1 post tagged “frankenheimer”

Jonnell is gone for the week, so I can watch whatever I want on TV.  Last night I watched a DVD I bought a year ago, but had never gotten around to viewing. 

It is "The Train", and it stars Burt Lancaster as a Frenchman working in a Paris train yard in the waining days of World War II.

The basic plot is the Germans are going to take all of Paris' art treasures back to Germany in a special train as they are leaving Paris.  Lancaster's character is a weary agent in the French resistance who tries to save the paintings.

The movie was great, I didn't recognize any of the actors other than Lancaster, but they were all very good.  The movie also showed the grim fate for many people working in the resistance.  John Frankenheimer directed, which usually is a sign the movie will be good.  This is also based on a true story.

Generally "The Train" could be considered the polar opposite of another 1960s WWII movie I like, "Kelly's Heroes", which told a silly story about heist during a similar point in the war.

If you want to see a gritty very realistic movie about life in wartime Paris, this is a great example.