Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Train 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 1, 2023

John Frankenheimer's "The Train" (1964) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary by the director; recent audio commentary by critic Steve Mitchell and author Jay Rubin; episode of Trailers From Hell; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Very little of the drama and action that you will see in John Frankenheimer’s film The Train are factual. Shortly before Paris was liberated, the Nazis did attempt to steal an astonishing number of invaluable paintings and precious museum objects, but the train that was supposed to take them to Germany never left the area. Instead, a group of administrators did some pretty creative work that allowed them to keep repositioning the train until the Allies eventually arrived.

In the film, the train has a remarkable journey. It is operated by Paul Labiche (Burt Lancaster), a senior inspector for the SNCF (French National Railway Corporation), who also happens to be one of the top men in the French Resistance. Initially, Labiche opposes the operation to save the priceless masterpieces because he isn’t convinced that they are worth the inevitable loss of human lives, but then changes his mind and proposes a plan that requires contributions from multiple parties. After a previously planned air attack, however, the elderly machinist (Michel Simon) who was chosen to operate the train is executed, and Colonel Franz von Waldheim (Paul Scofield), who oversees the steal, orders Labiche to take his spot. The replacement immediately collapses Labiche’s original plan, which is why he and a couple of fellow resistance members who are also brought on the train as mechanics begin improvising. Keeping the Germans convinced that the train is moving toward Germany quickly proves to be an incredibly dangerous play with a number of unknown and unpredictable participants, which occasionally fools even the allied planes that are patrolling the railways connecting France to Germany.

Despite substantial international contributions, The Train really is a big old-fashioned Hollywood film that tries to impress with visuals of the type that are no longer possible to conceive and stage. However, it is not just the size and scope of the visuals that impress, but the remarkable emphasis on period detail as well. The massive air attack that was shot at the Gargenville yard, for instance, instantly infuses the film with a degree of authenticity that is impossible to miss. And again, it isn’t only the aerial shots that look great. The camera actually spends plenty of time observing the locomotives, the hangars, and repair machinery, and none of them are replicas. This gives the audience an incredibly authentic sense of the actual environment in which the train was expected to survive.

The action isn’t free of melodrama, but the film has a good pacing which prevents it from becoming overwhelming. Simon, for instance, is unquestionably miscast as the temperamental Papa Boule and the footage where he is seen sabotaging the train’s departure is actually one of the weakest in the entire film. Simply put, the intensity of the situation and the humor Simon adds to it are impossible to balance right so that his character and actions appear legit. Thankfully, Simon exits the film rather quickly. Lancaster’s relationship with the hotel lady (Jeanne Moreau) is also a tad too casual, but at least it does not become a distraction that influences his decision-making process, and as a result he remains the confident star the film needs to keep building its suspense property. Of course, most of the Germans are portrayed either as clueless brutes or pompous clowns which is why there is plenty of melodramatic footage where they act and overreact in very predictable ways, but this is a classic flaw of just about every major war film that Hollywood has made over the years.

The entire film would have looked far more authentic with plenty of exchanges in French and German, but this was clearly an unmanageable scenario given Lancaster’s involvement.

The Train 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of The Train is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-25 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #28-39 are from 4K Blu-ray.

In 2021, Kino Lorber produced this Blu-ray release of The Train, which was sourced from an older but strong organic master that was prepared at MGM. This release is sourced from a new 4K master that was struck from the original camera negative. The 4K makeover can be viewed in native 4K, with Dolby Vision or HDR, and 1080p.

I found the 4K makeover very difficult to evaluate because there is plenty that I like and quite a bit that I do not. It definitely looks better in native 4K, which is hardly surprising, but I think that it looks unconvincing in 1080p, or at least not as good as it could and should have.

A direct comparison with the previous presentation of The Train quickly reveals that the 4K makeover has superior density levels -- in native 4K and 1080p. Though the previous presentation was solid, I expected this. Also, the noticeable surface imperfections that were present on the previous presentation are gone. In a few areas, there are some drops in density levels that introduce unevenness, but this is different. Stability is excellent. What about delineation, clarity, and depth? Well, your immediate impression will almost certainly be that in native 4K the visuals look quite a bit better. And yes, some of the daylight footage does look superior. Unfortunately, various darker areas do not. They might reveal better detail in better-lit areas, but in darker corners and backgrounds darker nuances begin to collapse. I found this very frustrating because the superior density levels can make some visuals look rather remarkably attractive, as they should be in native 4K. If you examine the same areas in 1080p, the anomalies become even more obvious. In fact, some can be seen even during daylight footage. (See examples in screencaptures #1, 4, 5). Why is that? My guess is that something happens during the downscaling from 4K to 1080p because something isn't done right, but I do not want to speculate exactly how it happens because I am unsure what is being done during or after the HDR/Dolby Vision grades are done. I am just going to mention that what I see in native 4K often looks very similar to what I see on the native 4K presentation of The Deer Hunter. In the native 4K presentation of The Train, for obvious reasons, there are just a lot more blacks that exacerbate the issue. So, the previous Blu-ray release and this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray release, present you with a trade-off. On the previous release, many darker areas have superior darker nuances and shadow definition, but density levels are inferior and there are some minor surface imperfections. On this release, in native 4K, you get superior density levels and healtier visuals, but darker areas begin to lose some native detail because of too strong and crushed blacks. On this release, in 1080p, the same issues become even more pronounced. My guess is that most people will end up liking the new 4K makeover, but I think that it could have been more convincing.

The Train 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 on the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray, English Dolby Digital 5.1 on the 4K Blu-ray, and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on the Blu-ray. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Kino Lorber's previous Blu-ray release did not have a 5.1 track. This was one has two different 5.1 tracks, which is a bit puzzling. I did test the Dolby Digital 5.1 track and I must say that it is actually pretty good, but I do not quite understand why it is not a proper DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. So, I ended up viewing the film with the lossless 2.0 track again. I did not encounter any anomalies to report.

The Train 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - this archival audio commentary was recorded by John Frankenheimer and has appeared on other home video releases of The Train. The bulk of the comments address the film's production history, some changes that were made during the shooting process, the lensing of particular sequences, the nature of the events that are documented in the film, etc.

• Commentary Two - in this recent audio commentary, critic Steve Mitchell and author Jay Rubin (Combat Films: American Realism) discuss the visual style of The Train, the choreography, specific lensing choices and specifically how some explosions were done, the casting choices, different trends in American and French cinema prior to the shooting of the film, etc.

• Isolated Score - presented as Dolby Digital 2.0.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - this archival audio commentary was recorded by John Frankenheimer and has appeared on other home video releases of The Train. The bulk of the comments address the film's production history, some changes that were made during the shooting process, the lensing of particular sequences, the nature of the events that are documented in the film, etc.

• Commentary Two - in this recent audio commentary, critic Steve Mitchell and author Jay Rubin (Combat Films: American Realism) discuss the visual style of The Train, the choreography, specific lensing choices and specifically how some explosions were done, the casting choices, different trends in American and French cinema prior to the shooting of the film, etc.

• Trailers From Hell - an archival episode of Trailers From Hell with director Brian Trenchard-Smith (The Quest). In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Making of The Train - an archival featurette with raw footage from the shooting of The Train completed in 1964. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Trailer - vintage U.S. trailer for The Train. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Teaser Trailer - a vintage U.S. teaser trailer for The Train. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• TV Spot - a vintage U.S. TV spot for The Train. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Isolated Score - presented as Dolby Digital 2.0.

• Booklet - 8-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Julie Kirgo.

The Train 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

John Frankenheimer's The Train is a great, well, train film. What you see in it is real and shot in a way that is hugely impressive. (It seems even more impressive now, since digital technology has made this particular type of film-making obsolete). But I am not convinced that it is the monumental war masterpiece some of its biggest admirers claim it is. It plays fast and loose with the truth and in the process produces an avalanche of familiar cliches that makes it impossible to ignore the fact that it was conceived to be a grand Hollywood-esque spectacle. It is an entertaining film, but this isn't the same as being a great and more importantly believable war film.

Kino Lorber's 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack introduces a new 4K makeover of The Train that can be viewed in native 4K and 1080p. It looks very good in some areas and not so good in other areas. If you already have Kino Lorber's previous Blu-ray release of The Train and are considering an upgrade, you have a difficult decision to make because the old presentation and the new presentation of the film have various, completely different strengths and weaknesses.