THE TRAIN [1964] [Blu-ray] [1964 / 2014] [Twilight Time] One Man’s Impossible Mission – To Save His Country’s Priceless Treasures! It Will Carry You To The Peak of Adventure!
Director John Frankenheimer’s cracking adventure thriller ‘THE TRAIN’ [1964] and stars the one and only Burt Lancaster as a workaday World War II-era French trainman charged with ensuring that a cargo of irreplaceable French art – the pride and heritage of his nation – is not allowed to leave France, despite the machinations of Art lover and fanatical Nazi Colonel Von Waldheim [Paul Scholfield] whose determined to steal these great works of art from Germany. Also starring Jeanne Moreau and Michel Simon and featuring compelling black-and-white Cinematography by Jean Tournier and Walter Wottitz and a thrilling composed score by Maurice Jarre, and ‘THE TRAIN’ is one of the icons od Sixties cinema.
“A vivid melodrama through which Mr. Lancaster bolts with all the straight, strong, American sporting instinct and physical agility for which he is famous… a beautiful, hissing tangle.” – Bosley Crowther, The New York Times
“A colourful, big-scale adventure opus… it is the trains themselves and some bang-up special effects of bombing attacks and accidents that gives the picture its main points.” – Variety
“A rattling good thriller… an almost hypnotic fascination.” – Times Out London
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1965 BAFTA Awards: Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Film from any Source. 1965 Laurel Awards: Nominated: Golden Laurel for Action Performance for Burt Lancaster/ 1966 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen for Frank Davis and Franklin Coen. 1966 National Board of Review, USA: Win: NBR Award for Top Ten Films.
FILM FACT No.2: ‘THE TRAIN’ is based on the factual 1961 book Le front de l'art by Rose Valland, the art historian at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, who documented the works of art placed in storage there that had been looted by the Germans from museums and private art collections throughout France and were being sorted for shipment to Germany in World War II. In contrast to the action and drama depicted in the film, the shipment of art that the Germans were attempting to take out of Paris on the 1st August, 1944, was held up by the French Resistance with an endless barrage of paperwork and red tape and made it no farther than a railyard a few miles outside Paris. The train's actual interception was inspired by the real-life events surrounding train No. 40,044 as it was seized and examined by Lt. Alexandre Rosenberg of the Free French forces outside Paris in August 1944. Upon his soldiers opening the wagon doors he viewed many plundered pieces of art that had once been displayed in the home of his father, Parisian art dealer Paul Rosenberg, was one of the world's major Modern art dealers. Artworks seen in the film's opening scenes prominently include paintings that in reality were not looted by the Germans such as When Will You Marry? by Paul Gauguin and Girl with a Mandolin by Pablo Picasso. Filming took place in several locations, including: Acquigny (Calvados; Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis; and Vaires, Seine-et-Marne. The shots span from Paris to Metz. Much of the film is centred in the fictional town called “Rive-Reine.” Actual train route: Paris, Vaires, Rive-Reine, Montmirail, Châlons-sur-Marne, St Menehould, Verdun, Metz, Pont-à-Mousson, Sorcy (Level Crossing), Commercy, Vitry Le Francois, Rive-Reine. Planned route from Metz to Germany: Remilly, Teting (level crossing), Saint Avold, Zweibrücken.
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau, Suzanne Flon, Michel Simon, Wolfgang Preiss, Albert Rémy, Charles Millot, Richard Münch, Jacques Marin, Paul Bonifas, Jean Bouchaud, Donald O'Brien, Jean-Pierre Zola, Arthur Brauss, Jean-Claude Bercq, Howard Vernon, Louis Falavigna, Richard Bailey, Christian Fuin, Helmo Kindermann, Roger Lumont, Gérard Buhr, Christian Rémy, Victor Beaumont (uncredited), Jacques Blot (uncredited), Michel Charrel (uncredited), Nick Dimitri (uncredited), Max Fromm (uncredited), Bernard La Jarrige (uncredited), Jean-Jacques Leconte (uncredited), Daniel Lecourtois (uncredited) and Wolfgang Sauer (uncredited)
Directors: John Frankenheimer and Arthur Penn (uncredited)
Producers: Bernard Farrel and Jules Bricken
Screenplay: Frank Davis (story), Franklin Coen (story), Albert Husson (French version) (uncredited), Howard Dimsdale (uncredited), Nedrick Young (uncredited) Walter Bernstein (uncredited) and Rose Valland (based upon the book Le front de l'art)
Composer: Maurice Jarre
Make-up Department: Georges Bouban (Make-up artist)
Cinematography: Jean Tournier (Director of Photography) and Walter Wottitz (Director of Photography)
Special Effects: Lee Zavity
Visual Effects: Jean Fouchet (optical effects)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black and White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: English: 1.0 DTS-HD Mono Audio
English: 2.0 DTS-HD Stereo Audio
Isolated Music Score: 2.0 DTS-HD Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 133 minutes
Region: Region Free
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / United Artists / Twilight Time
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: At the start of the film, we are informed that we, the makers of this film, wish to pay tribute to those French Railway men, living and dead, whose magnificent spirit and whose courage inspired this story. We wish also to express our thanks to the French National Railways and the French Military Forces, whose wholehearted cooperation made the production possible.
‘THE TRAIN’ [1964] is a brilliant director John Frankenheimer’s epic USA/French co-production and it is hard to believe that this masterpiece is just over 50 years old and it certainly doesn’t look it. Shot almost entirely on location in France, the production faced unexpected difficulties, especially in regards to the inclement weather in Normandy. "The Allies couldn't invade Normandy until June," John Frankenheimer later recalled, "and we were trying to shoot this thing in September and October when the fog comes rolling in from the Channel." Eventually, the production was shut down until the following spring, allowing the crew to shoot interior scenes in Paris and to begin assembling a cut of the film. Once the weather improved, they knew exactly what they needed to finish the picture. Aside from the weather, there were many other challenges involved in making ‘THE TRAIN.’ To film the bombing of a railway yard, special effects supervisor Lee Zavitz spent six weeks planting dynamite charges beneath the tracks of an actual rail yard, which the French government was already planning to tear apart and renovate, for a scene that lasts only 50 seconds. According to Newsweek, this brief sequence incorporated 140 separate explosions, 3,000 pounds of TNT and 2,000 gallons of gasoline. No miniatures were used in ‘THE TRAIN,’ a fact that is readily apparent when one views such sequences of carefully-orchestrated destruction that punctuate the film's tightly-wound narrative and was spectacularly effective with the scene when the train was being strafed by a British Spitfire plane when racing towards the safety of a mountain tunnel, proved almost fatal to John Frankenheimer and some of the crew. Filming from a helicopter just ahead of the train, the helicopter accidentally pulled into the path of the Spitfire plane as it sped toward the mountainside. “The Spitfire was roaring toward us at 300 miles an hour” which John Frankenheimer remembers, “I could see the pilot's face and he looked as terrified as I felt. He missed us by ten feet... My wife was watching on the ground, and she fainted.”
But as to the actual story, which is in reality a very simple and clever scenario. Art lover and fanatical Nazi Colonel Von Waldheim [Paul Scholfield] have plundered a Paris museum for its masterpieces, including works by Van Gogh, Picasso and Cezanne. Nazi Colonel Von Waldheim’s intention is to have them transported by rail to Berlin, but one man stands in his way. Aware that the Allied forces are fast approaching the French capital and the French resistance fighter Paul Labiche [Burt Lancaster] need only stall the train for a few more days, but he’ll have to use all of his wits and skills to do so. Of course, the film is also posing the question, which still arises today, of the relative value of art and life in time of war. It is set in France in 1944. The film features two OSCAR® winners in its lead roles and they are Burt Lancaster and Paul Scofield and also the fabulous French actress Jeanne Moreau as Christine and the equally impressive French actor Michel Simon as Papa Boule in the supporting cast.
‘THE TRAIN’ was actually based on a factual incident in 1944 where a shipment of 148 crates of modern paintings, which were destined for Germany, were packed on a train leaving Paris on the 1st August, 1944. The French Resistance were contacted and they managed to have the train stalled in a railway yard 20 kms outside Paris for several weeks until after the Liberation. Head of the operation was fanatical Colonel Franz von Waldheim, an obsessive art lover of the arts and of culture per se. Distraught museum curator Mademoiselle Villard [Suzanne Flon] asks the French Resistance for help and is certain that they will do so, especially since the liberation is “just around the corner” and all it takes is to delay the departure of the Wehrmacht train for several days.
Director John Frankenheimer made an extraordinary trilogy of the paranoia in the 1960s, but along comes the brilliant explosive film ‘THE TRAIN’ came smack in the middle of the Sixties. John Frankenheimer only came on to direct this 1964 film, because the original director Arthur Penn was fired early on in production. Paul Labiche has to somehow delay the train so that the Allies can intercept the train full of the Nazi looting of all the classic priceless pieces of all the French paintings ending up in Berlin in Germany. Paul Labiche works with the French Resistance in a series of dramatic action set pieces to make the train detour from its original route with lots of clever subversive action from the ever present French Resistance that the Germans do not realise they are not on their way to their final destination in Berlin.
Director John Frankenheimer is a total visual master with his ever present close-up shots and his also on the edge of your seat atmospheric dramatic effects. A fine example of the film's life-sized special effects is a collision of two steam locomotives, which was not as simple as it appears. The tracks of the approaching train were dismantled and re-laid below ground level so the impact would be more dramatic, causing the locomotives to destroy one another and tear apart the earth around them rather than bouncing in different directions. John Frankenheimer expertly builds up the tension of the film’s 133 minutes running time to great effect, and John Frankenheimer is also a professional director who was totally effective in making dramatic films of one kind and another that has thrilled audiences with films of his calibre. But sometimes in the film ‘THE TRAIN’ there are some moments that are of a slower pace, but I think this was a deliberate effort on the part of the director to make you appreciate the final climax of this brilliant World World II film. But as you will hear with the audio commentary, you will hear John Frankenheimer say, “I think this was the last big action picture made in black-and-white, and personally, I am so grateful that it is in black-and-white, because I think the black-and-white image adds tremendously to the movie.” Which I agree 100% with the brilliant director John Frankenheimer.
Burt Lancaster and Paul Scofield are cleverly cast as two individuals at the opposite end of the pole spectrum, yet they are bound together through their almost fanatical obsessiveness in seeing their own goals through. Several of the Extras were in fact locals who could remember the actual real-life events in 1944, and it is thanks to the brilliant director John Frankenheimer’s sensible direction that each of the actors comes over as utterly realistic. One sequence that proved to be unexpectedly complicated was the derailing of a slow-moving locomotive. Instead of approaching at the planned speed of seven miles per hour, the driver accidentally tripled the speed. As a result, the train left the rails and proceeded to destroy every camera in its path....except one. No crew members were injured, six cameras were demolished, and the sole surviving camera provided a shot better than anything John Frankenheimer had anticipated, especially with a close-up view of the catastrophe, concluding with one steel wheel spinning mere inches from the lens of the camera. The film’s dramatic score and the stark black-and-white cinematography further emphasise the danger and dramatic imagery of this brilliant World War II film.
Of course Burt Lancaster as usual brings a dramatic visual physical presence to his role in the film, who by the way to people who is interested in facts about Burt Lancaster, that he originally trained as a circus acrobat, which I think helped Burt Lancaster in the film roles he appeared in all his dramatic films he appeared in his professional acting career. But even more impressive is the actor Paul Scofield who brings a real evil menace presence as the role as the Nazi Colonel Officer Franz von Waldheim. We also have the delightful French actress Jeanne Moreau who adds just that French feminine touch to her role that this lovely actress always brings to the screen. Which all helps to bring this brilliant idiosyncratic dramatic thriller of John Frankenheimer’s film to a brilliant final solution and of course makes ‘THE TRAIN’ one of the most important Second World War II to come to the silver screen in a very long time and now preserved for future generation who are seeking films of this ultimate professional calibre presentation.
As a great honour and homage to this brilliant awesome film ‘THE TRAIN,’ I liked the following dedication that you see at the start of the film and reads as follows: “We, the makers of this film, wish to pay tribute to those French Railway men, living and dead, whose magnificent spirit and whose courage inspired the story. We wish also to express our thanks to the French National Railways and the French Military Forces, whose wholehearted cooperation made the production possible.” Although the sequence is not closely tied to the rest of the plot, it is a masterful achievement of heightened and prolonged suspense that helped solidify the reputation of ‘THE TRAIN’ as one of the best action films of the 1960’s.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists and Twilight Time presents us the totally brilliant ‘THE TRAIN’ that was shot in stunning 1080p Black-and-White image and is presented in the equally brilliant original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The Blu-ray gives us an excellent clarity of contrast with a natural grain structure that maintains the film celluloid look of the Blu-ray. In keeping it with amazing image quality, and especially for a 50 year old film, it has a terrific grey scale variance that brings out lots of its beautiful details and textures, and the shadows look really good, and especially the background elements are always easy on the eye. Close-ups spotlight the actors facial features really well, from the actors furrowed brows, facial hair to careworn creases, sweat, and battle scars, and it is a total credit to the careful and painstaking production of the high definition master of the film and the additional picture restoration carried out under the control of the professional Twilight Time supervision.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists and Twilight Time brings us ‘THE TRAIN’ with a 1.0 DTS-HD Mono Audio experience, that at times feels like you are hearing it in Stereo and pumps out plenty of potent sound that enhances the dramatic action sequences and maximises the impact of every sonic audio element. What is also great about the audio experience is the piercing shrill of the train whistles and air-raid sirens are marvellously rendered, while the amazing awesome crashes and explosions possess gives us a formidable hefty bass channel. What is also very impressive is the sound of the rapid machine gun fire that is crisp and spot on, as well as the sounds of the footsteps come across as very clean. We also get a very superior dynamic range of highs and lows, especially with the brilliant composer Maurice Jarre's music score is so easy for your listening pleasure. The only slightly negative aspect of the audio presentation, as I had to really increase the audio volume especially when the actors are spealing.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
High Definition Blu-ray 1080p presentation
Special Feature: 2.0 DTS-HD Stereo Isolated Audio Score Track presentation of the film ‘THE TRAIN.’
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Julia Kirgo, Paul Seydor and Nick Redman [2014] [1080p] [1.66:1] [133:14] With this featurette, we get to hear from Film Historians Julia Kirgo, Paul Seydor and Nick Redman, and as the film begins, they all introduce themselves and are very keen to talk in-depth about the 1964 film ‘THE TRAIN’ and discuss the visual style of ‘THE TRAIN’ and the choreography, and specifically how some explosions were done, the casting choices, different trends in American and French cinema prior to the shooting of the film, and Paul Seydor says the film ‘THE TRAIN’ is based on a true story and also based on the novel by Rose Valland and of course the 1964 film is about the Nazi’s stealing great art masterpieces in France to be shipped back to Germany and a certain woman is at the centre of this heinous Nazi crime who secretly catalogued all of the paintings that were being transported back to Germany and in the film it is not mentioned that the woman had secretly catalogued all of the paintings that were being stolen. All three now talk about the actual train in the film that in reality never got very far out of France. They now talk in-depth about the wonderful actor Paul Scofield and they say this 1964 film was before Paul Scofield became a great star and was not very well known in England at the time of appearing in this 1964 film and they all feel that Paul Scofield is a totally brilliant actor in this 1964 film, and they all feel Paul Scofield was a brilliant choice for the film ‘THE TRAIN.’ They also feel director John Frankenheimer was right to have all the actors speak in English and especially with some of the actors speaking with a French or German accent, compared with some other director who would have filmed ‘THE TRAIN’ with actors speaking in French and German with English subtitles. All three also give great praise to who they feel gave the film ‘THE TRAIN’ with great dynamism of filmmaking, and they also feel one image after lots of images of the film really sets up the start of the film and they also feel the train yard is one of the main character of this 1964 film, and they also give great praise to the two amazing cinematographers Jean Tournier and is best known for working on the films The Day of the Jackal [1973] and Moonraker [1979] and Walter Wottitz who is also best known for working on the film The Longest Day [1962]. Another thing all three give great praise to ‘THE TRAIN’ is that the action sequences in the film is truly a character driven theme of this action movie, and that they also say that director John Frankenheimer said about ‘THE TRAIN’ is the amazing stunts, the effects, that action sequences are hyper real and not a miniature set was used, and the explosions are hyper real and are 100% totally real and again not filmed on a miniature set. All three now give great praise to the main character in the film and that one was actor Burt Lancaster, and they also feel the film tells you something about the main characters in the film, who are professionals and they know how to do their stuff throughout the film to make it all look totally realistic and they also know how to make stuff not work. Once again all three give great praise to the actor Burt Lancaster who they feel could actually strip down the train apart and you actually see in the film Burt Lancaster does actually work on the train, and you actually see Burt Lancaster melting steel, and they also say that Burt Lancaster gives the film a physical presence and that the actor is second to none and feel no other actor would come anywhere near to Burt Lancaster’s roll in the film ‘THE TRAIN,’ and they also say that before Burt Lancaster became an actor, he was a circus acrobat and again is a very physical actor especially when climbing onto a fast moving train, and that point in the film we see massive amount of very real explosions behind the moving train that feel is totally spectacular, and again they again give great praise to the actor Burt Lancaster when you see him building the train and they feel it makes his character in the film totally realistic. They say a lot of critics in America never gave good reviews towards Burt Lancaster films before the release of the film ‘THE TRAIN,’ but critics soon changed their minds 100% about Burt Lancaster’s acting credentials in the film ‘THE TRAIN’ and Julie Kirgo feels Burt Lancaster is at the top of his game in his acting ability in the film ‘THE TRAIN,’ and also says Burt Lancaster’s early childhood came from a background of poverty, but really excelled in sport and eventually joined a circus as an acrobat and feels it helped him achieve his long acting career, and on top of all that, Burt Lancaster’s acting career helped him wanting to set up an Independent Production Company in Hollywood entitled Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, and produced such films as Paddy Chayefsky's Marty [1955] and The Catered Affair [1956]. We are informed that the dramatic scene with the Spitfire fires its “striffing” bullets at the single train Burt Lancaster is driving at high speed towards the tunnel and this part of the film was an afterthought from director John Frankenheimer and was an extra filmed sequence, because John Frankenheimer knew exactly what he wanted to do for this film, and the extra filming sequence cost in 1964 $500,000 but in today’s money it would be equivalent of $5,000,000 and what actually happened is that John Frankenheimer was in a helicopter with the camera crew and the Spitfire is coming towards the helicopter that you see in the film and basically and for whatever reason was happening, and everyone was so transfixed on the filming sequence in getting the shot of the Spitfire coming towards the helicopter, they missed each other by 10 feet and John Frankenheimer’s wife at that time in 1964 was standing on the ground watching this dramatic event of the close shave, suddenly fainted, and that is a true story of the sequence of filming that the three of them have just informed us, and of course and John Frankenheimer felt very much he was rightly justified in filming the extra sequence for the 1964 film, as what you view is an extremely dramatic scene in the film and fitted perfectly in the film ‘THE TRAIN.’ Now the three of them talk in-depth about the famous French actress Jeanne Moreau who plays the character Christine in the film ‘THE TRAIN’ and mentions some of Jeanne Moreau’s starring roles in films like The Lovers [1958], Lift to the Scaffold [1958], Les Amants [1958], La notte [1961], Jules et Jim [1962], Diary of a Chambermaid [1964], Viva Maria! [1965], Mademoiselle [1966] and The Bride Wore Black [1968] and they also say that actress Jeanne Moreau was the key film actress of her time, a thinking man's cinephile sexpot, and a role model for liberated women, and so much more than that, as opposed to other French actresses like Brigitte Bardot and Julia Kirgo thinks the actress Jeanne Moreau is wonderful in the film ‘THE TRAIN’ and also mentions that before that 1964 film, Jeanne Moreau appeared in the film Seven Days... Seven Nights [French: Moderato cantabile] [1960]. When we get to Chapter 7, all three of them say that the film ‘THE TRAIN’ that the storytelling is so solid, the pacing is so good and feels that is what storytelling is all about and especially good dramatic storytelling, whether it is on the stage, or on film and frankly also in fiction, and that is what keeps us on the edge of our seats, and you believe in the characters, especially in the film ‘THE TRAIN’ and also the truth is there in the 1964 film, and they also say film ‘THE TRAIN’ is a truly discovered classic, especially on this Twilight Time Blu-ray release, and they also say, ‘THE TRAIN’ is about an incredible rare combination of brilliant well-made motion picture, that is also about something very important, and the 1964 film was released on the 70th Anniversary of D-Day and also the 70th Anniversary of the real life event that we witness in the film ‘THE TRAIN’ and of course the liberation of Paris, France, and all three wonder if the film ‘THE TRAIN’ would ever be made in modern times, and especially the way the 1964 film was made, and all three wonder if the film was made in modern times, would a lot of the very dramatic bombing scenes and the explosive train crashes sequences would probably be done by CGI technology, which all three feel would not look realistic, like in this 1964 film. Now all three mention about the actor Burt Lancaster and the scene where he is shot in his leg, because in reality, Burt Lancaster while filming a dramatic sequence in the film, seriously injured his ankle very badly, so decided to use this advantage for the scenes in the film where he is limping. Once again they talk about another aspect of the actor Burt Lancaster, and talk about the biography that came out about the actor Burt Lancaster entitled Burt Lancaster: An American Life [2008] by Kate Buford that is a definitive biography offers a full, frank, sensitive and compelling portrait of the actor Burt Lancaster, and Kate Buford mentions the story of the actor Burt Lancaster was on a commercial passenger airline one day, and was sitting on an aisle seat, and sitting next to Burt Lancaster in the window seat and this man has a massive heart attack and is jammed against the window, and they did not know how to move this man, so Burt Lancaster leans over and lifts this man out of his seat with one arm and carries him over Burt Lancaster’s shoulder and lays the man down in the aisle at the back of the plane, which of course helped, because of Burt Lancaster’s previous employment skill in the circus, and of course the airline staff can now look after the man who has just had a serious heart attack. As we get near to the end of the film ‘THE TRAIN’ and of course this audio commentary with Julia Kirgo, Paul Seydor and Nick Redman, they do like the scene coming up where the other retreating German’s arrive and have a very serious altercation. Another thing they mention about the actor Paul Scofield after the release of the ‘THE TRAIN,’ would not go onto be a conventional movie actor, and even after the success of films like A Man For All Season [1966], King Lear [1970], Henry V [1989], Hamlet [1990] and Quiz Show [1994] which Julie Kirgo thinks Paul Scofield is totally brilliant in that 1994 film. On top of all that, the here of them feels Paul Scofield’s character is now very vulnerable near the end of the film and feeling totally isolate with his character, even being in the German army, who at this point in the film could care less about the paintings, because they feel they have lost the battle, all because of one man, the character that Burt Lancaster plays, and of course the character Paul Scofield plays, eventually gets his final justified comeuppance at the hands of Burt Lancaster’s character as we get near to the very end of the film, and as the end credits appear, Nick Redman wants to thank Julie Kirgo and Paul Seydor for joining him with this very special audio commentary, and they all agree the film ‘THE TRAIN’ is a really excellent movie and a very good example of what it is all about, and again, Nick Redman thanks us for joining us in our journey throughout the film ‘THE TRAIN.’
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with John Frankenheimer [2014] [1080p] [1.66:1] [132:31] With this featurette, we finally get to hear from the brilliant director John Frankenheimer doing in-depth audio commentary on his film ‘THE TRAIN’ and informs us that it was filmed at the height of winter and the coldest he has ever experienced and also that evening he informs us he got married. John Frankenheimer informs us that the room where all the paints are on view before being shipped out, was a specially built room on the film set. John also praises the composer Maurice Jarre, where he feels that musical score was very effective and also feels that the music score reflected the style of the film so well. The other studio shot was another specially built room where you see all the Germans are getting ready to pack up everything to ship off to berlin. But after that John informs us that 90% of the film is on location and informs he is so very grateful that the film was shot in Black-and-White, which greatly enhances the visual image and also goes into great deal of information on what lenses he wanted to use to enhance the look of the film. John also praises Burt Lancaster as his portrait of a French Resistant leader and John also praises the French actors, and one of them was the veteran Michel Simon, but was notorious in not being able to say his lines in an English accent which you can hear when he speaks in the film. But his greatest praise was for the French actress Jeanne Moreau, who says was a joy to work with. Also the French actors, who worked on the train, were qualified train drivers. John informs us that they used 500lbs of explosive to blow up the box cars, which was for real. Also we find out that Burt Lancaster trained as an Engineer, especially when you see him making the part for the damaged train. When you see the Spitfire strafing the yard where all the trains and box cars with gunfire, it took two weeks to film that part in the film, but was also a very expensive experience. When it came to the physical stunts, John informs us that Burt Lancaster did all his own and especially when you see that young boy up on the room and is shot by the German Officer, well that is actually Burt Lancaster dressed up and the boy falling off the roof. But as we near the end of the film, we are at the part of the film where Burt Lancaster lets the train go and crashes into the other damaged train, which was for real, well John informs us that the day before that shoot Burt Lancaster was playing golf and he damaged his knee very badly and it made him limp very badly, so John devised a set up where as Burt runs across the bridge, and the German fires the machine gun and strafes it with bullets and you see Burt gets hit by the bullets, well because of Burt’s injury and that Burt could not of carried on filming, they would have had to shut the film down, but being Burt Lancaster as a real pro could not let down the director John Frankenheimer. One nice bit of information we hear from John is that the making the film really turned his life around, because before filming ‘THE TRAIN’ he had never set foot outside America and taking a year to make the film made him really appreciate France and its culture and after he finished ‘THE TRAIN’ decided to live in France for 5 years, as he got to see life that again was so different to what he experienced while living in America and because of this new lease of life, he went onto to make the film ‘GRAND PRIX’ [1966]. Another fascinating fact we hear about is that John says the film ‘THE TRAIN’ was made for $6,000,00, but he reckons if the film was made today, the budget would be in excess of $75,000,000. But one comment I liked is when John Frankenheimer points out that not one of the actors in the film ‘THE TRAIN’ and especially in the dramatic part of the film, never utters a swear word or other expletives, which John feels these words is not necessary, where he also points out that is a totally different outlook with modern day action films. And as we come to the end of the film and the brilliant audio commentary, which we get that very haunting atmospheric composed music from Maurice Jarre, to give it its atmospheric ending, that John Frankenheimer comments on in giving the film its right ending, instead of normally over the top composed music ending with modern action films, as the film did not need a massive dramatic ending for this particular Second World War II film. Please Note: By the way, I was fascinated to read that the John Frankenheimer’s audio commentary had actually been recorded for the 1994 MGM/UA NTSC LaserDisc, but we are so lucky to have it added to this Blu-ray release for the first time on this stunning Twilight Time Blu-ray release.
Special Feature: Original Theatrical Trailer [1964] [1080p] [1.37:1] [4:32] With this featurette, we get to view the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE TRAIN.’
Special Feature: M-G-M 90th Anniversary Trailer [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [2:06] With this featurette, we get to view a really special Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 90th Anniversary Promotion Trailer for their M-G-M films.
BONUS: Twilight Time has produced a 8 page booklet with a very nice Julie Kirgo insert liner notes also separates fact from fiction in the true incidents that inspired the film, and points up the very pertinent fact that most of the art being amassed at the museum by the Germans was appropriated from wealthy Jews that had been rounded up and shipped East in the previous couple of years. That's not mentioned in the movie, as if United Artists didn't want to offend German exhibitors. In the commentary we hear that the German press complained about the conclusion in which some French hostages are shot. The person giving the command is a normal Wehrmacht officer, not a member of the S.S. The political trend in the Cold War was to limit all war crimes to as small a group of villains as possible. Also supplied with the 8 page booklet is lots of nice black-and-white images from the film.
Finally, climb up onto the footplate. Feel the heat of the furnace and the steam from the boiler. You will have coal grit in your eyes, your face and your hair will be blackened by smoke and just experience the hard steel, the power, the oil and the dirt, as you take the frightening and dangerous journey with the film ‘THE TRAIN,’ was like seeing it for the first time and is totally superb and Twilight Time should be very proud and honoured, because they have done a totally professional job and you will savour every ounce of this totally brilliant and fantastic film ‘THE TRAIN; forever! Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
