The Great Train Robbery is a two-part British television miniseries, written by Chris Chibnall, that was first broadcast on BBC One on 18 and 19 December 2013.
It tells the story of the Great Train Robbery on 8 August 1963, first from the perspective of the robbers, and then from the perspective of the police. Coincidentally, the first part, A Robber's Tale, was shown on the same day that train robber Ronnie Biggs died.
Video The Great Train Robbery (2013 TV series)
Plot
A Robber's Tale is set between November 1962 and the aftermath of the Great Train Robbery on 8 August 1963. Beginning at London Heathrow Airport where the big practice robbery took place, Bruce Reynolds (Luke Evans) gathered a group of men to target the Royal Mail train heading between Glasgow and London.
A Copper's Tale begins in the early morning of 8 August 1963 after the train robbery took place. Six of the best police officers from Scotland Yard are called to help with the investigation, with DCS Tommy Butler (Jim Broadbent) in charge.
Maps The Great Train Robbery (2013 TV series)
Cast
- Luke Evans as Bruce Reynolds
- Jim Broadbent as DCS Tommy Butler
- Paul Anderson as Gordon Goody
- Jack Roth as Charlie Wilson
- Martin Compston as Roy James
- Neil Maskell as Buster Edwards
- Del Synnott as Brian Field
- Nicholas Murchie as Roger Cordery
- Jordan Long as Tommy Wisbey
- Jack Gordon as Ronnie Biggs
- George Ward as Nick Reynolds
- Eric Hulme as Jack Mills
- James Bye as John Daly
- Robert Glenister as DI Frank Williams
- Bethany Muir as Franny Reynolds
A Robber's Tale
- John Voce as Billy Still
- Bill Thomas as Alf
- Nigel Collins as Bert Turner
- Dean Smith as David Whitby
- Mark Stratton as Mr. Wyatt
A Copper's Tale
- Ken Bones as Com. George Hatherill
- Richard Hope as DCS Malcolm Fewtrell
- George Costigan as DCS Ernie Millen
- John Salthouse as DCI Sid Bradbury
- Tim Pigott-Smith as DS Maurice Ray
- Nick Moran as DS Jack Slipper
- Tom Chambers as DS Steve Moore
- Matthew Jure as DS Stanley Davies
- James McGregor as DC Tommy Thorburn
- Tommy McDonnell as DC Keith Milner
- Tom Beard as Dr. Ian Holden
- Christine Cox as Emily Clarke
- Gwyneth Strong as Dorothy
- James Wilby as John Wheater
- James Fox as Henry Brooke
Production
The Great Train Robbery was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC Drama, and Danny Cohen, controller of BBC One. The executive producers are Simon Heath for World Productions, the company behind the series, and Polly Hill for the BBC. Julia Stannard is the producer of the two ninety-minute films.
The two films were first due to be broadcast in August 2013, on the 50th anniversary of the train robbery, but was postponed to December 2013 because of scheduling issues. The production was inspired by the book Signal Red by Robert Ryan.
Filming
Filming began in Yorkshire in March 2013. Various parts of Leeds city centre were used, such as the Adelphi public house, the Calls, Briggate, Hyde Park Picture House and other parts of Hyde Park. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway was used as Sears Crossing, where the actual robbery took place. Other scenes were filmed at Bradford, Shipley, Haworth and Goole. Filey was used instead of Torquay for the scenes involving Reynolds' hideout. According to the BBC, Yorkshire is the "most cost-effective and realistic alternative".
Episode list
Reception
According to Cheshire Today, the BBC was criticised for glorifying criminals when it announced the series.
Ratings
Overnight figures showed that A Robber's Tale, the first episode of The Great Train Robbery, was watched by 23.2% of the viewing audience for that time, with 5.23 million watching it. The second episode, A Copper's Tale, had a 23.1% audience share and 4.95 million viewers, according to overnight figures.
Critical reception
A Robber's Tale received a mixed response. Metro journalist Keith Watson gave the film two stars out of five and said he would have liked to have seen more background on the gang members. The Daily Telegraph's Tom Rowley gave it four stars out of five and noted the high attention to detail by Chris Chibnall. Sam Wollaston from The Guardian said A Robber's Tale "beautifully explores the dynamic of a gang of men".
Awards
The Great Train Robbery received a BAFTA nomination in 2014.
Home media
The two films have been released on DVD by publisher Acorn Media UK and is available from the BBC. It was released at other outlets on 6 January 2014.
Errors
Early scenes show a robbery in 1962 with two getaway cars sporting A-reg number plates. A-reg number plates were first used in 1963.
The robbery took place in August, but the trees on the farm clearly show that it was filmed in winter.
The Greenwich Time Signal heard at the start of the BBC radio news, in which Reynolds hears that their farmhouse has been found, in 1963, has a long final pip. The long final pip was not introduced until 1972.
References
External links
- The Great Train Robbery on IMDb
- The Great Train Robbery at BBC Programmes
- The Great Train Robbery at Radio Times
- Interview with Chris Chibnall about The Great Train Robbery
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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