It is very difficult – and this author has tried – to call to mind a number of great films that don’t feature a train at least once. It’s harder still to provide examples of films that are not enhanced, brought more to life, by the iron horse. The Harvard Film Archive knows this, and as such have dedicated their annual all-night marathon this year to movies which center around trains. The six films span the majority of film history, from the beloved Howard Hawks deep cut Twentieth Century to the forever-doomed-to-be-underrated Snowpiercer. In between are films from the United Kingdom, India, and a downtown-bound Pelham subway car.

The movie camera has formed an eternally fruitful bond with trains. Perhaps the bond draws from the license the train gave to artists, from the Lumiere brothers on down, to play around with depth and framing. Or it could be in the train’s physiology, all linear and mechanical motion, flattering cinema’s unparalleled potential to replicate moving bodies both metaphorical and literal. Or maybe the camera loves the train because they are two modern era machines in symbiosis, each responding to the unique needs of a modern society. The train, by its very nature, brings people from disparate places into places they need to be, much like the narrative of a film inducting a viewer into a sustained internal world. And both the camera and train do so in flickering motion, passing by and moving away. Anyway, while that idea is getting workshopped, you should def go to this event. Twelve bucks for six good movies is a steal.

Screens 9/3 @ Harvard Film Archive – Begins at 7:00PM and straight on ’til morning!
$12 – Click here for screening info