The Cassandra Crossing
Passengers aboard a European train have been exposed to a deadly disease, and no one will permit them to disembark.
Director(s)
George P. Cosmatos
Cast & Crew
Details
Reviews
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-
The Cassandra Crossing FAQs
George P. Cosmatos is the director of The Cassandra Crossing.
The cast of The Cassandra Crossing includes Martin Sheen as Robby Navarro, Lou Castel as Swedish Terrorist, Lee Strasberg as Herman Kaplan, Burt Lancaster as Col. Stephen Mackenzie, Richard Harris as Dr. Jonathan Chamberlain, Ava Gardner as Nicole Dressler, Ingrid Thulin as Dr. Elena Stradner, O. J. Simpson as Haley, Lionel Stander as Max, the Train Conductor, Ann Turkel as Susan, Sophia Loren as Jennifer Rispoli Chamberlain, Alida Valli as Mrs. Chadwick, and more.
The duration of The Cassandra Crossing is 2h 9 mins.
The Cassandra Crossing was released on 18 Dec 1976.
The Cassandra Crossing is listed under Action and Thriller on Fanbiz.
The Cassandra Crossing has 1 review on Fanziz, with an average rating of 6.0/10. One reviewer wrote: "_**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 questi..."
