FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

denis888 Excellent film! I enjoyed every minute of this rather short, but greatly superb film on Great Locomotive Chase of 1862 near Chattanooga. The real story makes this film even more interesting, and the whole work is awesome. Excellent musical score, great scenery, decent performance of all actors, very thrilling trains, shoot-outs, North and South clashing, real drama, real feelings, very good details, very accurate depiction of moral and habits of people of those times.All of these makes this Old Style Hollywod film a very good watch. I do recommend this to all Civil War buffs!And even common film viewers will like this film and find it very brisk and very cool

raskimono Westerns are generally concerned with shootouts btw desperadoes and law-abiding officers. It is no secret the westerns gave us the terms "the man in white" and the "man in black" to correspond to its basic colloquialism. But this is Disney making this movie, and so in such, we get a History lesson in the form of the Western. It's about the first men to win the congressional medal of honor. It is also about an army offensive that failed. Those Northern boys failed to get the better of the Johnny Rebs in this civil war tale. Fess Parker, he of the brimstone and iron voice, you know, that Gregory Peck way of manly speaking speaking that has totally disappeared from movies today and society in general - except maybe in the Midwest leads the Dirty dozenish crew who are to destroy the railway lines and communication system of the South so that the North can perform their beta version of D-Day. Pesky Jeffrey in a fine stone-walled performance picks up chase as they steal his train for this mission. In this movie, failure isn't really failure but success. The chase is the thing but not the thing and heroics are measured in a leader that his crew consider cowardly. Sharp writing and character is the star of this Disney opus. All in all, a fine western, a fine movie.

bob the moo During the American Civil War, the Union knows that weakening the Confederate's transportation networks will greatly increase the chances of an attack being successful. James Andrews has been undercover within the South for some time so he is tasked with leading a group of men in as spies to get to the main railway bridges and burn them down. Things are edgy but going well until a zealous conductor on a train spots the men and plans to head the alarm. With no choice but to act, Andrews seizes the train and steals it to get quickly to his target blocking the track and chopping down telegraph lines along the way. However William Fuller is not to be put off and sets out in pursuit.Supposedly a true story this Disney film is a basic but entertaining adventure that is more about getting a simple chase going than it is about painting an educational historical piece. However this is not a major criticism because it is rather interesting and fun despite being a pretty base piece of film-making. The chase is never that exciting but it does provide some energy into the film, while the solid characters are engaging enough for what is essentially a film aimed at older children. The lack of tension or danger was a problem for me because I didn't think the mission should feel like the jolly jape that most of this makes it out to be – I imagine many viewers will struggle with the bright colourful pictures that this is presented in.The cast are solid enough; few so anything special but most of them fill their roles well and make reasonable fists of the job. Parker has a big strong chest and a big square jaw and my God does he use them at every chance he gets – hardly a performance but good enough for the type of film. Lupton is more interesting in a smaller role. Hunter is fun as Fuller although I would have liked a bit more humour in his performance. Support from York, Firestone and a few others is good but none of them are anything that special. Much like the film itself, the actors all do the minimum but generally do OK.Overall this is an OK film that is worth seeing as a bit of dramatic chase movie with aims of historical education that it never really pulls off. It is very much a Disney drama and lacks danger, tension or darkness but it is entertaining and interesting enough to do the job in you are in quite an undemanding mood – a lazy Sunday afternoon is probably the best time to give this a go, but just don't expect much.

Marta Fess Parker stars as James Andrews, Yankee spy, who takes an extremely dangerous mission during the Civil War. Parker has his trademark easy-going smile on throughout the entire film, as he and a group of Union soldiers try to steal a train and destroy about a 1000 miles of train track, in an effort to cut the supply lines of the Rebel army and deal the South a fatal blow. Jeff Hunter and Kenneth Tobey are loyal Southern train officials who try to stop them by using every means under their disposal, which include running after the train for miles, using a handcart and stealing another engineer's engine. Jeff York, Dick Sergeant, Harry Carey Jr., and John Lupton, plus a lot of other character actors, round out Fess' Union forces.This film is pretty accurate, as historical Disney movies go, and is based on a true story. Buster Keaton's silent film "The General" is also based on the same Civil War event.Disney just released the movie on DVD, in its original widescreen format; the picture is sharp and detailed, with wonderful, bright colors and fine, clear sound. This is an excellent way to see this movie, and is well worth the money. It would be great if Disney would put out Fess' other films, the original 3 part "Davy Crockett" and the hilarious "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" in this format, too, as well as "Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow". In fact, I'd love to see all their live action films on DVD and in their original aspect, and done as well as "The Great Locomotive Chase".