The Burning Train (1980)

the audience applauded

Just so...so bad

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

How does one logically stop a burning train with failed brake controls from meeting its fatal destiny?Please note: This movie does not provide the answer to the above question. However, it does provide practical how to guides to do the following:1. Deliver a baby on board such a train right at the climax. 2. Sing a well -orchestrated prayer in midst of the commotion ( after ensuring that the leader singer has touched up the make up) 3. When looking for a red cloth, ignore the kid wearing a red sweater sitting on your lap ( and twenty more sitting behind) , and convince a woman with ample bosom to remove her red saree to do the needful. 4. Have romantic moments in a burning coach. 5. Dress up looking like moon-walkers from Jumbo circus. 6. Write a plot of a movie titled "The Burning Train" that includes 1 h 20 minutes that have nothing to do ( remotely) with a train or burning. 7. Assemble the largest number of Indian cultural stereo-types and give them obnoxiously type-cast roles to play.If you are interested in the above topics, do watch the 3:04:39 worth of reel time that this movie runs for. ( Also the music is boring).I watched this flick 15-17 years ago , when I was a kid. What prompted me to write this review after all these years was the train wreck scene from Skyfall (2012) which in itself is a tribute to this marvelous piece of Absurdist cinema.

I think this movie was ahead of its time, and would be a great film to remake with current technology and sensibility. It is a flawed film, and many of these flaws are due to its 80 Bollywood tropes, but it has a lot of plus points which are still impressive in 2016. I will mention them first before I discuss the flaws:Great character drama. The train is full of all sorts of different kinds of characters, funny, quirky, sexy, angry, criminal, religious, young, old, family, couples, single, and the interactions between them make for very entertaining drama. Think of a road trip movie, except on a train with a myriad of characters.Great screenplay. Except for the speedbreakers at the start, once the journey on the train begins the screenplay packs a lot of interesting situations and turns of events that keep the journey interesting; the initial character introductions and banter, the realization the breaks have failed, the train catching fire, the attempts by the passengers to save themselves, the frantic efforts by the railway officials to come up with ideas to save the train racing against time. There is never really a dull moment. Great action. I would not have thought an 80's Bollywood movie would have had such technical finesse. The fast moving burning train actually looks real, the interiors look real, you actually feel like it was shot in an actual train(I am sure some portions were) The parts where some of the characters climb out of the moving train and then try to get to the next cabin by going across the windows or running on the top of the train looks like they really did it. The pyrotechnics are on par with 80's Hollywood. It is evident that this was a big budget movie for its time and it is executed with the same professionalism as similar disaster movies like Towering Inferno.Great acting. Aside from the 80's acting style, another layer of realism is added by the reactions of the passengers to the impending doom, the desperation to survive and amidst all the mayhem to maintain their humanity. Vinod Khanna as the train's engineer particularly is notable and very handsome, you do wonder why the gene was not passed on to Akshay Khanna.Now I will begin with the cons:Takes time to start. The initial half hour is about introducing the leads and their love interests, and there are a couple of unnecessary songs. In fact the only song that really works in the movie is the lone song on the train between all the characters to entertain themselves on the journey. This actually can happen on Indian trains.Female characters are weak. This is 80's patriarchal Bollywood when feminism had not really taken off yet, and it is evident here as the female characters have little personality and just react to their male counterparts. At times OTT. Another 80's Bollywood staple is the "Disshom" fighting scenes which are cheesy and you have the OTT comic characters, the Johnny livers of their time, like Asrani with their slapstick routines. The villainous characters are one dimensionally bad. If it was remade today for a contemporary audiences many of these 80's staples should and would be done away, leaving a great disaster movie. There are not many notable Bollywood disaster movies, so this would provide great material for a contemporary one.

I have attempting to get hold of this film for a very long time and when i finally got it wow. However several bits did not make sense. The previous reviews says it is 142 minutes long, and i know for a fact that at least one of the five songs was missing - 'Teri hai zameen, tera aasman'. Having done a further search, the film is actually 185 minutes long. Although the film was great, the reason it did not make sense was because i'd seen the edited version, where they had taken out all the important bits.The songs are absolutely great, the relationship between Vinod Khanna and Praveen Babi, and Dhamendra with Hema Malini was great, especially where they got together.Still attempting to get hold of a proper copy so if anyone knows where then please let me know.

"The Burning Train" is a very nicely put together, entertaining action thriller. The film is a tribute to India's railways, and to sacrifice and heroism. The sacrifice made by the heroes of the film in trying to save the 'burning train' is nicely mirrored by the sacrifices they make in their personal lives, often with less than happy results.The movie is also a very satisfying story about relationships (particularly the friendship between Vinod (played by Vinod Khanna) and Ashok (played by Dharmendra), envy, betrayal, redemption - and love. Dharmendra(whom I love love love - that was 3 loves) and Vinod Khanna (whom I love love - that was 2 loves) are excellent in this movie (as always),putting in brilliant performances. They are very effective and complimentary leads, and they're also quite funny (the scenes where they try to snag their girlfriends by tricking them are great). Hema Malini is excellent as well (I always love the energy between her and Dharmendra - see the classic 'Sholay', although Malini's character in this movie is very different from Sholay's 'Basanti'). Parveen Babi (in a smaller but very effective role) is good too. There are parallels between their roles and relationship in this movie, and the roles they played in 'Do Aur Do Paanch'. That's not a criticism, though - if it ain't broke, why fix it? I think they make a great pair.Danny, who plays the villain ('Ranvir') does quite a good villainous face, I must say! With his pitiful 'wannabe great but know I ain't' demeanour (supplemented by even more pitiful hair), you can't help but feel sorry for the guy. Nice portrayal of how a villain can still manage to be really pathetic.All the other performances (Jeetendra, Neetu Singh and the others - the scene when they all sing on the train is another highlight of the film) are fantastic as well. The film is really well scripted...it never drags on and maintains a nice brisk pace. It's kept to a nice length as well. I also love the opening scene, which introduces the main characters perfectly. I had to go back and watch it after the movie was over. The big-budget (for that time) special effects in this movie also deserve a mention. Despite a couple of forgivable poor shots of a model train, the 'burning train' of the movie's title is very realistically portrayed. You almost feel as though you're on the train tracks. Very nice work. I also have to mention the lovely song sung by Vinod Khanna, Dharmendra, Hema Malini and Parveen Babi near the beginning of the movie (ok, I know it wasn't sung by the actors but by Asha Bhonsle, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar etc, but you know what I mean). Captures the mood perfectly - the bliss of love and friendship (sorry if that's not actually what the song was about - I don't understand Hindi and the song wasn't subtitled - so just guessing here)... just before life (as it usually does) jumps up and bites you in the behind. I love the song and the choreography.By the way, if you don't like a healthy dose of sentimentality (in which case you probably don't like Bollywood movies in the first place), then this movie is not for you. Anyhow, I think I've said enough...all that's left to say is this is a great, entertaining movie for the family. It has action, thrills, romance, comedy, everything. I wish there were more like this.