Railway Cinema

[quashlo]

Post movies about railways.

Not really sure where in the forum this thread best belongs, so apologies if this is the wrong place.

[quashlo]

RAILWAYS 49歳で電車の運転士になった男の物語

RAILWAYS: The Story of a Man who Became a Train Driver at 49

 

Takes place in Shimane Prefecture, on the Bataden (Ichibata Electric Railway), but the preview also has some scenes with Keiō Electric Railway in the Tōkyō area. Stars Nakai Kiichi, Takashima Reiko, and Motokariya Yuika. Debuts May 29, 2010.

 

[quashlo]

鉄道員（ぽっぽや）

Poppoya (1999)

 

Follows the life of a stationmaster in a small rural station in Hokkaidō. Stars Takakura Ken, Ōtake Shinobu, and Hirosue Ryōko.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOr3e0xjgTg

[Bernard]

Thanks for sharing and don't worry about where you're posting.

I have to say it looks awfully cold to be a stationmaster from the video!

[bikkuri bahn]

ある機関助士

(Story of) a Fireman

A 1963 documentary/short movie about the job a young fireman working the Ueno-Mito turn on the Joban Main Line, firing C62's pulling (in this case) the up and down express "Michinoku", which ran between Ueno and Aomori.  A valuable historical film, as it was shot in 35mm color, showing the railway infrastructure at that time, station scenes, and freight, just before the dawn of Shinkansen service.

 

Part 1- We catch the crew on the down Michinoku, arriving in Mito from Ueno.  A kiha 55 train passes by on the way.  The crew has the remainder of the day to rest before taking the up Michinoku into Ueno in the evening.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5fZMxR-Tf0&NR=1

 

Part 2- Shinkansen prototype on test track, locomotive crew safety training, the importance of keeping to the schedule, arrival of the up Michinoku

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5x6jqruI4Q&feature=related

 

Part 3- Evening departure from Mito, note the driver uses the cut-off more than the regulator on this stretch, signal box activity with throwing of levers, passing through Toride and into electrified commuter territory

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gtu7s6hYHs&feature=related

 

Part 4-  Passing through the busy electrified commuter territory, arrival in Ueno at platform 8, unloading of express freight, backing out of the station

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul66c64UNOY&feature=related

[bikkuri bahn]

So...hopefully now the train has been re-railed, and continuing on to our destination of cinema-land...On the topic of (the actor) Ken Takakura, featured in the film Poppoya above, my local cinema recently had a festival featuring his works with settings in Hokkaido, and specifically those with location scenes at Hokkaido railway stations.  I was able to see two films- Kaikyo, and 駅 Station.  

 

Kaikyo has Takakura playing the JNR man tasked with building the Seikan Tunnel under the Tsugaru Straits (widely misspelled on the English language web as the Tsuruga Straits).  Highly recommended, and features a still young Sayuri Yoshinaga.  Unfortunately can't find any trailers of this film on YouTube.

 

駅 Station is a cop drama, but features many scenes at several Hokkaido railway stations, especially notable being the end of the line Mashike Station and the now closed Kami-Sunagawa Station complete with sidings full of coal hopper cars.  Ken Takakura at his best as a stoic, determined cop who happens to be an Olympic-level expert marksman.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb4y7w3pAdA

 

Moderator Edit: Fixed link

[bikkuri bahn]

I saw the movie "Railways" at the movie theater yesterday (it was "men's day", so admission was only 1000 yen).  As a movie a bit melodramatic at times (this is a Japanese movie after all), but overall a good story.  Lots of railway scenes, not only at the station, but at the maintenance shed and (unusually) in the CTC room of the company HQ/station.  The training scenes at the Keio Railway were also interesting.  But the highlight scenes were with the orange Dehani 50 units- wood and velour interiors, manually opening doors, and the classic growl of old traction motors.  No inverter whine here.

 

Source:http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%80%E7%95%91%E9%9B%BB%E6%B0%97%E9%89%84%E9%81%93%E3%83%87%E3%83%8F%E3%83%8B50%E5%BD%A2%E9%9B%BB%E8%BB%8A

[marknewton]

 

(Story of) a Fireman

 

A 1963 documentary/short movie about the job a young fireman working the Ueno-Mito turn on the Joban Main Line, firing C62's...

 

Part 3- Evening departure from Mito, note the driver uses the cut-off more than the regulator on this stretch

 

Good stuff! Very interesting for me to see Japanese enginemen at work. When I was taught to fire, and later drive, our inspector's preferred method was to drive on the reverser rather than the regulator. I'm not surprised that the bloke running the C62 uses the same method, as it would be most suited to an engine such as these.

 

Thanks for a great post, BB!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[westfalen]

 

(Story of) a Fireman

 

A 1963 documentary/short movie about the job a young fireman working the Ueno-Mito turn on the Joban Main Line, firing C62's...

 

Part 3- Evening departure from Mito, note the driver uses the cut-off more than the regulator on this stretch

 

Good stuff! Very interesting for me to see Japanese enginemen at work. When I was taught to fire, and later drive, our inspector's preferred method was to drive on the reverser rather than the regulator. I'm not surprised that the bloke running the C62 uses the same method, as it would be most suited to an engine such as these.

 

Thanks for a great post, BB!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

I just watched this one too, I'm still catching up with stuff posted while I was on holidays. Apart from the men lying on mats on the floor in the meal room and the usual Japanese pointing and gestures (even the signalman does it) most things depicted are not that strange. I think it shows that a lot of railway work is the same where ever you are, swap the C62 for a C38, Ueno for Sydney and Mito for say, Goulburn and it could almost be NSW in 1963.

 

I don't know what QR's 'Zero Harm' health and safety police would think of us running up and down the track waving lighted flares though.

[SONIC883_de]

tabi no okurimono 0:00 hatsu

 

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjE2OTc0NTI=.html

 

 

shinkansen daibakuha

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGZKEwFG3dI

[bikkuri bahn]

shinkansen daibakuha

 

That's a loooong throttle lever on that 0 series....Anyway, possibly the inspiration for the Hollywood movie "Speed"??

[westfalen]

shinkansen daibakuha

 

That's a loooong throttle lever on that 0 series....Anyway, possibly the inspiration for the Hollywood movie "Speed"??

That's about the size of it.

[marknewton]

I just watched this one too, I'm still catching up with stuff posted while I was on holidays. Apart from the men lying on mats on the floor in the meal room and the usual Japanese pointing and gestures (even the signalman does it) most things depicted are not that strange. I think it shows that a lot of railway work is the same where ever you are, swap the C62 for a C38, Ueno for Sydney and Mito for say, Goulburn and it could almost be NSW in 1963.

 

LOL! You mean to say you've never kipped on the mealroom floor? 

 

Even the pointing isn't all that different to my experience. When I'm on a steamy and I'm calling the road for my mate, I usually make the accompanying hand gestures on account of the noise. Same with when you got to put an injector on.

 

But I agree 100% when you say that a lot of what we do is the same the world over.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[westfalen]

I just watched this one too, I'm still catching up with stuff posted while I was on holidays. Apart from the men lying on mats on the floor in the meal room and the usual Japanese pointing and gestures (even the signalman does it) most things depicted are not that strange. I think it shows that a lot of railway work is the same where ever you are, swap the C62 for a C38, Ueno for Sydney and Mito for say, Goulburn and it could almost be NSW in 1963.

 

LOL! You mean to say you've never kipped on the mealroom floor? 

 

Even the pointing isn't all that different to my experience. When I'm on a steamy and I'm calling the road for my mate, I usually make the accompanying hand gestures on account of the noise. Same with when you got to put an injector on.

 

But I agree 100% when you say that a lot of what we do is the same the world over.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

QR don't provide us with anything as comfortable as straw mats though.

 

On the 1998 Trainaway Tours trip to Japan we had a QR steam tutor driver with us (now sadly passed away), and during our trip on the Oigawa Railway he was having an animated conversation with the crew of a C11 tank loco about driving techniques even though he spoke no Japanese, and they no English.

 

While on Youtube watching that video I came across this one from 1954 showing a trip of the Tsubame Ltd Exp starting behind an EF58 then handing over to steam. While not mainstream cinema these old railway promotional and training films can be interesting to watch.

 

The vehicle on the level crossing shows on aspect of driving trains that is constant across the years and the continents.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I2KgKYqn8o&feature=related

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8NgGJzLJo0&feature=related

[disturbman]

shinkansen daibakuha

 

Just seen it and I'm impressed, in and all it's a good movie. They really knew how to make "action" movies back in the 70s. Nobody will be able to do such a movie nowadays. It was for me 2 hours and 30 minutes of great pleasure.

 

Plus. There is plenty of trains around. Life size Shinkansens, some steamer actions, you can spot a lot of Tokyo suburban stock, some JR trains. Without forgetting the N Scale 0 Series model at the begining of the movie and the model scenes that some time pop during the movie. Those scenes actually look quite good... I didn't knew they had such nice Shinkansen models in 75.

 

Also, one must not forget the visit of the Shinkansen Command Center and the explanation given about the ATC at the beggining of the movie. That was a surprise. I wonder if it's shot in the real one or not.

 

edit: Added pictures to my post

Last note, the movie gives a good idea of how Japan was looking in the middle of the seventies.

 

For me it's a movie that everyone here should see, it's quite a good movie if you except all what I identifies as japanese comedy: meaning how the trapped passenger react (that doesn't look like so much as how I imagine japanese) and the monks playing on their drums (or something like that) impervious to what's happening around them.

[cteno4]

I have been saving this for a while to have a nice time to watch it. was able to pick up the sonny chiba collection cheap! cant wait!

 

jeff

[bikkuri bahn]

An upcoming movie: "Hankyu Densha"- set on the Imazu Line, tells the stories of a group of individuals who live and work along this branch line off the Takarazuka Line. Release in Kansai on the 23rd, with national release 6 days later.

[ToniBabelony]

天国と地獄 (High and Low) (Tengoku to Jigoku, litt. Heaven and Hell)

 

 

A movie from Akira Kurosawa, 1963 B&W, where the story surrounds the kidnapping of a young boy where a business man is held responsible for. The story doesn't revolve around trains, but they play a key-role in the plot. In the beginning the movie is quite soothing and logical, but after the first half it plunges deep into the more darker parts of Japanese society.

 

Some scenes include classic footage of JNR trains (e.g. 151, 153 Series) and some Enoden (100 Series with trolley pole).

[cteno4]

its quite a good movie and one that is very evocative in the film noir style. trains are nice parts of both the plot and the ambience, but its not a "train" movie.

 

i saw it once on film and couple times on dvd and now i want to see the criterion edition as they have done great work with kurosawa films. he really was a master at doing multiple planes of scenery in a film noir style. i was amazed at the levels of depth he put in seven samurai when i finally saw the restored criterion edition. so many of those old films were such old dupes of dupes or masters were not used in the first dvd encodings or they were just done cheaply.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[disturbman]

Not a train movie but you can see loads of trains from the middle of the 70s in "Suna No Utsuwa" (Castle of Sand). I mean, you can see a LOT of different trains since the first half of the movie is more or less a journey around Japan on rail. There is tons of JNR stock (Series 201 in blue livery, Limited Express KiHa 181 bound for Totorri, what I think is a Series 157, some Series 11X in Shonan and Yokosuka liveries, some local steamers and DMUs in Tohoku and around Totorri) but also some Tobu and you can even spot a Kintetsu at one point).

 

And if the trains are not enough, this is a great movie! Watch it, maybe the best detective movie I've ever seen.

 

I also reviewed it a bit more in depht here.

[yakumo381]

Interesting film I watched on the plane from Dubai to Hong Kong: "Hankyu Railways - A 15-minute Miracle". Not really about trains or the Hankyu but shows the railway in a good light and also gives an insight into the way Japanese people interact. Worth watching on a plane or if it comes round on late night TV.

[bikkuri bahn]

Hankyu Railways - A 15-minute Miracle

 

 

Location is the Imazu Line, which takes 15 minutes to traverse.

[bikkuri bahn]

Premiered this weekend- Railways Ai wo tsutaerarenai otonatachi e, second movie in the Railways series:

 

Location is the Toyama Chiho Railway.

[CaptOblivious]

Premiered this weekend- Railways Ai wo tsutaerarenai otonatachi e, second movie in the Railways series:

 

Location is the Toyama Chiho Railway.

 

Saw a poster for that, wondered if it was a remake or what. Caught the first one on the flight in…a little difficult to watch while sleep deprived, but enjoyable nevertheless.

[yakumo381]

Another older but good film is "The Yakuza"....."Harry Kilmer returns to Japan after several years in order to rescue his friend George's kidnapped daughter - and ends up on the wrong side of the Yakuza, the notorious Japanese mafia..." starring Robert Mitchum and Ken Watanabe but also featuring early '70s Shinkansen. Great film and really atmospheric.