FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The First Great Train Robbery [DVD] [1978]

The First Great Train Robbery [DVD] [1978]
enlarge	Director: Michael Crichton Actors: Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down, Alan Webb, Malcolm Terris Studio: MGM Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£12.99~~ Buy New: £2.71 as of 22/11/2009 01:27 GMT details You Save: £10.28 (79%) New (12) Used (2) from £2.71 Seller: fastdvd2006 Rating: 12 reviews Sales Rank: 8344 Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL Languages: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), German (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), Danish (Subtitled), Dutch (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Finnish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), German (Subtitled), Italian (Subtitled), Norwegian (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Swedish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Dubbed), German (Dubbed), Italian (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed) Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over Region: 2 Discs: 1 Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 106 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5050070005165 ASIN: B000059L8L Theatrical Release Date: February 2, 1979 Release Date: March 19, 2001 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review A lively, humorous caper film of the first order, IThe First Great Train Robbery/I is Michael Crichton's ambitious adaptation of his own novel, which was inspired by the facts of the first known train robbery. Crichton sets this attractive, highly enjoyable film in London in 1855, where Edward Pierce (Sean Connery) and Agar (Donald Sutherland) plot to steal £25,000 in gold that is being transported by train to pay British troops in the Crimean War. Lesley-Anne Down plays Miriam, Pierce's sophisticated paramour and the third partner in the scheme; while Pierce and Agar make copies of four keys for the train's closely guarded safes, she uses her feminine wiles to distract a variety of officials and businessmen with connections to the gold.pThe film boasts a vividly authentic recreation of mid-Victorian England, all the more remarkable since the production was filmed primarily in Ireland on a budget of $6 million--a miraculously modest sum (even in 1978) for such a lavish-looking film. Credit is due to the splendid cinematography of Geoffrey Unsworth and Jerry Goldsmith's ebullient score, both of which enhance the film's look and feel. Although Crichton's directorial style seems somewhat detached and bloodless, he maintains a vivid respect for place and time, and his three leads are splendid in their charismatic roles. Meticulous attention to details of costuming and production design enhance the breezy fun of the heist, which climaxes with an exciting sequence on the rushing train, with Connery performing his own stunt work. While the later hit IMission: Impossible/I would take a similar sequence to its high-tech, high -velocity extreme, IThe First Great Train Robbbery/I remains an entertaining study of crime in a less hectic age, allowing Crichton to emphasise ingenuity over special effects. --IJeff Shannon, Amazon.com/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 12 1 2 3 Next » SENSATIONAL FILM April 27, 2004 bexidoodle (Stoke) 7 out of 8 found this review helpful I came across this film on TV one sunday afternoon, and am SO glad I sattrough it. Absolutely fantastic. Its funny, very clever, the cast couldnot be any better at all - Sean Connery is as sexy as ever, DonaldSutherland is funny, and Lesley-Anne Down is ... um ... young! It is anace film that portrays the whole train robbery fiasco superbly, as one ofthe other reviewers has sed, with very little violence. I think it drawsthe audiences attention to actually how things were done rather thantrying to grip the imagination with bloodshed and bad language, yet it isstill packed with suspense.brI absolutely love this film and I recommend it to everyone who is willingto give something different ago. I was doubtful at first because the filmis older than me and on a subject I know relatively little about. But whenit came down to it, it made no difference at all. Clever and no violence December 17, 2002 Alistair Duncan (UK) 6 out of 7 found this review helpful This film is a treat. It presents gentlemen robbers in the form of Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland in a film that relies on plot rather than violence to deliver its impact (an idea sadly lost on many modern film makers). pThis films carries you with it as you watch the plans unfold and get rewritten as the characters overcome the various obstacles in their way. Perfectly cast and wonderfully shot. If you want a crime caper that's free of excessive violence and excessive swearing - this is it. One of my top ten favourite films of all time. The First Great Train Robbery February 9, 2005 3 out of 3 found this review helpful YES YES YES!!!!!brThis ones a gem really top notch it's got everything Sean Connery is as handsome as ever Donald Sutherland is quite hillarious in places ( look out for the scene with the dead cat!!) and then there's the female bit with Lesley Anne Downe whos ,well ,young.brA really excelent film with fine performances could watch it time and again a must have film!!!! One of my favorites of all caper movies February 2, 2006 Darren Harrison (Washington D.C.) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful Based on the book and directed by Michael Crichton, this enjoyable caper movie from 1979 brings together a fantastic cast in an authentic 19th century Victorian environment to tell a story based around the true story of the first great train robbery. I saw this movie many years ago on British television and have always found it enjoyable so it was an easy buy for me. brIn addition to a superb Sean Connery as the suave mastermind Edward Pierce (is Connery ever NOT suave) and the always amazing Donald Sutherland as his accomplice Agar, we also have Lesley-Anne Down as Miriam. Down was a favorite actress of mine from this era with movies like "The Pink Panther Strikes Again," "Rough Cut" and "Sphinx." Here she plays Connery#x27;s lover who is not afraid to use her quite incredible feminine charms to aid Pierce character. brJoining the three leads are such well known faces as British television celebrity Michael Elphick (as the railway guard who aids Pierce and Agar); Pamela Salem as Emily Trent (Salem would be reunited with Connery four years later in the rogue 007 film "Never Say Never Again") and Alan Webb as the bank president. brFilmed in Ireland with a modest budget of only $6 million, the script is intelligent, the action appropriate and the dialogue both witty and engaging. The showpiece stunt with Pierce on top of a moving train has since been copied many times since, including in the 1983 James Bond movie "Octopussy" with Roger Moore in the role that Sean Connery made famous). But this stunt sequence is distinctive in that Connery performed his own stunts. The train was supposed to be traveling only 35 miles-per-hour, but Connery argued that the train was actually moving much faster, an assertion that was confirmed by the helicopter pilot who measured the speed of the train at 55 miles-per-hour. brThe movie, set in 1855, tells the story of the three conspirators attempts to steal $25 million in gold bullion that is being transported by train to pay British troops fighting in the Crimean War. brTo gain access to the gold Pierce and Agar need copies to four keys and the bulk of the movie involves their efforts to obtain each key in what can be described as four separate caper tales. brThe effort and difficulties facing the thieves is ably outlined by Connery in the opening narration to the movie: br"In the year 1855, England and France were at war with Russia in the Crimea. The English troops were paid in gold. Once a month, twenty-five thousand pounds in gold was loaded into strongboxes inside the London bank of Huddleston and Bradford and taken by trusted armed guards to the railway station. The convoy followed no fixed route or timetable. At the station, the gold was loaded into the luggage van of the Folkestone train for shipment to the coast and from there to the Crimea. The strongboxes were placed into two specially-built Chubb safes constructed of three-quarter inch tempered steel. Each safe weighed five hundred and fifty pounds. Each safe was fitted with two locks, requiring two keys, or four keys altogether. For security, each key was individually protected. Two keys were entrusted to the railway dispatcher who kept them locked in his office. A third was in the custody of Mr. Edgar Trent, president of the Huddleston and Bradford. And the fourth key was given to Mr. Henry Fowler, manager of the Huddleston and Bradford. The presence of so much gold in one place naturally aroused the interest of the English criminal elements. But in 1855 there had never been a robbery from a moving railway train." brThere are some definite differences between the actual robbery on which Crichton based his work and the movie. The actual plot involved four criminals - Pierce, Agar, the railway guard Burgess, and a railway clerk named Tester and all four keys were kept on railroad premises in London and Folkestone. But as it turned out the two Foilkestone keys were not used. In addition the guard#x27;s van was not locked from the outside; Pierce and Agar were let in by Burgess, and a share of the loot was handed out to Tester at stations. brThe crown jewel as far as supplementary material is concerned is the scene specific commentary by writer-director Crichton. Even given the intervening 18 years between the release of the movie and the recording of the commentary Crichton seems to have a wealth of anecdotal and technical recollections of the making of the movie and displays a genuine affection for the movie. We learn about the research he did for the book and the machinations that went on behind the scenes. Apparently the largely British and Irish crew initially had little respect for the young director until he ordered a copy of his 1978 movie "Coma" for them to watch, after which he got more respect. In another incident Crichton#x27;s hair caught on fire when the locomotive emitted burning embers. brThere is also (as was common for MGM releases in the earlu days of DVD) an 8-page glossy, full color booklet with trivia surrounding the making of the movie. Cracking February 24, 2001 3 out of 6 found this review helpful The great train robbery has always been a great story. This film not only combines the grandness of the classic tale, but adds classic humour and class in to boot. Sean Connery and his co-stars offer an absolute visual treat as the gentlemen robbers, and there os no end of smiles as they pull off one dry joke after the other. Absolutely cracking, with great directing from everyone's favourite author Micheal Crichton. Top bob. Showing reviews 1-5 of 12 1 2 3 Next »

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