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The First Great Train Robbery Details

1978 Certificate 12
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 1191 members

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 .. Read more

Starring Sean Connery, Lesley-Anne Down, Donald Sutherland, Wayne Sleep
Director Michael Crichton
Genres Action/Adventure, Thriller

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The First Great Train Robbery cover art

The First Great Train Robbery

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.

Starring Sean Connery, Lesley-Anne Down, Donald Sutherland, Wayne Sleep, Alan Webb, Malcolm Terris, Robert Lang
Director Michael Crichton
Studio MGM ENTERTAINMENT
Run time DVD: 1 hr 46 mins
Certificate Certificate 12
Genres Action/Adventure, Thriller
Language DVD: English
Dubbed French, German, Italian, Spanish
Hearing-impaired English, German
Subtitles DVD: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
Released DVD: 19 Mar 2001
Production year: 1978
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (3) of The First Great Train Robbery

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  • 3 stars out of 5

    Often hailed as the cornerstone of the western genre, Edwin S Porter's 13-sequence adaptation of Scott Marble's heist thriller is also one of the most significant films in the development of screen storytelling. Among its many initiatives was the use of a screenplay, descriptive captions, panning shots and back-projected footage. But it's most important contribution to film grammar was the introduction of continuity editing, in which the action cross-cuts between parallel events to increase the narrative tension. Moreover, it also culminated in the iconic shot of bandit George Barnes firing his gun directly at the camera. A pivotal picture in cinema history.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006

  • Connery and Sutherland as a pair of freewheeling Victorian criminals in the Butch and Sundance mould who attempt to rob... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
    • Posted 04 Nov 2008

  • Most helpful member's review of The First Great Train Robbery

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  • 6 out of 7 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    Good period detail

    A good heist film set in victorian england.A great jerry goldsmith score to.

    Keep a look out for the dance wane sleep.

    The action on the tops of the train are really well filmed,and it looks like sean connery did most of the stunts?.

    A decent film to past an afternoon.

      • wildgeese from England
      • Posted 02 Feb 2005 22:25

  • Most recent members' review of The First Great Train Robbery

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  • Rated - 4 stars

    A good film, suspens and action

    Quite good, a good selection of actors, the decors are ok, and the story keep you awake until the end, a good film if you like robbery and thief.

    Not a classic but I had good time watching it.

      • MIKE MASSIMI from Belfast
      • Posted 08 Jan 2005 12:29

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      • 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....