When
Wed 17 May 2023
Lancaster and Frankenheimer’s fourth collaboration in three years is a fascinating, action-packed account of the Nazis’ attempts to freight modern art masterpieces to Germany prior to Paris’ imminent liberation in 1944. Lancaster stars as the ambivalent Resistance cell leader charged with the task of sabotaging a train carrying works by Picasso, Gauguin and many others. Shot on location and featuring a rich array of French and British actors including Jeanne Moreau, Michel Simon and Paul Scofield, Frankenheimer’s bold, ironic and handsomely detailed film weighs the human price of art.
Also screening on Wed 17 May
Program
Soft and Hard: The high-wire career of Burt Lancaster
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – Wed 3 May, 7pm
The Crimson Pirate (1952) – Wed 3 May, 8.55pm
The Swimmer (1968) – Wed 10 May, 7pm
Conversation Piece (1974) – Wed 10 May, 8.50pm
Criss Cross (1949) – Wed 17 May, 7pm
The Train (1964) – Wed 17 May, 8.40pm
About the program
Burt Lancaster (1913–94) didn’t appear in his first film until he was in her early thirties. Prior to his breakthrough role alongside Ava Gardner in The Killers (1946), he had a highly successful career as a circus acrobat and as an entertainer in the Special Forces during World War II...
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About Melbourne Cinémathèque
Australia's longest-running film society, Melbourne Cinémathèque screens significant works of international cinema in the medium they were created, the way they would have originally screened.
Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered, volunteer-run, not-for-profit and membership-driven.
