Points and Aspects

TGV Paris-Bordeaux, la ligne de tous les records

November 2021 •French

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

June 1896 •French

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

September 1927 •German

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

A Train Arrives at the Station

January 2016 •English

“This film was a gift to me. I make no claims for it, nor do I offer any apologies. It comes from work on The Thoughts That Once We Had. There was one shot we had to cut whose loss I particularly regretted. It was a shot of a train pulling into Tokyo Station from Ozu’s The Only Son (1936). So I decided to make a film around this shot, an anthology of train arrivals. It comprises 26 scenes or shots from movies, 1904-2015. It has a simple serial structure: each black & white sequence in the first half rhymes with a color sequence in the second half. Thus the first shot and the final shot show trains arriving at stations in Japan from a low camera height. In the first shot (The Only Son), the train moves toward the right; in the last shot, it moves toward the left. A bullet train has replaced a steam locomotive. So after all these years, I’ve made another structural film, although that was not my original intention.”

Trains of Thoughts

December 2012 •English

An audio-visual essay, which reflects upon & compares metro systems around the world. It is an exploration of a world inside the world as well as feelings, fascination, obsession, fear and themes - of survival, control & silence.

Railman

January 1976 •English

Railman is a film concerned as much with the distribution of roles within the film collective as with getting “as close as possible to the life and routines” of an NUR station master. Filmed at Grove Park Station, Lewisham, in south east London, and set against the backdrop of state divestment in transport infrastructure, Railman might be regarded as a modest and experimental corrective to officially sanctioned British Transport Films.

The White Pass Journey

April 2017 •English

Includes all new footage which captures the WP&YR experience and history from Skagway, Alaska to Fraser, B.C. and from Fraser, B.C. to Carcross, Yukon. Fully narrated with insights and historical context.

Gare du Nord : La Plus Grande Gare d'Europe

July 2018 •French

Trains: Two Centuries of Innovation

February 2017 •French

Nearly 200 years ago, the train revolutionized our lives. It redrew the maps of states and nations, and changed concepts of distance and time like no other invention before. What visionaries imagined the development of the railroad? How did we get from the first chugging locomotives to the smooth giants of speed we see today? How does France's extensive rail network keep running smoothly, 24/7?

The Battle for Donner Pass

Invalid date •English

This is the incredible story of the men and equipment that battle the long cold winter months against the impossible odds to keep this historic mountain pass open! You'll see the Legendary Snowfighters of Donner Pass in action as they struggle against the winter fury of the High Sierras. This amazing story shot with the full cooperation of the Southern Pacific, bringing you the spectacular footage that takes you directly to the front lines of The Battle for Donner Pass!

The Great Train Robbery

October 2012 •English

It was one of the greatest heists in British history. £3 million – worth over £40 million today – stolen from a moving train by a gang of thieves who almost got away with it.

Trains

February 1976 •English

After shooting more short films and documentaries, Deschanel wrote, directed and shot Trains, a short film that won the Silver Bear at the 1976 Berlin Film Festival. Trains is an exquisitely filmed short format documentary on passenger trains throughout the course of one day.

Best of Video Track 73 & 74

September 2020 •English

Class 31s in Kent, Last 31s on Bedford to Bletchley line, Scottish 117 DMUs, Last 37s on China Clay in West Country, Freightliner 66s, Class 92s on West Coast duties, Yarmouth loco haulage, West Coast convoys with 37s, 73s and 31s, Sandite Class 37s, Welsh Rugby Specials, Dumfries Diversions, Class 66s News, Deltic and ‘Ixion’ specials, Bo’Ness Preservation, Dereham Anniversary, ‘Hastings’ unit on Yarmouth Special,Class 56s in decline with Ketton Cement, 56007 on engineers, Class 37 variety with double heading on steel workings, Sandite 37s, Freight News with Norfolk Freight, Green 101 unit, Double headed 37s on MGR and Baglan Bay Tanks, Freightliner 66s, Eurostars on test on ECML, Royal Train, Modernisation on Cromer Branch, ‘Crompton’ Special, West Somerset Autumn Gala, ‘Hastings’ unit, Extra trains to Rugby International at Cardiff with Deltic.

Banlie.ue

October 2023 •French

The Station

January 1952 •Italian

A day in the life of a train station.

A&C to S

June 2014 •English

As the modernisation of London Underground continues, long serving A-Stock and C-Stock trains have been withdrawn from service, and their differing characters will slowly become a memory. London Transport Museum commissioned Geoff Marshall to record the transition between old and new trains.

Fuzz: The Sound That Revolutionized the World

November 2007 •English

An in-depth look at the industry of noise making featuring Billy Gibbons, Jon Spencer, J. Mascis more! Fuzz... the sound that changed the world. The fuzz box: that tiny little box between the electric guitar and the amp that revolutionized rock music.

Wish Us Luck

March 2013 •Thai

A one-month-journey of twin sisters from London back to their home, Bangkok, by train. They traveled via the famous trans-Siberian route through many countries such as Germany, Russia, Mongolia and China, with many stories to tell.

3rd Ave. El

January 1955 •English

Impressionistic picture of the Third Avenue Elevated Railway in Manhattan, New York City, before it was demolished. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.

Christmas with the Desert Children

January 1974 •English

A short documentary about Father Christmas' annual six-day trek through the Australian desert aboard the Tea and Sugar Train.