Rocky Mountain Express (2011)

Rocky Mountain Express is a documentary film about Canada’s first transcontinental railway. It premiered in Canada and the US in 2011. In 2016 it was released on Blu-Ray (4K - Ultra HD). Here is some basic information about it:

*** Writer and director: Stephen Low
*** Photographer: Stephen Low
*** Producer: Pietro L. Serapiglia and Alexander Low
*** Editor: James Lahti 

*** Original musical score composed by Michel Cusson
*** Aerial photography by Ralph Mendoza
*** Helicopter pilot: Steve Flynn
*** Narrator: Michael Hanrahan
*** Run time: 46 minutes

Stephen Low is a Canadian filmmaker. He is also a railway buff. For many years he had been dreaming about making a documentary film about Canada’s first transcontinental railway, but he could not find the money to finance the project.

When he heard that the Canadian railway company (CPR) was going to restore an old steam locomotive, known as the 2816, he realized that this was his chance to make a film about the old railway and to use an old steam locomotive in the leading role.

He was able to make a deal with the railway company and thus the project could begin. It was going to be a long project. Filming and editing took more than five years. Stephen Low wanted to make sure that he got everything right. And I think he did.

The film starts very slowly. First, there is a picture of the man who was in charge of the project: William Cornelius Van Horne (1843-1915). Next, there is a picture of an old steam locomotive. We are looking into the furnace. But there is no fire. It looks very old. There is no movement at all. But then something happens: a flame appears in the furnace, and now we can see that we are on a real steam locomotive and it is moving!

From this point the story takes off and never stops until we get to the end. We learn about the difficult and dangerous explorations to find a suitable route through the mountains and we learn about the construction of the first transcontinental railway (1881-1885) as well as alternative lines that were added in the 20th century.

The narrator, Michael Hanrahan, tells us what happened, step by step. His narration is accompanied by music composed by Michel Cusson and by four types of images:

# 1. Images filmed by cameras mounted on the train. In the front, in the back, and on the sides.

# 2. Images filmed from a helicopter that flies over the mountains, over the train, and along the train.

# 3. CGI, computer generated images, which are used to show us the mountainous Canadian landscape in three dimensions.

# 4. Old historical photographs (in black-and-white) that were taken during the construction of the railway.

The narration, the musical score and the four types of images come together to form a perfect unity. When you are watching this film, you will see many things you cannot see if you are travelling as a passenger on the train. You will watch the train from strange but fascinating angles.

If you are a passenger, you can, of course, see the mountains around you, but you cannot see the train from above. As a passenger, you can, of course, sit in the rear carriage and look backwards, but you cannot sit in the locomotive and look forward.

The camera catches the moment when the train enters a tunnel, and the moment when the train exits a tunnel. The camera is placed on the ground very close to the track in order to catch the moment when the train passes by. But you are not supposed to sit very close to the track, because it is dangerous.

This film tells us how the railway was built. We hear about the difficulties and about the accomplishments. We hear about the setbacks that happened from time to time.

As stated above, Stephen Low is a railway buff, but he does not look at the railway through rose-coloured glasses. He is honest about the failures that happened while the project was underway. The transcontinental railway was a great accomplishment, but there was a serious price to pay. Several workers lost their lives while the railway was being built.

What do reviewers say about this film? On IMDb it has a rating of 80 per cent. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an audience score of 77 per cent. Both average ratings correspond to four stars on Amazon. If you ask me, they are too low.

On the US version of Amazon there are 54 reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.6 stars. If you ask me, this average rating is more appropriate. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

If you are interested in the history of trains, including the history of engineering and technology, this film is definitely something for you.

PS # 1. William Cornelius Van Horne, the man who was in charge of the project, worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway for many years: he was general manager 1882-1884; vice-president 1884-1888; and president 1888-1899.

PS # 2. In the US, the first transcontinental railroad was built 1863-1869, i.e. several years before the Canadian line. The history of the US railroad is covered in an episode of the long-running program American Experience: Transcontinental Railroad (shown on television 2003, released on DVD 2006).

*****

 

Rocky Mountain Express

*****

The Flying Scotsman: A Rail Romance (2013)

The Flying Scotsman: A Rail Romance is a documentary film about the most famous steam locomotive in the world: the LNER 4472. It was shown on British television (BBC) and released on DVD in 2013 in order to mark the 90-year anniversary of this unique engine. Here is some basic information about it:

*** Producer and director: David Parker

*** Narrator: Barbara Flynn

*** Run time: 59 minutes

Several people were interviewed for the film. Here are their names in the order of appearance:

** Jonathan Glancey – author of the book “Giants of Steam” (2012, 2013)

** Andrew Roden – author of the book “Flying Scotsman” (2007, 2015)

** Peter Tuffrey – historian

** Peter Townend – former Shed Master, King’s Cross

** Bob Gwynne – National Railway Museum

** Fiona MacCarthy – biographer of Eric Gill (1989)

** Simon Kohler – Hornby Hobbies

** Penny Vaudoyer – daughter of Alan Pegler

** Anna Turner – dancer on the US tour in 1969

In addition, there are some old interviews (archive footage from 1999). Here are their names:

** Ron Kennedy – former driver of the Flying Scotsman

** Alan Pegler (1920-2012) – businessman, railway enthusiast, saved the Flying Scotsman in 1963

** William McAlpine – businessman, railway enthusiast, saved the Flying Scotsman in 1973

** Tony Marchington (1955-2011) – businessman, railway enthusiast, saved the Flying Scotsman in 1996

This film tells the story of the famous locomotive from the construction in 1923 until its 90-year anniversary in 2013. It is an interesting story and it is told very well.

The locomotive was on display at the Empire Exhibition that was held at Wembley 1924-1925. In 1934, it set a world record when it reached a speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour).

In the film the history of the locomotive is placed in a historical context, so we can understand why most railway companies wanted to end the era of steam engines in the 1960s. The Flying Scotsman was close to being scrapped. Fortunately, three millionaires stepped in to save it. One after other. Each of them was successful for a while, but each of them also had to learn that running a huge steam locomotive is an expensive affair.

Since World War Two, the LNER 4472 has travelled the world. It has visited the US, Canada, and Australia. In 2013, when it was time to celebrate its 90-year anniversary, it was not quite ready to travel, because it was in a work shop, getting ready for a new life.

But in 2016 the famous steam locomotive was finally back on track. It was welcomed by huge crowds of railway enthusiasts. Obviously, this recent event is not covered in this film from 2013.

What do reviewers say about it? On IMDb it has a rating of 70 per cent, which corresponds to 3.5 stars on Amazon. If you ask me, this average rating is too low.

On Amazon UK there are four reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.8 stars. If you ask me, this average rating is much more appropriate. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

The Flying Scotsman: A Rail Romance is a fascinating film with a lot of interesting footage. Some clips are old so they are in black-and-white; other clips are more recent and they are in colour.

The people who are interviewed in the film are well chosen. They are experts on railway history or they have a close connection with the famous locomotive.

If you are interested in the history of the modern world – in particular the history of technology and transport – this film is definitely something for you.

PS # 1. The Flying Scotsman from the Footplate is a documentary film that was shown on British television (BBC) in December 2016 and released on DVD in March 2017.

PS # 2. Flying Scotsman with Robson Green is a documentary film that was shown on British television (ITV) in 2016. As far as I know, it is not available from Amazon.

PS # 3. Rocky Mountain Express is a documentary film about Canada’s first transcontinental railway and a steam locomotive which serves this route. In 2011, the film premiered in the US and Canada; and in 2016 it was released on Blu-Ray (UHD) in 2016.

PS # 4. The four letters “LNER” stand for London & North Eastern Railway. The 4472 usually ran between London and Edinburgh. The journey lasted about eight hours.

PS # 5. Eric Gill (1882-1940) was a British artist and typeface designer, whose typeface was used for writing the name of the train and the names of the stations that it served. For more information about this highly controversial character, see Fiona MacCarthy’s biography from 1989 and her article “Written in Stone” that was published in the Guardian on 22 July 2006.

PS # 6. The following article about the Flying Scotsman is available online: Robert Hardman, “Back on track!” Daily Mail, 25 February 2016.

*****

 

The Flying Scotsman

*****

 

Building Pharaoh's Ship (2010)

Building Pharaoh’s Ship - a documentary film about experimental archaeology - was shown on US television (PBS) in 2010. It is an episode of the long-running program NOVA, which focuses on the history of science and technology (season 37, episode 10). Here is some basic information about it:

** Directed by Stephane Begoin

** Produced by Valerie Abita and Patrick Villeneuve

** Written by Julia Cort

** Narrated by Craig Sechler

** Run time: 53 minutes

Several experts were involved in this program. Here are their names:

** Kathryn Bard – Boston University

** David Vann – author and sailing expert

** Tom Vosmer – maritime archaeologist

** Cheryl Ward – Coastal Carolina University

** The Lahma family – an Egyptian family of shipbuilders

The experts meet in Egypt. The project is to build a modern replica of an ancient ship that can actually sail the open sea. In this film we see the experts as they try to complete the project. There are several stages:

# 1. Study ancient monuments with reliefs of ships – and study archaeological remains of ancient ships – in order to collect as much evidence as possible

# 2. Build a ship

# 3. Construct a mast and a sail

# 4. Put everything together

# 5. Test the ship in the water

Not everything goes according to plan. Sometimes there is a setback, but when this happens, they sit back, think for a moment, and then they try something else.

At first, the ship was built without caulking. But when the ship was put into the water, they could see that this could not work: the ship was going to sink. To solve this problem they decided that caulking (with linen and bee’s wax) was necessary. Once this process was completed, the ship was watertight. The problem had been solved.

Without revealing too much I can tell you that the experts and the family of shipbuilders manage to build a modern replica of an ancient ship that can sail the open sea. When they test the top speed of the ship, the result is seven knots or thirteen km per hour, which is quite good.

Building Pharaoh’s Ship is an interesting program. We follow the experts as they are working on solutions to the practical problems. We also follow them as the ship is tested on the waters of the Red Sea.

What do reviewers say about this film? On IMDb it has a rating of 70 per cent, which corresponds to three and a half stars on Amazon. If you ask me, this average rating is too low. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

If you are interested in the history of the ancient world - in particular the history of science and technology – this program is definitely something for you.

PS. Building Pharaoh’s Chariot is a somewhat similar program that was released by NOVA in 2013.

*****