Help me find/remember the film I watched for intial few minutes.

February 12, 2013 7:32 PM

I was watching this film on my previous laptop via TV-Tuner card and right then my laptop had crashed. I didn't check channel name and newspaper for the film name at the time, and now I can't remember it. It was at least before May 2010(I was watching the film in college and this when I left college - jic it helps though I am not sure if the film released recently at the time)... It was a train scene in the wilderness.

(I can't remember if there was snow I think there wasn't). There weren't huge trees or even bushes around the track. I think what could see around the track was some sort of land with no large vegetation. It was a night scene but nothing like pitch dark.

Suddenly the train stops(not as in jolted/forced stop). The driver(or train guard or conductor. He was a dark skinned guy) comes out and looks around. Torch in one hand. He crouches in his knees to maybe look beneath the train between wheels(maybe). Then he turns around while still on his one knee towards back in the distance parallel to the train or maybe perpendicular and he is startled to see sth. There was no sound or visual of what he might have seen. And exactly at that moment my laptop went kaboom(with smoke). I have always wanted to locate the film, I couldn't. Asked at a couple of film related forums but maybe I was not able to give proper hints.(I was able to locate Straight Into Darkness on of those forums in the similar manner)

I think there was another person who came out of the train to look. Maybe a curious passenger or maybe some staff. Not sure about this either.

I don't think there was any conversation between any characters till that moment (my laptop crashed). Maybe between that possible second guy and guard/conductor but again, I am not even sure whether the second guy appeared in the film, till then, at all.

posted by amar to media & arts (10 answers total)

Older train or modern train? That might help.
posted by patheral at 9:06 PM on February 12

Maybe Night Train? Been a while and I can't remember the opening scene, but it does have a dark-skinned conductor (Danny Glover).
posted by Trespassers William at 9:17 PM on February 12

Ok, the first couple shots of this trailer are from the first scene of the movie and possibly what you saw.
posted by Trespassers William at 9:21 PM on February 12

So was that at the beginning of the movie?

And have you tried asking at The Mortuary?
posted by zombieApoc at 5:48 AM on February 13

@Trespassers William
Thanks a lot. Seems like that movie. From everything. I will confirm soon.

@zombieApoc
I still don't know(the opening scene I mean). Will tell you once I am able to watch it full. Seems so though.
Thanks for the link. Didn't about this site.
posted by amar at 8:44 AM on February 13

No, it's not that film. Though very similar, especially the beginning when the train stops at the beginning and the conductor gets down.

I think I clearly remember the train stopping in a wilderness not at a station and the things I am sure about are:

* The conductor is younger
* In one distinct scene I remember him turning back(after getting down from the train and having looked around), hearing/sensing sth which was apparently not revealed to the audience, and being startled as if he saw sth or so while still in crouching position.

I am afraid, I might have to give up as I am really not able to recall much :(
posted by amar at 10:56 AM on February 13

Transsiberian? I don't remember your specifics but it's a train movie with some evocative train shots. And it's on Netflix Streaming so you can watch it right now.
posted by Infinity_8 at 1:22 PM on February 13

Are you sure it was a movie and not a preview or a clip? Unstoppable came out later in 2010 so you could have seen a preview or clip for it in May. The Darjeeling Limited came out in 2007 so that is another option.

patheral's question about whether it was an older looking train or a newer one is good to know. Also if anyone spoke in the scenes, do you remember what accent they had?
posted by gudrun at 4:22 PM on February 13

@Infinity_8
I am in India. I cannot access Netflix. Can you please name the film?

@gudrum
Yes, it was a film. My friend had rented the DVD from local video shop and I had borrowed from him. Even if it was a pirated one(well, sadly I never paid for watching a film on computer till college) then I usually would have marked that film on IMDB watchlist.

No, it's not Washington or Pine's film Unstoppable. I have watched it.
Being an Indian I wouldn't confuse with The Darjeeling Ltd(watched it too) :-), though thanks for the effort.

The film had already been out on disc by May 2010 that is what I meant.

If I have to pick old/new (though honestly I am not sure) I will pick the look of the train was old. Sth like the one in Night Train(given you count that as old looking).

In fact I was so confused after T William suggested Night Train but again the two things I vividly remember(mentioned above) ruled it out.

No, I do not remember any conversation or human sound as such. AAMOF I remember there wasn't any conversation.

PS. I am going to hunt down Train films from 70s to 2010 and try to rule out worse one using YouTube(I am sure there would be many) and watch them one by one. I hope I might also get some help on one these forums.
posted by amar at 7:44 PM on February 13

@amar -- the name of the film I referred to is Transsiberian...it's right there in my post! Hope you got some good answers...
posted by Infinity_8 at 9:17 AM on February 21