Stars: Sean Connery, Lesley-Anne Down, Donald Sutherland, Wayne Sleep, Alan Webb, Malcolm Terris, Robert Lang

Director: Michael Crichton

Summary: The story of a daring gold heist during the Crimean War. A master thief plans to rob a train carrying gold, without the authorities ever realising that he was on the train.

Michael Crichton's most accomplished directorial effort, THE FIRST 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 FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY is a historical tour de force that culminates in the suspenseful, dangerous climax of this true story.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

A lively, humorous caper film of the first order, The First Great Train Robberyis 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.

The 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 Mission: Impossiblewould take a similar sequence to its high-tech, high -velocity extreme, The First Great Train Robbberyremains an entertaining study of crime in a less hectic age, allowing Crichton to emphasise ingenuity over special effects. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame, 1.85 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive Menu Screens And Chapter Selection, Original Theatrical Trailer
Subtitles:	Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
Year:	1978
Release Date:	March 19, 2001
Runtime:	106 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	17308 D V D
Keywords:	Great, Action, First, General, Train, Robbery, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure