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Movies / On DVD / The Great Train Robbery
The Great Train Robbery

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The Great Train Robbery (1979)

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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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Great Train Robbery

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
11/05/08
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The characters stay largely undeveloped, while -- despite superficially peculiar features -- the robbery is stripped of the ingenious exposition of the novel.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Amiable enough, but as heist films go this is well below average.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An entertaining thriller that stumbles occasionally on overlong dialogue sequences.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
11/05/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Crichton's films drag in dialog bouts, but triumph when action takes over.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/30/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
03/23/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Lumbers along at a dull pace.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/05/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
06/13/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

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.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Imbued with the spirit of the ‘60s and ‘70s counterculture.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
05/03/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

Smooth crime caper flick with Connery .

comment Comment
10/25/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
09/16/04
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

The Great Train Robbery offers a peep into Victorian society with its strange sports, public hangings and high society rituals.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/27/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
John Esther
John Esther
Pasadena Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
08/17/03
Jonathan R. Perry
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

No review available.

comment Comment
10/11/02
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

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

comment Comment
08/09/02
Larry Carroll
Larry Carroll
Countingdown.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/08/02
Cory Cheney
Cory Cheney
Urban Tulsa Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
08/01/02
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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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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