The Cassandra Crossing (1977)

The Worst Film Ever

Captivating movie !

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

"The Cassandra Crossing" is quite thrilling in its best moments. As far as 1970s disaster movies go, it's a solid example of the genre. Certainly it's one of the best films on the late director George P. Cosmatos's resume; it's very well directed and really holds your attention, with a reasonably absorbing tale to tell (it's scripted by Cosmatos, Tom Mankiewicz, and Robert Katz, based on a story by Cosmatos & Katz) and a sufficient amount of action. Naturally, some of the characters are more interesting than others, and some of the performances carry more weight than others. But if there are any stretches in this movie that a viewer could consider dull, it more than makes up for them when it gets to its eye popping finale.An unnamed Swedish terrorist (Lou Castel) attempts to plant a bomb inside the International Health Organization, but he and his comrades are quickly foiled. His comrades are killed, but he manages to escape - after having become infected with the pneumonic plague. He manages to sneak his way onto the Transcontinental Express, which is on its way to Stockholm. Authorities, represented by American colonel Mackenzie (Burt Lancaster), figure out what happened to him, and now have to deal with the fact that he may be infecting other people on the train. And the train, by the way, is heading towards the title location, a bridge that has become weakened over time.After an extremely impressive opening tracking shot by helicopter, Cosmatos has this diverting escapist fare pretty much hit the ground running. It features a wonderful music score by Jerry Goldsmith and an appealing performance by Lee Strasberg as Kaplan, one of the passengers. Richard Harris is the take-charge, no-nonsense doctor hero; Sophia Loren is his ex-wife (whom he's married and divorced twice already). Other people on board are played by Martin Sheen, O.J. Simpson, Lionel Stander, Ann Turkel, Ray Lovelock, and Alida Valli. A standout sequence has Sheens' character, a heroin smuggler, attempt to redeem himself by scaling the outside of the train. But that climax is some seriously scary and riveting stuff.All in all, this does just fine for a nights' viewing.Eight out of 10.

I remember watching this years ago and it still send a chill down my spine even after repeated watching.Swedish terrorists attack the U.S. mission at the International Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland where the following battle causes massive breakages in a nearby lab which spreads a mysterious plague on the men. One of them escapes and embarks on the cross-Europe train (with up to 1000 people on board) which final destination is in Stockholm.Which follows is a suspenseful thriller which sees tense situations on both the train and back at the IHO headquarters which lead to the Cassandra Crossing of the title.Burt Lancaster stars the U.S. Colonel in charge of the investigation while Richard Harris stars a famous neurologist who becomes doctor on demand on the train itself and both play their parts well.An all-star cast also features Martin Sheen, OJ Simpson, Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner and Lee Strasburg.It's a must watch.

For some reason the Chinese Railways decided to play this in a loop repeatedly on the route between Nanjing and Shanghai. I had seen this movie on some Saturday afternoon of my misspent youth so I knew enough of the plot to follow along even with the overdubbed Mandarin. Yeah, it's not exactly a verbal film. What struck me though were the overabundance of holocaust references that seem to pile on for no apparent reason. There is absolutely no justification for rerouting the train to Poland other than to evoke the Nazi razzia. Trains travel from Geneva to Stockholm but ferry between Malmo and Denmark not through the Baltic states and Finland. There is one quick shot of a map on which the only cities are Geneva and Nuremberg. http://www.myphotographs.net/sweden/picture1.html People on trains who are not allowed to get off, what scary parallel could be evoked to make the movie more frightening to an American public that was at the time abandoning passenger railway service. There is even a holocaust survivor aboard the train who tries to start a mini Warsaw uprising when he learns about being sent back to Poland. I am certain that there are more and I encourage anybody to use this movie as a drinking game. Every time 'the' holocaust is alluded to, one must take a shot. For those who like train disaster movies, instead I suggest Runaway Train (1985). Therein the premise of an out of control is at least believable.

Cassandra Crossing, The (1977) *** (out of 4) Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, Martin Sheen, O.J. Simpson, Lee Strasberg, Ava Gardner and Burt Lancaster pick up paychecks in this 70's disaster film that seems to have been forgotten over the years. Three terrorists try to blow up a hospital in Geneva but things go even worse when one comes into contact with a Bubonic Plague and escapes capture. The sick man then jumps on board a train and soon a government man (Lancaster) isn't going to let anyone off. A doctor (Harris) and his ex-wife (Loren) try to help those on board but things take an even bigger turn when they learn they have to cross a bridge that won't hold the weight of the train. It seems this film hasn't the reputation of some of the more popular disaster films, which is a little surprising because this here is a pretty good movie in its own right. Perhaps the government propaganda gets in the way for some but this was only one minor issue in the film. For the most part it featured some pretty fun performances, a tense story and an ending that I didn't see coming. Simpson as a preacher was pretty funny before the twist as was Sheen playing the boy-toy to Gardner. Gardner seems to be having the time of her life playing the diva and barking orders to the younger man. Both Loren and Harris turn in fine performances and I thought their melodrama actually worked pretty well. Lancaster plays a guy you really love to hate and he too delivers a fine performance. The film certainly deserves its R-rating as we also get some pretty graphic violence along the way so be sure you're not watching the edited down PG version. In the end I'm really not sure why this film seems to have been forgotten but fans of the genre will certainly want to check it out. While it's certainly more political than some of the films that came before it, there's still plenty here to enjoy.