Although for years the celebration moved around the calendar a bit more than in the past and was therefore somewhat difficult to track down (no pun intended), today -- we are full of joy to announce -- once again is that most grand fest, National Train Day. At least it is here at Elisberg Industries, and that's good enough as a starting point. You won't find it on any calendars for any number of reasons, but the most important is that since Amtrak funding got cut back they stopped promoting it after 2016. (And the reason for it moving around the calendar is that it was never a set day, but the Saturday closest to May 10. Why May 10, I hear you cry? Because that's the anniversary of the Golden Spike being driven in at Promontory Point, Utah, to complete the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.) But whether or not it remains an officially promoted holiday by the government -- and isn't being celebrated here on a proper Saturday due to prior commitments, think of it as the train running behind schedule -- National Train Day (or as it was known around these parts once upon a time, but no more!, as "Let's Make Chris Dunn's Head Explode Day") is nonetheless still one of the most joyous holidays of the year. The dining car aboard the Southwest Chief on my trip two years ago from Los Angeles to Chicago. For our part here, we celebrate National Train Day on these pages by posting a list of the greatest train movies. These are films in which trains are absolutely central to the story. Where a train is the driving force of the tale, without which you can’t properly describe the plot. (Think of it like the classic and beloved Santa Claus song, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Santa Claus isn't actually in the song at all. He hasn't even shown up yet. In most ways, it's about "you" and what you should do -- or better not do. But even though there's not a hint of Santa Claus even appearing in the song, without Santa Claus...there's no song.) We're strict about this. A friend once recommended The Taking of Pelham-1-2-3, and it was strongly considered, but that was a subway train or light rail. This list is for full-bore trains, the kind that either have sleeping cars and dining cars, or could if they were hitched on. But I've added it to our Honorable Mention list this year. I should also note that, since the list is fluid, we've added another new movie to the list of Great Train Films, a film from 2013, Snowpiercer. I saw it several years ago, but for whatever reason it slipped through the cracks, so it's time to correct that notable oversight. It's a vibrant movie. I was reminded of it for two reasons -- one, it was directed and co-written by Bong Joon Ho, the filmmaker who did last year's Best Picture-winner, Parasite. And the other is that TBS has adapted it into a TV series coming very soon. The story, like Parasite is a clash of class systems, but far-differently is about a time in the future when habitable climate has been destroyed on earth, and all of remaining mankind lives on a massive train that circles the globe, building to an insurrection. There are two other categories: Honorable Mention is for movies which you can tell their stories without using the word "train," but they have some connection to trains -- usually a great, standout train sequence -- that makes them memorable. And a few years I added a new category of Special Mention, for works that don't qualify as a train movie or perhaps even as a movie at all, but deserve a place of honor. For instance, Stephen Ambrose's excellent book on the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, Nothing Like It in the World. And as I noted in the past, though something I think is likely very obvious, I love train movies. Here is the current list of Great Train Movies. Around the World in 80 Days Back to the Future 3 Bridge on the River Kwai The Commuter The Darjeeling Limited Emperor of the North The General The Great Locomotive Chase The Great Train Robbery The Lady Vanishes Murder on the Orient Express The Narrow Margin North by Northwest Northwest Frontier Night Train to Munich Polar Express Runaway Train Shanghai Express Silver Streak Snowpiercer Source Code Strangers on a Train Tough Guys The Train Transsiberian Twentieth Century Union Pacific Union Station Unstoppable Von Ryan’s Express Honorable Mention Throw Momma from the Train Planes, Trains and Automobiles The Greatest Show on Earth Go West At the Circus Cat Ballou Trading Places Special Mention Great Railway Journeys of the World (TV documentary) Nothing Like It in the World by Stephen Ambrose (book) The Railrodder (short) The Taking of Pelham-1-2-3 I've also added another new feature last year -- a scene from one of the Great Train Movies, or another entry on the list. In honor of it being added to this list, here's a brief scene from Snowpiercer featuring Tilda Swinton (as the sort of general manager of the First Class), and Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer (as two of the rebellious leaders of the Lower Class.)
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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