''Death Train'' (also known as ''Detonator'') is a 1993 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

- thriller

disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, offensive (military), military/terrorism, terrorist att ...

featuring

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

, Christopher Lee,

Ted Levine Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Jame Gumb (Buffalo Bill) in the film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series ''Monk'' (2002–2009 ...

, and

Alexandra Paul Alexandra Elizabeth Paul (born July 29, 1963) is an American actress. She began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film '' Christine'' (1983). This was followed with prominent roles in ...

. The script was based on an Alastair MacNeill novel of the same name, which in turn was based on an Alistair MacLean screenplay.

Plot

With the aid of a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

nuclear physicist, dissident Russian General Konstantin Benin ( Christopher Lee), a military casualty of the Soviet collapse, is conspiring to restore the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to superpower status. His plan is to place a

nuclear bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...

on a train controlled by mercenaries, led by Alex Tierney (

), bound for

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, forcing the Russian army to invade Iraq to recover it and once again mobilize its might - creating a new military union in the process. Malcolm Philpott (

), the head of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Anti-Crime Organisation (UNACO), entrusts the mission of stopping the train and its deadly cargo to a multinational team led by field operative Mike Graham (

) and information analyst Sabrina Carver (

) who are forced to form a reluctant partnership as the international balance of power hits crisis point.

Cast

as Mike Graham *

as Malcolm Philpott *

as Sabrina Carver *

as Alex Tierney * Christopher Lee as General Konstantin Benin * John Abineri as Dr. Karl Leitzig * Clarke Peters as C.W. Whitlock * Nick D'Avirro as Major Gennadi Rodenko * Andreas Jung as Lt. Sergei Kolchinsky * Ron Berglas as Roger Flint * Terrence Hardiman as Captain Wolf *

Jay Benedict Jay Benedict (April 11, 1951 – April 4, 2020) was an American actor who spent most of his life and career in the United Kingdom. He was frequently cast as American characters in British films and television programmes. He was best known for hi ...

as Halloran * Daniel Stewart as Corporal Tretyak * Darko Milas as Corporal Kuznetsov * Vili Matula as Sigi

Novel

MacLean had written a number of unfinished storylines before he died in 1987. These were fleshed out in novel form by Alistair MacNeill: ''Death Train'' and ''Night Watch''. One review of ''Death Train'' said "MacLean fans have to wonder just how much of the detail is indeed his. For example, MacLean's heroes are traditionally thrown on their own wits to survive in sticky situations. ''Death Train''’s three agents are rarely tested this way, and yell for help when the going gets tough. Having Big Brother step in on cue with its muscle is no substitute for imaginative heroics". In 1991 a Warwickshire Council trading standards department sued the publisher of the novels claiming misleading advertising, in part because MacLean's name featured in bigger type on the book cover than MacNeill's. In September the publishers were fined £6,250 for misleading advertising. By that stage they had sold 355,000 copies of MacNeill's first two novels. When a third MacNeill novel, ''Time of the Assassins'', came out in late 1991 the cover art was amended so MacNeill's name was as large as MacLean's.

Locations

Film rights were bought by USA Pictures, an off shot of the USA Network. They would make films for screening on the USA Network in the US but which could be shown theatrically in other territories. ''Death Train'' was the first in a slate of four pictures. It was the first project Brosnan made following the death of his wife. In Brosnan's words: "It's boy's own adventure. It's everything I've wanted to do - run along the top of trains, shoot guns and climb in and out of helicopters".The New Adventures of Pierce Brosnan Actor Is Back on Track With USA Network's 'Death Train': ome Edition King, Susan. Los Angeles Times, 11 April 1993: 15. The film was shot entirely on location in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

and at Jadran Film Studios, Zagreb,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

as a co-production between Yorkshire International Films Ltd., and Jadran Film. Filming finished by June 1992. The country was in turmoil at the time due to the Yugoslavian wars. Brosnan said it was "a heightened exhilaration in a lot of ways because the hotel we were staying in was overrun by soldiers. The combat outfits that we wore were just like the Croatian army, which seems to be a hodgepodge of uniforms. At times, going to work was like going to the front because it was very tough (to shoot)".

Reception

The film was popular at the box office in the United Kingdom, but debuted in the United States on the USA Network.

Home media

The film was released on by New Line Home Video on VHS tape in the US as "Detonator" in 1993. The Region 2 UK DVD release (by Prism Leisure) of ''Death Train'' lacks English subtitles for the Russian dialogue. The scenes with Russian dialogue are meant to be hard-subbed, as was the case with TV broadcast, VHS, and the Region 1 American DVD versions.

Sequel

Pierce Brosnan and Alexandra Paul returned for the sequel ''Detonator II: Night Watch''. ''Night Watch'' is available on Region 1 DVD both individually and bundled as a double pack with ''Death Train''.

References

External links

* {{Alistair MacLean 1993 television films 1993 films 1993 action thriller films 1990s disaster films American action television films British television films Disaster television films Films about mercenaries Films about nuclear war and weapons Films based on British novels Films based on thriller novels Films based on works by Alistair MacLean Films set in insular areas of the United States Films set in Germany Films set in Austria Films set in Russia Films shot in Croatia Rail transport films American thriller television films USA Network original films Television series by ITV Studios Television series by Yorkshire Television Films directed by David Jackson (director) 1990s American films