The First Great Train Robbery

"Never have so few taken so much from so many."

1978 1h 50m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

79%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 453🍅79%Rotten Tomatoes●68Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 20,188

ThrillerAdventureDramaCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In Victorian England, a master criminal makes elaborate plans to steal a shipment of gold from a moving train.

“Never have so few taken so much from so many.”

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Cast

Sean Connery
Edward Pierce
Donald Sutherland
Robert Agar
Lesley-Anne Down
Miriam
Peter Butterworth
Putnam
Michael Elphick
Burgess
Alan Webb
Edgar Trent
Robert Lang
Sharp
Malcolm Terris
Fowler

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Crichton
Writers: Michael Crichton
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

48 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Crichton, shot by Geoffrey Unsworth. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Bretherton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Never have so few taken so much from so many.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0079240 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Crichton directs. Geoffrey Unsworth behind the camera. Jerry Goldsmith scores. David Bretherton cuts. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

148 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Directed by Michael Crichton, shot by Geoffrey Unsworth. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor David Bretherton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Never have so few taken so much from so many.".
8IMDB entry: tt0079240 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 17 themes, including "gallows", "historical figure", "victorian england", "execution".

The technical file

Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth
Original score: Jerry Goldsmith
Editing: David Bretherton
Production design: Maurice Carter
Costume design: Anthony Mendleson
Makeup / hair: Elaine Bowerbank
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The First Great Train Robbery (1978)
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 68/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 20,188 votes
MPAA: PG
US box office: $13,027,857

Awards

1 win & 1 nomination total

Also by

Michael Crichton

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2020-06-18
★ 6/10
Robbing a train of a shipment of gold in Victorian England Written/directed by Michael Crichton and released in 1978/79, “The Great Train Robbery” was loosely based on the real-life Great Gold Robbery of 1855 that took place in England. Sean Connery plays the mastermind, Lesley-Anne Down his girlfriend and Donald Sutherland a safecracker with whom they team-up. I generally don’t like caper films because the protagonists are criminals, but Crichton wisely makes the characters played by Connery and Sutherland likable rapscallions; meanwhile Down is babelicious, in particular in her jaw-dropping first scene. Crichton intentionally made the movie more farcical compared to his novel and I appreciated the wit and low-key humor. I didn’t expect to like this movie, but it won me over. The film runs 1 hour, 51 minutes, and was shot primarily in Ireland (Dublin, Bray, Cork & Moate), but also Pinewood Studios, England. GRADE: B-/B
JPV8522023-06-13
★ 8/10
Seen this once before many years ago but decided to check out the new Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. A solid heist-thriller though what struck me was these thieves were stealing gold meant for British soldiers, so not exactly stealing from some corporation, and our lead played by Sean Connery had no issue murdering a guy. Even so, still found it entertaining and some suspense-filled scenes, among them a great sequence with Connery on top of a moving train. 3.75/5
CinemaSerf2024-06-02
★ 7/10
I think it's Jerry Goldsmith's opening theme that gives a clue that we're in for some fun antics on the railways! That's confirmed when Michael Elphick chucks some would-be robber from the speeding carriage down an embankment where he lands at the feet of "Pierce" (Sean Connery). This bowler hatted gent wouldn't have been out of place in the Reform Club at the start of "Around the World in Eighty Days", so is a natural at another gentleman's club where the manager of a bank is bragging about their impregnable transfer of gold to pay the soldiers of the Crimea. Hardly patriotic, but "Pierce" has his eyes on this bullion and so with the help of girlfriend "Miriam" (Lesley-Anne Down) and cracksman "Agar" (Donald Sutherland) sets about doing the impossible - robbing a ton's worth of gold from a moving train. Each key to the safe is kept separately, so they have to use their guile and wits to find them, copy them, and return them without anyone suspecting! It's this series of escapades that is quite fun to watch whilst shining a light on the double-standards of the Victorian elite. Can they all get away with it? Well this is one of those charismatic ensemble efforts that makes you hope that they do. There's mischief a plenty, some precision thievery and quite impressive acrobatics from the nimble Wayne Sleep along the way too. Hats off to Sutherland though. What was he doing with that cat in the coffin?