Like Bullet Train, these movies and series are set on a train

On the occasion of the release of the feature film Bullet Train, currently in cinemas, we offer a focus on these films and series set on a train, from the last train in Busan to Snowpiercer, via a passenger aboard the Darjeeling Limited. or Le Pôle Express. did we look

BULLET TRAIN (2022)

In Bullet Train, Brad Pitt plays a down-on-his-luck assassin who decides to carry out his new mission peacefully after too many of them have been derailed. But fate has decided otherwise and takes him on the fastest train in the world alongside formidable opponents who all have one thing in common, but radically different interests… then he must try to get off the plane.

The film’s production designer David Schuneman made sure that the two life-size train cars were interchangeable so that each could be adapted and placed in a different car as the family car, in the colors of the mascot Momomon.

The family car required extensive custom fittings, such as a sticky fuchsia pink interior and an exterior liner that immerses the viewer in an anime-like explosion of color.

Stage 26 at Sony Studios housed two sets of carriages as well as a station set. This was repaired five times by Scheunemann’s team, for five different stations.

Last Train to Busan (2016)

Fiction Last train to Busan We are immersed in South Korea, because an unknown virus is spreading in the country and a state of emergency has been declared. Passengers on the KTX train are embroiled in a relentless fight to survive before reaching Busan, the only city where they will be safe… On the making of this zombie film, which is showing at a midnight screening in Cannes, director Sang-ho Yeon says. : “The train offers a closed and repetitive space. All cars and coupes look alike. There are a lot of action scenes in the film, but I didn’t want to cut them too much to make it easier for the audience. I limited the number of frames to follow the movements of the characters to keep the action legible. My film has fewer frames than a typical action film.”

ABOARD THE DARJEELING LIMITED (2008)

Three brothers who haven’t spoken to each other since their father’s death decide to travel together by train to India to reconnect with old connections. A “Spiritual Quest” that will move quickly… It’s a dramatic comedy pitch On board the Darjeeling LimitedDirected by Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman. For this feature film, both funny and melancholic, director Wes Anderson first wanted to shoot on a real train, a car that, in this case, was running between the cities of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. “We went to the Indian area controlled by the North Western Railway and told them we needed ten cars and locomotives that we were going to completely redecorate and run on their rail network.recalls production designer Mark Friedberg. “It was the first time they were asked for something like this. The procedures were long and tedious, but in the end we got what we wanted.”

The Passenger (2018)

Like every day after work, Michael McAuley takes the commuter train that takes him home. But his daily commute takes a completely different turn when, after receiving a call from a mysterious stranger, he is forced to identify a passenger hidden on the train before the last stop. The fourth collaboration between director Jaume Collet-Serrat and actor Liam Neeson, Thriller Passenger It was a two-fold challenge: to make such a story fascinating with a setting that never changes, and to make the staging fit within that constraint. “Photographing a train can be relatively boring. Fortunately, Hudson North has an interesting aesthetic.”explains the film director. “It’s old, it makes a lot of noise, and it still has that ticketing system that I find fascinating. Also, this line has lots and lots of different lights. You go from the Grand Central platforms and tunnels into the Bronx and then the Hudson River before you leave the city. You could visualize This is a great benefit.”

RUN (2020)

The TV series Run is the story of two ex-lovers who made a pact 15 years ago. A pact where they vowed to disappear together if ever one of them, needing to escape from his life, sent this simple and unique text: “Run.” In this show by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), who mixes Thriller And romance, many scenes take place inside the train. The cast includes Merritt Weaver and Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars). He recalls: “Logistically, filming the scenes on the train was a nightmare because the car bounced around a lot. We were shown landscapes on the screens and with the change of perspective it was impossible not to feel sick!“

Source Code (2011)

Colter Stevens wakes up on a train to Chicago. Amnesia, he doesn’t remember being in it. When suddenly a bomb explodes… When he wakes up, he finds himself participating in an experimental process that allows him to project himself into a human body and relive the last eight minutes of his life. His mission is to constantly relive the minutes before the explosion in order to identify and arrest the perpetrators of the attack. Such is the story Thriller SF Source Code, directed by Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie) and directed by Jake Gyllenhaal. A film for which the same train sequence had to be shot in several different ways, each time adding a new script element.

CRIME ON THE ORIENT-EXPRESS (2017)

The luxury and tranquility of traveling on the Orient Express is suddenly disturbed by murder. The 13 passengers are all suspects, and famous detective Hercule Poirot begins a race against time to identify the killer before he strikes again. Agatha Christie’s iconic novel has been adapted for the screen many times, with the latest version dating back to 2017 with Kenneth Branagh directing and an XXL cast including Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe and Daisy Ridley. Two trains were created for this film: one for indoor and outdoor scenes, consisting of all cars and locomotives and able to move on rails, the other for indoor scenes only, with removable walls to facilitate filming.

POLE EXPRESS (2004)

A young boy who doubts the existence of Santa Claus boards a mysterious train bound for the North Pole. as Express Pole Plunging into enchanted lands, adventure awaits and the young passengers realize the extent of their gifts. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, this film takes advantage of the so-called “performance capture” technique, a process that makes it possible to perfectly recreate in computer graphics the expressions and gestures of the actors, including Tom Hanks.

Vanishing Woman (1938)

On the train home from the Balkans, Iris befriends an old lady, Miss Froy. However, this disappears when Iris sleeps: in her place is another lady wearing the same clothes. None of the passengers on the train remember Miss Froy. With the help of Gilbert, a young musician, Iris leads the investigation. Fast forward to the detective film The Woman Disappears, directed by a certain Alfred Hitchcock during his English-language career.

Runaway Train (1986)

Runaway Train is the story of Manny and Bucky who manage to escape from prison. Their escape is very difficult and dangerous because they are in the middle of Alaska, a region with frosty climatic conditions. However, they reach the station and board the train. Unfortunately for them, the driver has a heart attack and the brakes of the convoy no longer respond! The speed keeps increasing and no one seems to be able to bring him down… The train scenes of the feature film written by Akira Kurosawa were shot in Alaska. Note that Runaway Train was presented at Cannes in 1986 and earned actors Jon Voight and Eric Roberts Oscar nominations.

SNOWPIERCER (2013 and 2020)

In A feature film by Bong Joon-ho and a Netflix series adapted from the comics transpercenage, viewers are immersed in the near future as Earth experiences a new ice age. The last survivors board the Snowpiercer, a giant train condemned to circle the Earth without stopping. Bong Joon-ho said when his film was released: “When I opened the comic, I found that it was a story about a train. However, I’m literally obsessed with trains (…) it’s a limited space, a place that presents a challenge in terms of staging. ( …) Le Transperceneige seemed to me a work that was meant for me. A gesture of fate, a film born by chance.”