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Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down, Wayne Sleep, Malcolm Terris ... see more see more... , Michael Elphick , Alan Webb , Robert Lang , Pamela Salem , Gabrielle Lloyd , James Cossins , Peter Benson , Janine Duvitski , Brooke Adams , Patrick Barr , Agnes Bernelle , John Bett , Peter Butterworth , Donald Churchill , George Downing , Brian Glover , Donald Hewlett , Noel Johnson , André Morell , Derry Power , Hubert Rees , Clive Swift , Jenny Till , Paul Kernber , Oliver Smith , Joe Cahill , Cecil Nash , Craig Stokes , John Altman

Not a remake of the landmark 1903 Edwin S. Porter film, The Great Train Robbery is a dramatization of the famous first hold-up of a moving train in 1855 England. The conspirators in this undertaking a... read more read more...re Edward Pierce (Sean Connery), Agar (Donald Sutherland) and Clean Willy (Wayne Sleep). Pierce is the brains, Clean Willy the brawn, and safecracker Agar provides the finesse. The scheme involves stealing a shipment of gold bars intended to be used in the payroll for the Army in the Crimean War. Lesley Anne Down co-stars as Miriam, the woman on the outside who arranges Connery's getaway. When released in England, this film was titled The First Great Train Robbery, so as not to be confused with Britain's embarrassing 1963 railroad heist. Director Michael Crichton adapted the story from his own, more-clinical novel on the same subject. Filmed in Ireland, The Great Train Robbery was dedicated to the memory of its director of photography, Geoffrey Unsworth, who died shortly after the production wrapped. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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65% liked it

7,530 ratings

Critics

78% liked it

23 critics

PG, 1 hr. 51 min.

Directed by: Michael Crichton

Release Date: February 2, 1979

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DVD Release Date: July 28, 1998

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Stats: 256 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (256)

  • ajv2688
    January 6, 2011
    ajv2688
    Oh, so boring... Sure there's a good cast, but they're not even doing anything exciting anyway.
  • 76Majikat
    October 14, 2010
    76Majikat
    Not the most intriguiging of robbery/hiest movies, but clever all the same. It plodded along slowly but at an entertaining pace, interesting to see a robbery/hiest for it's the period it covered and with a little humour injected in to it and a likeable performance by Sean Conner... read morey, it all turned into a watchable kind of film.
  • garyX
    July 14, 2007
    garyX
    Enjoyable period heist movie that's like a victorian version of The Italian Job. A likeable cast of british stalwarts makes it all the more enjoyable.
  • hypathio7
    June 30, 2009
    hypathio7
    Fun crime caper. Playful. Shows how the characters (led by mastermind Connery) carefully prepare all the pieces necessary to pull off the heist. Good period details. To me it didn't look like a 70's film; it has aged well. But, hey now, there's quite a bit of sexual innuendo... read more that you may find is pretty unbelievable, but it might also give you a few giggles.
  • streamofconsciousness
    August 9, 2009
    streamofconsciousness
    Oh man I loved this movie! I especially enjoyed Donald Sutherland's performance, so quirky and fun to watch.
    I laughed so much, especially when Sean Connery and his stealthy movements on top of the train. His close calls as the train raced through the bridges were brilliantly f... read moreilmed!
    Not at all slick, but that was what was so endearing about the movie! A definite classic!
  • sayers1977
    August 10, 2010
    sayers1977
    A great film with brilliant period detail and fun performances from Connery, Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down (god, she's hot!). It's almost like a period version of Ocean's 11. P{erhaps it's not as good as the source novel but most of the best bits from there are still included a... read morend it's one helluva fun ride. Shame the dvd transfer is so rubbish. Hope they bring out a better version on blu-ray.
  • zardoz3
    September 30, 2011
    zardoz3
    A thrilling, historical caper about Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland teaming up to stage the first robbery of a moving train. These resourceful criminals plan to steal a fortune in gold bars which are destined to pay the British troops off at war in the Crimea. The Crimean War ... read morewas the little war that immortalized the charge of the Light Brigade. Director Michael Crichton adapted his own bestseller and everything is as ideal as it can be with a splendid period recreation of the 19th century England. THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY bristles with suspense, excitement, and intrigue. Our heroes have to duplicate four keys that are almost impossible to lay their hands on with the owners having a clue that their keys have been copied. This requires a lot of derring-do and Connery and Sutherland are up for it. Lesley-Anne Down is stupendous in her role as the companion to our larcenous protagonist. Well-produced and superbly paced. Not to be missed.
  • phantopp
    September 26, 2009
    phantopp
    Based on the movie's director Michael Criton's book about the real life events surrounding the world's first train robbery on May 15, 1855, where thousands of dollars worth of gold was stolen.

    "Edward Pierce" (Sean Connery), along with his sidekick, "Robert Agar" (Donald Suthe... read morerland) and "Pierce's" lover (Lesley-Ann Down), plan to heist a moving train of gold meant to finance a war. First, the three must gain four keys, which have been separated for safety.

    Now, the three have to get the keys, and get on board the moving train to get their prize.

    The first thing you'll notice is the costumes worn by everybody on screen. They appear to be quite accurate, and some outfits appear to be thick and heavy. The outfits also appeared to me to be brand new on everybody. Not one outfit had that worn look.

    The performances from the main cast is pretty good, as is the chemistry between the cast members. Connery is near perfect as the lead scoundrel who charms every one who comes across him, not knowing his true intentions. Sutherland is fairly laid back in his role, and can come across as boring at times.

    The pace of the movie is real slow and deliberate. For many, it might be a bit too slow. I found it to be a nice, steady pace. It only picked up a little bit when the heist goes down.

    If you are looking for a lot of action, there really isn't much in this film. The action kicks in a bit as the heist goes down, and you are rooting for the villains in this film.

    Overall, this is not a bad movie. However, I wouldn't go out and rent it. Check it out if you come across it on television, or on Hulu.com.
  • undeadfeature
    August 26, 2009
    undeadfeature
    A heist film made before heist films were cool. Crichton's film version of his own book isn't too shabby. The parts done on the train were particularly intense. Though, through all the planning and deliberation, it seems to end abruptly. The characters are flat. That's not so muc... read moreh a criticism of the acting than the writing. Sean Connery can't transform a character that simply doesn't. This is simply decent film making. Perhapse with a more experienced screenwriter at the helm it could have been exceptional.
  • DrrnHarr
    May 2, 2008
    DrrnHarr
    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 a... read morego on British television and have always found it enjoyable so it was an easy buy for me.
    In 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's lover who is not afraid to use her quite incredible feminine charms to aid Pierce character.
    Joining 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.
    Filmed 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.
    The 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.
    To 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.
    The effort and difficulties facing the thieves is ably outlined by Connery in the opening narration to the movie:
    "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."
    There 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'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.

View All The First Great Train Robbery (The Great Train Robbery) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
July 30, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

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

Vincent Canby
May 9, 2005
Vincent Canby, New York Times

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 ... Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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

Ian Nathan
November 5, 2008
Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine

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

November 5, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An entertaining thriller that stumbles occasionally on overlong dialogue sequences. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 5, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Lumbers along at a dull pace. Full Review

January 26, 2006
Time Out

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

Nick Schager
May 3, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Imbued with the spirit of the '60s and '70s counterculture. Full Review

Steve Crum
October 25, 2004
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan

Smooth crime caper flick with Connery .

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
January 27, 2004
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

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

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  • Which movie is considered the first narrative film?  Answer »
  • Who composed the music for the film The (First) Great Train Robbery?  Answer »
  • (1979) Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley Anne Down band together to steal a shipment of gold from a moving train. Their elaborate plan involves keys that must be copied, a coffin, a dead cat and a brothel.   Answer »
  • The first action film madein USA was The Great Train Robbery. In which year did it appear in theatres?  Answer »
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