Back home

The Cassandra Crossing

221 votes

Producing House

Passengers on a European train have been exposed to a deadly disease, and nobody will let them off the train.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1976-12-18

Runtime: 129 mins

Director: George P. Cosmatos

Spoken language: Deutsch, Italiano, Français, svenska, English

Genres: Action, Thriller

Original title: The Cassandra Crossing

Production Companies: International Cine Productions, Associated General Films, ITC Entertainment

Production Countries: Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, United States of America

Reviews

W

Wuchak
_**The Horror Express**_ A passenger train traveling from Geneva, Switzerland, to Stockholm, Sweden, is infected by a strain of pneumonic plague via a terrorist. Under questionable orders, the US Colonel in charge of the situation (Burt Lancaster) reroutes the train to Poland where it has to cross a long defunct steel arch bridge. “The Cassandra Crossing” (1976) is a disaster thriller that’s part train movie and part plague flick. It’s not great like the later “Runaway Train” (1985) nor as good as “Outbreak” (1995), but it’s almost on par with “Under Siege 2: Dark Territory” (1995). Besides Lancaster as the Colonel, the impressive cast includes: Ingrid Thulin as the doctor the Colonel contends with; Richard Harris as a famous neurologist; Sophia Loren his ex-wife; Lee Strasberg a Holocaust survivor; Ava Gardner a wealthy aging lady; Martin Sheen her dubious boy toy; OJ Simpson a “priest”; Ann Turkel a hippie-ish musician; and John Phillip Law the Colonel’s subordinate. Comparing this to the highest standard of 70’s disaster flicks, “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972), it’s just not as compelling because “Poseidon” has superior human interest, a more remarkable challenge and better women. Parts of it are quite good though, even great, like the superb sky-view cinematography and the score by Jerry Goldsmith. The last act is thrilling and worth the price of admission, but the first 90 minutes contains too many tedious parts with characters you don’t much care about. Sophia still looks good at 41 during filming whereas Richard Harris was 45, but looks older. Gardner was 53 during shooting and also looks older, but then the last movie I saw her in debuted a dozen years earlier wherein she was still alluring. Hey, age happens. The film runs 2 hours, 8 minutes. Interiors were shot at Cinecittà studios in Rome with exteriors done in France and Switzerland. The steel arch bridge pictured in the movie is in reality the Garabit Viaduct in southern France, designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1880-1884, who later constructed the Eiffel tower. GRADE: B-
2021-09-27

Recommendations

Pathram
3.4

Pathram

1999-06-01

Nandagopal, an associate editor with Keralareshmi, one of the leading dailies, is aggressive and dar

The Ultimate Thrill
2.3

The Ultimate Thrill

1974-10-01

At a Colorado ski resort, a jealous man's paranoia results in murder.

Forgotten
3.9

Forgotten

2017-11-29

Seoul, South Korea, 1997. When the young but extremely anxious student Jin-seok, his parents and his

Primal Instinct
2.8

Primal Instinct

2002-07-16

Footage of a brutal murder becomes a feature on the internet.

11:59
2.6

11:59

2005-10-01

Too much celebrating after scoring the year's biggest story leads to 24 missing hours in the life of

The Haunting of Sorority Row
2.6

The Haunting of Sorority Row

2007-10-06

Samantha Willows, a college freshman, looks to pledge a sorority. Unbeknownst to Sam, it is haunted

Zero in and Scream
1.7

Zero in and Scream

1971-12-03

A lonely man, tired of being rejected by women, gets ahold of a rifle and prowls the Hollywood hills

Woman on the Run
3.4

Woman on the Run

1950-11-10

Frank Johnson, a sole witness to a gangland murder, goes into hiding and is trailed by Police Inspec

Hybrid Hazards: Revelation
0

Hybrid Hazards: Revelation

2025-03-01

Megan Florentino, a woman whose life is shattered after a scientific experiment gone wrong infects h

A Dragonfly for Each Corpse
3

A Dragonfly for Each Corpse

1975-09-17

A killer is cleaning up the streets of Milan by murdering those considered as deviant. An ornamental

My Big Fat Independent Movie
1.6

My Big Fat Independent Movie

2005-09-30

This hilariously smart satire tells the story of Johnny Vince, a swingin' hepcat who meets hitman Sa

Never Too Young to Die
2.3

Never Too Young to Die

1986-06-13

Secret agent Drew Stargrove is brutally murdered by the ruthless hermaphrodite gang leader Velvet Vo

Silent Night, Deadly Night
3

Silent Night, Deadly Night

1984-11-09

After a man dressed as Santa Claus brutally murders his parents, little Billy Chapman then endures t

Slaughter Hotel
2.4

Slaughter Hotel

1971-08-02

A masked killer stalks an institution for mentally disturbed rich women.

Summer's Blood
2.8

Summer's Blood

2009-11-02

A demented handyman comes to the rescue of a young woman, then imprisons her in his basement.

In the Blood
1.9

In the Blood

2006-06-06

Cassidy is a senior at a NYC college and he's trying to balance the demands of school, his role as b

Conflict
3.3

Conflict

1945-06-15

Unhappily married Richard Mason concocts a meticulous scheme to kill his shrewish wife so that he'll

Roadracers
3

Roadracers

1994-07-22

In the 1950s, guitar-playing drifter Dude Delaney wanders into a quiet town looking to play music an

The Documents!
0

The Documents!

2025-04-16

In March 2020, an ambitious tabloid reporter cooped up in quarantine must look into rumors of leaked

The Ace of Hearts
3.3

The Ace of Hearts

1921-09-17

A romantic rivalry among members of a secret society becomes even more tense when one of the men is