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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Only got this film as a memory from my very young childhood seeing a funny train film with that bloke from Woman In Red in it (Gene Wilder). From start to finish it was good and had a nice humour all the way through without being too long winded. Pretty dated in places but like all 70s and 80s movies its good to capture the era on film. Wilder and Pryor work very well together here with comedy and a touch of cheese. Worth watching.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Well what have we here? What we have is a great Sunday afternoon (or evening) movie entertainment. The plot is a simple one...villains on a train versus the good guys on the same train.
A strong touch of `Narrow Margin' here and also think of Cannonball Run, Dukes of Hazzard and the
Beverly Hillbillies! Maybe also Tough Guys. It's that kind of film. Having said that, this kind of thing is what the Yanks do best...they have the cash, the resources and above all the room. This is not a thriller to be taken seriously....except perhaps for the dialogue...try to follow this closely...its pretty sharp in places...don't cut yourself! There are some great scenes to be had in this film (it was up for awards after all) especially the finale which is particularly spectacular and worth staying the course to see.
My only slight criticism is that the film is a tad long...begins to get a bit predicable in the last half hour ...could have been ten minutes shorter, and comic Richard Pryor should have made an earlier appearance to keep the humour rolling along. Bond movies actor Richard Kiel (he of the poor dental work) makes a creditable contribution also. This is an enjoyable film with not a mobile phone in sight...wonderful!. And made only thirty odd years ago ! Anyone who enjoyed this movie first time round will now be of a certain age and will enjoy the strong nostalgia element, which is afoot here! This is a well produced movie, I've seen it on a number of occasions and nowadays think how great it is, however briefly, to get back to the 70s !
A strong touch of `Narrow Margin' here and also think of Cannonball Run, Dukes of Hazzard and the
Beverly Hillbillies! Maybe also Tough Guys. It's that kind of film. Having said that, this kind of thing is what the Yanks do best...they have the cash, the resources and above all the room. This is not a thriller to be taken seriously....except perhaps for the dialogue...try to follow this closely...its pretty sharp in places...don't cut yourself! There are some great scenes to be had in this film (it was up for awards after all) especially the finale which is particularly spectacular and worth staying the course to see.
My only slight criticism is that the film is a tad long...begins to get a bit predicable in the last half hour ...could have been ten minutes shorter, and comic Richard Pryor should have made an earlier appearance to keep the humour rolling along. Bond movies actor Richard Kiel (he of the poor dental work) makes a creditable contribution also. This is an enjoyable film with not a mobile phone in sight...wonderful!. And made only thirty odd years ago ! Anyone who enjoyed this movie first time round will now be of a certain age and will enjoy the strong nostalgia element, which is afoot here! This is a well produced movie, I've seen it on a number of occasions and nowadays think how great it is, however briefly, to get back to the 70s !
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I generally find American TV comedy to be unfunny, I just can't abide all that canned laughter on their comedy shows that appear so forced into making the audience laugh at something that just isn't funny that I've always wondered what on earth it is that they are laughing about, maybe it's the different culture thing. Now there is no laughter track on Silver Streak because it's a film and that's the amazing difference. To put it bluntly the Americans are rubbish at TV comedy but great at the movie counterpart and I've never understood why.
Silver Streak features perhaps America's best double act in the last few decades, with the exception of Steve Martin and John Candy from Planes, Trains and Automobiles, I refer to Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor of course. This was their first film together and the fact that Pryor does not feature in the film until roughly halfway through and instantly gels with Wilder was a sign that they were going to have a very successful relationship, although since Pryor's death Wilder has made the claim that they were not as close as many believed but that does not stop them being very, very funny indeed. The two are big screen comedy geniuses, sparking off each other and raising the other's performance constantly.
The idea of a story using a trek across America has always appealed to me, films such as the previously mentioned Planes, Trains...., Dumb and Dumber etc and Silver Streak all feature this aspect and it is one that I enjoy enormously, it seems to give the film time to establish the characters in a smooth and leisurely way and allows the plot to unfold gently and draws the viewer in.
The feeling for the 1970's is everpresent and as this is my nostalgic decade that can only be a good thing, I won't go into plot details but this film is well worth the 113 minutes of your time if you take my advice and buy it, it is probably the best American comedy film of the 70's and for Wilder and Pryor it was only surpassed by the masterpiece, Stir Crazy.
A very pleasant, gentle film.
Silver Streak features perhaps America's best double act in the last few decades, with the exception of Steve Martin and John Candy from Planes, Trains and Automobiles, I refer to Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor of course. This was their first film together and the fact that Pryor does not feature in the film until roughly halfway through and instantly gels with Wilder was a sign that they were going to have a very successful relationship, although since Pryor's death Wilder has made the claim that they were not as close as many believed but that does not stop them being very, very funny indeed. The two are big screen comedy geniuses, sparking off each other and raising the other's performance constantly.
The idea of a story using a trek across America has always appealed to me, films such as the previously mentioned Planes, Trains...., Dumb and Dumber etc and Silver Streak all feature this aspect and it is one that I enjoy enormously, it seems to give the film time to establish the characters in a smooth and leisurely way and allows the plot to unfold gently and draws the viewer in.
The feeling for the 1970's is everpresent and as this is my nostalgic decade that can only be a good thing, I won't go into plot details but this film is well worth the 113 minutes of your time if you take my advice and buy it, it is probably the best American comedy film of the 70's and for Wilder and Pryor it was only surpassed by the masterpiece, Stir Crazy.
A very pleasant, gentle film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Is that how you murder them? Get them in the car and then bounce them...
This is a great film. Gene Wilder has something about him that completely encapsulates an audience. I could watch him in anything. Funny, Dramatic, Romantic, Vulnerable. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kevin S
Silver Streak
It's a harmless 70's comedy drama that happily passes the time on a lazy weekend afternoon.
Prior excels and Wilder is as good as ever. Read more
Prior excels and Wilder is as good as ever. Read more
Published 7 months ago by harryd
By plane, by train, by the edge of your seat...
Silver Streak is directed by Arthur Hiller and written by Colin Higgins. It stars Gene Wilder, Jill Clayburgh, Patrick McGoohan, Ned Beatty and Richard Pryor. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Spike Owen
William#s Review
This has to be the BEST 1970's movie ever! There are so many important features that people miss when they watch a movie. Like any movie there are mistakes made in the film. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Four Star
fun
Good train movie, quite fun. It has Patrick "the prisoner" Mc Gowan, Gene Wilder (count how many times he manages to come back on the train), Richard Pryor and the marvellous Jill... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Ramses
Silver Streak
Excellent service. The DVD arrived promptly and I was pleased to acquire this classic film online which you could probably not find in the shops. Read more
Published on 16 May 2010 by Mr. D. J. Stillingfleet
Nowhere as funny as Stir Crazy
More of a murder mystery, Richard Prior comes in half way through the film. Very few laughs and lots of bullet dodging.
No way is this 4.5 stars!
No way is this 4.5 stars!
Published on 6 Mar 2010 by Spring User
A great yarn
The wonderfully funny Gene Wilder at his best. A most enjyable film that always makes us laugh.
Published on 8 Jan 2010 by Mrs. J. Grason
Silver Streak
Gene Wilder sets off on a restful journey on the Silver Streak train. Soon after hitting it off with gorgeous secretary Jill Clayburgh he discovers her boss on the train has been... Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2009 by J. Wilkinson
Not a runaway success
Pitches somewhere between a Hitchcock thriller and a Mel Brooks spoof. A very contrived plot serves as the vehicle for some of that American off beat humour. Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2007 by Lou Knee
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