If you’re a train lover then we’ve got you covered here at Fighting On Film with Train Month, we covered 5 train-centric war movies that are must watches for enjoyers of the genre! All aboard for the Train Month recap!
Casablanca Express (1989)
We launched Casablanca Express (1989), a film we had high hopes for but it almost left us wanting to hop off at the next stop! Despite it being the weakest of the films we explored during Train Month it was a fun episode, often discussing bad films is some of the most fun we can have!
North West Frontier (1959)
North West Frontier (1959) is one of Matt’s personal favourites and was always nailed on for a slot during Train Month. It was one Robbie hadn’t seen before and its always fun to share ‘new’ movies with each other. A fantastic cast and simple premise sees North West Frontier thunder along the tracks (plus there’s Maxim Guns!).
The Train (1964)
John Frankenheimer’s train-based World War Two masterpiece, the Train follows the efforts of the French Resistance to stop the theft of France’s art masterpieces! Burt Lancaster puts in a magnetic and physical performance which combined with Frankenheimer’s excllent direction makes The Train (1964) a classic of the war movie genre.
Von Ryan’s Express (1965)
Released just a year after The Train, Von Ryan’s Express (1965) is a quintesential Sunday afternoon war movie. It follows Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard trying to sneak a battalion of POWs to Switzerland but its not long before the Germans are hot on their tails. Von Ryan’s Express combines elements from a number of different types of war movie (men on a mission, POW, trains…) to make a pretty enjoyable war movie matinee.
Detonator (1993)
While Detonator (1993) definitely doesn’t fit the strict war movie definition, its UN vs Soviet holdouts premise makes it a fun B-movie romp. We thought we’d round out Train Month with a pick from our wonderful supporters on Patreon and they chose a fun action film to take us to our final station stop! It’s clear to see Pierce Brosnan enjoyed the boys own adventure-ness of Detonator and Patrick Stewart, Christopher Lee, Ted Levine and John Abineri put in great performances! A fitting end to Train Month.
Honourable Mentions:
Dark of the Sun (1968)
Now if we hadn’t already covered it back in 2021 Dark of the Sun (1968) would have been a nailed on favourite for Train Month. Instead this unflinching classic was a anchor for the very first Merc Month! Centred on a train of refugees in the Congo Dark of the Sun is an artistic but visceral film starring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Brown, Peter Carsten and Kenneth More. Skilfully shot, lots of impressive action and some good performances combine to create a compelling film.
SAS: Red Notice (2021)
Finally, a not-so-honourable mention for SAS: Red Notice (2021) which we covered back in 2021 (episode #18 no less!). This train-adjacent film sees the SAS try to retake the not-Eurostar after its seized by baddies.
Now we know theres plenty of films we could have covered during Train Month, like The General (1926) or Railroad Tigers (2016), so perhaps at some point in the future we will have to make a return journey to Train Month, if you have any suggestions for Train Month 2 feel free to drop them in the comments below!
