The most memorable movie trains

Tony Scott’s action movies could be a little too frenetic, a little overwrought. For “Unstoppable,” though, he managed to thread the needle. Having Denzel Washington as one of his stars helped. This is a truly quintessential train film, since it is entirely about a runaway train they fear is, well, unstoppable.

The title of this film is about a train, even if the movie is largely not set on said train. In this top-notch remake of a 1957 Western, Christian Bale plays a Civil War veteran in need of cash who agrees to take on the dangerous mission of delivering a criminal played by Russell Crowe to the titular 3:10 train to Yuma, which will take him to prison. The only problem? Crowe’s gang will stop at nothing to keep him from that train.

Before he won an Oscar for “Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho made this sci-fi film about human civilization existing entirely on a train that never stops moving. It’s largely a story of class warfare in confined space, but that’s what director Bong handles deftly.

We said most memorable train films, and “The Polar Express” is definitely that. In this case, we remember it because we are forever haunted by the weird animation style Robert Zemeckis’ film makes use of. Even with that, the Christmas movie was a huge hit, so millions of people have seen those uncanny faces.

Wes Anderson didn’t hit a home run with “The Darjeeling Limited,” but he still delivered a solid film with his usual flair. The story centers on three brothers on a train in India. Their father has just died, and the brothers are all dealing with some degree of turmoil. Anderson at least used his eye for detail and composition to make sure the train looks great.

There are locked-door mysteries, and then there is this “Everybody is stuck on a train” mystery. Who is the killer? Hercule Poirot is going to find out, be assured of that. Albert Finney was nominated for an Oscar for playing Poirot, and Ingrid Bergman won an Oscar for this film.

A seemingly simple train trip becomes a battle of life and death in this Korean horror movie. The problem? Zombies. A ton of zombies all over the place. Yes, that includes zombies on the train. “Train to Busan” found some traction in the United States due to its quality, and also earned itself a sequel.

There is a weird energy to the performances and the directing of “Runaway Train,” but if you want train action, it delivers many times over. Jon Voight and Eric Roberts both received (weird, in our opinion) Oscar nominations for playing escaped convicts who hop a train that quickly finds itself careening at full speed with no conductor and no brakes. Oh, and it’s the middle of winter in Alaska, making every moment spent outside extra perilous.

Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads… but we will need a train. In the third film in this beloved trilogy, Doc and Marty take a trip back in time, specifically way back to 1885. Basically, Zemeckis wanted to make a Western, one that makes extensive use of a train in its climax.

This is the first of four films that paired Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, the one that made them think this was a duo to keep trotting out there in comedies. Wilder and Pryor play a mismatched pair stuck on a train called the Silver Streak going from Los Angeles to Chicago. Does murder, and hilarity, ensue? You bet!

Michael Crichton is best known for writing novels like “Jurassic Park.” Well, he didn’t just write the novel “The Great Train Robbery.” He wrote and directed this movie adaptation of that book. “First” was added to the title because one of the first noteworthy movies ever made was called “The Great Train Robbery.”

The “Mission: Impossible” series loves itself an action set piece. This, the first film in the series, is no different. The action culminates with Cruise’s Ethan Hunt atop a high-speed train. These days, they might have Cruise do it for real. In this film, he made use of a high-powered fan that actually contorted his face.

Some of the indelible images in this Alfred Hitchcock classic include Cary Grant in a field being dive bombed by a plane and also the climax atop Mount Rushmore. A big part of the film, though, takes part on a train. This is where Grant meets up with Eva Marie Saint, who becomes his traveling partner, as well as a helping hand in his journey to clear his good name.

Back-to-back Hitchcock. Frankly, there are a handful of Hitch’s films that could have made this list. We didn’t want to include them all, but we had to go with at least two of them. This one features “Train” right in the name, so it was an easy choice. Yes, a lot of the action is not on a train, but it all starts there. Two men meet on a train and start speaking, theoretically, about the idea of a perfect crime wherein the two would murder somebody for one another, leaving no connection between the perpetrator and the crime. Well, it was theoretical to one of the men. The other one had a different idea.

You’re a musician. You and your buddy accidentally see the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre take place, and you were spotted. What do you do? Naturally, you and your friend pretend to be women to join an all-female band headed, by train, from Chicago to Miami. That’s the jumping-off point for “Some Like It Hot,” an all-time classic comedy.

After the trip sci-fi film “Moon” proved his calling card, Duncan Jones stayed trippy with “Source Code,” this time messing with, well, time. A terrorist bombs a train. To try and figure it out, an Army captain played by Jake Gyllenhaal is placed into an eight-minute loop of a digital recreation of the train leading up to the explosion. Can he figure out who did it and find the terrorist?

World War II films about POWs trying to escape were fairly common. One of the most prominent is “Von Ryan’s Express.” Starring Frank Sinatra, the film is about escaped Allied prisoners hijacking a freight train and trying to get safely across Italy to Switzerland, where they can escape into the neutral country.

Liam Neeson’s slick, gritty, slight action films have multiplied since he made “Taken.” Naturally, a train would get in the mix. The details of “The Commuter” are quite inconsequential. It’s got what you expect and want from a Neeson action potboiler, for better and worse.

The titular “General” is not a person, but a train. This film is considered one of the all-time great silent films, featuring Buster Keaton in the lead role. Its comedic, action-packed set pieces are so heralded that a lot of people forget about the fact Keaton is playing a Confederate soldier in the movie.

Why rob a train once when you can rob it twice? That’s what Cassidy and his Hole-in-the-Wall Gang decide to do. They figure if they rob the Overland Flyer on both the way out east and then again on the way back west, nobody is going to expect it that second time. Unfortunately, that second robbery doesn’t go off without a hitch, leading to a change in life circumstances for Butch and Sundance.