The First Great Train Robbery (The Great Train Robbery) (1979)

78% of critics liked it
(23 reviews)
65% of users liked it
(7,530 ratings)

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 are Edward Pierce (Sean Connery), Agar (Donald Sutherland) and Clean Willy (Wayne Sleep). Pierce is… More 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 are 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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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 51 min.
Directed By: Michael Crichton
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

In Theaters: Feb 2, 1979 Wide
On DVD: Jul 28, 1998
Studio: MGM

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Crichton's films drag in dialog bouts, but triumph when action takes over.
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 funny as it takes your breath away.
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.
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.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
An entertaining thriller that stumbles occasionally on overlong dialogue sequences.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Lumbers along at a dull pace.
, Time Out
The characters stay largely undeveloped, while -- despite superficially peculiar features -- the robbery is stripped of the ingenious exposition of the novel.
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
Imbued with the spirit of the '60s and '70s counterculture.
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Smooth crime caper flick with Connery .
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.
, Film4
Amiable enough, but as heist films go this is well below average.
Larry Carroll, Countingdown.com
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

Read all 12 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

Oh, so boring... Sure there's a good cast, but they're not even doing anything exciting anyway.
Lady D

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… More
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 Connery, it all turned into a watchable kind of film.
xGary X

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.
Byron B

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… More
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 that you may find is pretty unbelievable, but it might also give you a few giggles.
Laura C

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… More
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 filmed! Not at all slick, but that was what was so endearing about the movie! A definite classic!
David S

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… More
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 and it's one helluva fun ride. Shame the dvd transfer is so rubbish. Hope they bring out a better version on blu-ray.

Read all 6 featured audience ratings

Cast

            Sean Connery as Edward Pierce

            Donald Sutherland as Agar

            Lesley-Anne Down as Miriam

            Wayne Sleep as Clean Willy

            Malcolm Terris as Henry Fowler

            Michael Elphick as Burgess

            Alan Webb as Edgar Trent

            Robert Lang as Inspector Sharp

            Pamela Salem as Emily Trent

            Gabrielle Lloyd as Elizabeth Trent

            James Cossins as Inspector Harranby

            Peter Benson as Station Dispatcher

            Janine Duvitski as Maggie

            Brooke Adams
            
            Patrick Barr as Burke

            Agnes Bernelle as Woman on Platform

            John Bett as McPherson

            Peter Butterworth as Putnam

            Donald Churchill as Prosecutor

            George Downing as Bralow

            Brian Glover as Captain Jimmy

            Donald Hewlett
            
            Noel Johnson as Connaught

            André Morell as Judge

            Derry Power
            
            Hubert Rees as Lewis

            Clive Swift as Mr. Chubb

            Jenny Till as Woman on Stand

            Paul Kernber as Second Pickpocket

            Oliver Smith as Ratting Assistant

            Joe Cahill as Rail Guard

            Cecil Nash
            
            Craig Stokes
            
            John Altman
            
See full cast