart of it and the crisp that keeps the tale alive are the high points of the feature. The Great Train Robbery is a plausible act but it has nothing of whatsover merit to stand on "the special queue".… Expand

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Broyax

Dec 22, 2018

Il faut reconnaître que Michael Crichton a de bonnes idées de temps à autre dans ses bouquins, qui sont parfois exploitées à bon escient dans quelques films ici ou là... mais en tant qu'écrivain à proprement parler, il ne vaut pas pourtant pas tripette.

Alors en tant que réalisateur, il neIl faut reconnaître que Michael Crichton a de bonnes idées de temps à autre dans ses bouquins, qui sont parfois exploitées à bon escient dans quelques films ici ou là... mais en tant qu'écrivain à proprement parler, il ne vaut pas pourtant pas tripette.

Alors en tant que réalisateur, il ne vaut guère mieux et s'abîme, s'égare ici dans cet odieux navet à faire peur qui a l'impudence de s'étaler et se traîner sur pas loin de deux heures... ça fait de la peine pour Connery et Sutherland qui méritent bien mieux que cela, assurément. Mais a priori, on ne peut pas toujours deviner qu'on va tourner dans un étron et quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire comme on dit.

Alors, en fait de train, vous ne le verrez qu'à partir d'1h20 environ puisque qu'auparavant, on passe ici son temps à chercher des clés, des putains de clés, entre autres bavardages de ce film poussif et maladroit qui n'arrive pas à aligner une scène devant l'autre sans trébucher dans l'ennui, la bagatelle et le ridicule.

Un ratage total au titre ronflant, aussi ronflant que le spectateur imprudent qui se risquerait à y jeter un oeil. Alors, on a beau dire que ça porte bonheur, mais ne marchez pas dedans quand même.… Expand

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