Movies featuring trains and railways

[jw5]

'The Darjeeling Limited' (2007)​

A year after their father's funeral, three estranged brothers—Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, and Adrien Brody—travel across India by luxury train in an attempt to bond with each other.

 

[jw5]

'Murder on the Orient Express' (1974)​

Agatha Christie's 1934 novel of the same name has been adapted for cinema and television on several occasions. But it's 1974's 'Murder on the Orient Express' that remains the most admired. Albert Finney stars as the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who has to figure out who carried out the dastardly deed on the famous long-distance passenger train. Suspects falling under his suspicion include Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, and Vanessa Redgrave.

 

[Voldermort]

throw momma from the train starring danny devito!

 

[jw5]

'Throw Momma from the Train' (1987)​

Hitchcock's 'Strangers on a Train' is the inspiration behind this black comedy, which stars Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal. The movie was a runaway hit, with Anne Ramsey as the overbearing "momma" singled out for particular praise.

 

[jw5]

'Before Sunrise' (1995)​

Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) are the two young travelers who meet on a Eurail train and end up in Vienna to continue their romantic liaison.

 

[jw5]

'The Great Train Robbery' (1978)​

Loosely based on the "Great Gold Robbery" of 1855, this crime caper mirrors the events of that year with a master criminal (Sean Connery) aiming to empty a train of its gold shipment. In order to carry out the heist he needs to recruit reliable accomplices, people that include a gifted pickpocket (Donald Sutherland) and his mistress, played by Lesley-Anne Down.

 

[jw5]

'Money Train' (1995)​

The money train hauls subway revenue deep under New York City. Two transit cops, played by Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, patrol the subway on the hunt for a dangerous killer-arsonist known as the "Torch." Harrelson's character, however, is in deep debt to a gambling syndicate and comes up with the idea of robbing the train. The pair are later joined in pursuit of the Torch by new recruit Grace Santiago, played by Jennifer Lopez. Will the heist take place, and will the criminal be caught?

 

[jw5]

'The Taking of Pelham One Two Three' (1974)​

While 2009's remake starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta was met with mixed to average reviews, the original release of 'The Taking of Pelham One Two Three' was well received by critics. The film follows a group of criminals taking passengers hostage inside a New York City subway car for ransom. Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw deliver fine performances.

 

[jw5]

'Back to the Future Part III' (1990)​

The third and final installment of the Back to the Future trilogy is set in 1885 with Marty (Michael J. Fox) and "Doc" (Christopher Lloyd) employing the use of a steam locomotive to push their out-of-gas DeLorean time machine along tracks to the required speed in order to get back to the future.

 

[jw5]

'Narrow Margin' (1990)​

Drawing inspiration from the 1952 movie 'The Narrow Margin,' this 1990 remake follows the attempts of a LA deputy district attorney to safeguard a murder witness on a remote train journey who's being targeted by hitmen. Gene Hackman and Anne Archer are the pair in the crosshairs.

 

[jw5]

'The Train' (1964)​

Set during the Second World War, the train in question is loaded with stolen works of art looted by the Nazis. French Resistance-member Paul Labiche (Burt Lancaster) attempts to stop the train and its escorting commander, Colonel Franz von Waldheim (Paul Scofield), before the locomotive reaches its final destination.

 

[jw5]

'The General' (1926)​

Buster Keaton co-directed and starred in this classic silent comedy, inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase, a military raid that took place in 1862 during the Civil War. Regarded as a seminal piece of cinema, 'The General, 'the name given to the locomotive in the picture, was one of the last great movies of the silent era.

 

[jw5]

'The Great Locomotive Chase' (1956)​

Thirty years later, Walt Disney brought to the big screen its own version of the daring raid, which saw Union soldiers sneak behind Confederate lines in order to steal a train and drive it back to their own camp.

 

[jw5]

'Von Ryan's Express' (1965)​

Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard star in this Second World War adventure in which a group of Allied prisoners of war conduct a daring escape by hijacking a freight train and fleeing through German-occupied Italy to Switzerland. But with the enemy in hot pursuit, there's no guarantee of a successful outcome.

 

[jw5]

'Once Upon a Time in the West' (1968)​

A central theme running through Sergio Leone's epic Western is the progress made by the steam locomotive as construction of the transcontinental railroad across the nation leaves behind what was once the Old West. Otherwise, this cinematic masterpiece centers on a mysterious harmonica-playing stranger who teams up with a feared outlaw to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless gunslinger working for the railroad.

 

[jw5]

'Wild Wild West' (1999)​

'Wild Wild West' is based on a 1960's television series and features Will Smith and Kevin Kline as two special agents tasked with protecting the president. Much of the action takes place on board their custom-made train, The Wanderer. Salma Hayek, meanwhile, portrays the daughter of a kidnap victim.

 

[jw5]

'The Railway Children' (1970)​

This cherished British drama stars Jenny Agutter as one of three children who like to watch the trains and wave to passengers as the locomotives steam past their nearby house. One day the kids discover a landslide has blocked the tracks and must urgently warn an approaching train of the danger using red flags as emergency signals.

 

[jw5]

'Silver Streak' (1976)​

This hilarious laugh-a-minute thriller marked the first time Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder worked together, a pairing that gifted cinema with one of the most successful comedy acts in recent film history. In 'Silver Streak,' a murder on a Los Angeles-to-Chicago train journey threatens the lives of other passengers. To complicate matters, a wanted thief manages to board the train during a scheduled stop.

 

[jw5]

'The Great Train Robbery' (1903)​

One of the earliest Westerns to come out of Hollywood, this silent drama focuses on a group of outlaws who stage a daring train holdup. But the villains haven't counted on the determined reaction of the locals, who pursue the bandits across hills and mountains. Despite only being 10-minutes long, 'The Great Train Robbery' is considered a milestone in filmmaking. Some historians believe director Edwin S. Porter was inspired by the 1900 robbery of the Union Pacific Railroad train by Butch Cassidy and his gang.

 

[jw5]

'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969)​

Speaking of which, there's a scene in 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' where Butch uses too much dynamite while attempting to blow up a safe and instead demolishes an entire rail car. This episode is also based on the infamous 1900 Union Pacific Railroad heist.