The Train

Another brilliant collaboration between director John Frankenheimer and his star Burt Lancaster, THE TRAIN (1964) is based on historic events and French art historian Rose Valland’s factual book Le front de l’art. In the movie, it is Lancaster who, together with other members of the French Resistance during WW2, tries to stop an art loving Nazi colonel from shipping stolen Impressionist masterpieces from Paris to Berlin.

The year is 1944 and the German occupation of France is finally heading towards an end, with the liberation of Paris by the Allies only a short time away. It does not stop the Wehrmacht from attempting to ship stolen art masterpieces (stolen from the Jeu de Paume Museum) from Paris to Berlin. Head of the operation is Colonel Franz von Waldheim (Paul Scofield), an obsessive 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.

During the meeting it is decided that the plan is easier said than done and that it still comes with considerable risks attached… risks that Resistance cell leader Paul Labiche (Lancaster) is not willing to take for the sake of some paintings, no matter how precious the stolen goods might be! After Labiche’s decision, stubborn and elderly train engineer Papa Boule (Michel Simon) fearlessly takes matters into his own hands and tries to sabotage the train before it can leave the station. This bravery costs Boule his life for he is promptly executed by the Nazis! All was not in vain though, as a shocked Labiche suddenly has a change of heart and, together with other members of the Resistance, draws up a daring and cunning plan that will fool the Wehrmacht and consequently delay the train until the Allied troops arrive. From re-labelling the names of railway stations to arranging a double collision, from trying to paint the tops of some of the boxcars white in order to stop the Allies from accidently bombing the German train, the varied plans seem fool-proof yet things don’t go as smoothly as planned – quelle surprise!

Not only is Labiche shot in the leg during one of his attempts to re-route the train but various other members of the Resistance are shot and killed by the Nazis. With the initially reluctant help of widowed hotel owner Christine (Jeanne Moreau), Labiche receives food and thus the strength to carry on with his mission impossible, and all by himself. By now, the emphasis of the ‘battle’ is between Labiche and the increasingly obsessed Colonel von Waldheim, who is hell-bent on getting the stolen masterpieces to Berlin at any cost. As the film heads towards its nerve-wracking climax, the two men are adamant to see their plans through and destroy the opponent…

Lancaster and Scofield are cleverly cast as two individuals at the opposite end of the pole, yet they are bound 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, and it is thanks to director Frankenheimer’s sensible direction that each of the actors (professional or not) comes over as utterly realistic. The film’s dramatic score and the stark b/w cinematography further emphasize the danger.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
· High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the film
· Uncompressed 1.0 mono PCM audio
· Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
· Audio commentary by director John Frankenheimer
· Optional isolated score by Maurice Jarre
· Burt Lancaster in the Sixties – a newly-filmed interview with Lancaster’s biographer Kate Buford, tracing the actor’s career throughout the decade
· French television news report on the making of The Train, containing interviews with the locals of Acquigny
· Archive interview with Michel Simon
· Footage of The Train’s gala screening in Marseilles
· Theatrical Trailer
· Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Vladimir Zimakov
· Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Sheldon Hall, illustrated with original stills and artwork