Viadukt (1983) User Reviews

Actually quite interesting

[ablewuzi · 7/10 · 28 October 2006]

This movie came in a box of four CDs with four movies on each. A bargain at under $20 for all sixteen. The surprise is that many of them are quite good. If Hollywood's version of the Trojan War (vapid CGI, stars that can't act, gratuitous sex, ten years of war compressed into two weeks) leaves you disappointed, you might try fare like this --- well recommended by its lack of mass appeal.

In this case.

True story, strong conflicts, real motivations, real complexities, real trains. The first derailment is positively the real thing. If you ever wondered what a derailment might look like, then this is it. The final derailment off a bridge looks real too, although can't be sure. If it is a model it is way better than the crummy model-based train wreak in For Whom the Bell Tolls.

If you ever wondered what life was like in eastern Europe in the thirties, here is a little window, better than the Sound of Music, in this regard.

And you get a glimpse at train killer's motivations and techniques as well as the police's.

People don't go around taking other people's picture!

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 28 January 2018]

This movie is based upon the true story of Szilveszter Matuska, a man who derailed trains in 1930-1931 in Austria. His motive is uncertain. Some say it was political, others claim he was a religious fanatic (aka Christian terrorist) while he may have gotten paid. The film shows why there was confusion. In this drama Matuska (Michael Sarrazin) leases a quarry in order to have access to explosives.

The film is foreign and dubbed. It has the look of a low budget foreign production. The train wrecks are not spectacular. The dubbing makes the acting look bad. The action and drama move a bit slow which is why they show you the ending of the film first then jump to the beginning, although that is not made clear until you see the same part played over. It is a film that could easily be redone and better. It is okay for an historical drama.

Parental Guide: No f-bombs. Sex and nudity (Constanze Engelbrecht, Herlinde Latzko)

Sarrazin does his duty (as an actor of quality)...

[rixrex · 13 July 2008]

Always wondered what happened to the 'boy-wonder' of They Shoot Horses Don't They. I'd see him here and there occasionally in parts that he could do blindfolded. However, here he has a part worthy of his talents and he makes good use of it. No longer a befuddled young man or some other sort of idealistic type, here he gets to be a villain, but not an ordinary cardboard stereotypical villain, nor an over-the-top role that an actor can ham, but a real person with all sorts of convolutions and character flaws and good points as well.

In this film, a rather well-done portrayal of the true-life Train Killer who caused terror on the tracks in 1931 Europe, all participants seem to be giving their best effort, including the bit-part players. While there is no typical build of tension and melodrama, the study of a man who desires to wreak havoc due to some sort of warning from God that he must deliver is quite absorbing. The possibilities of political unrest are all explored in the pre-WW2 Europe, and the fact that he might have been duped by the fascists who want things to appear as if the destruction was caused by communists is also explored.

But his warning was that he was directed to present to Europe a vision of the future, and that certainly was true enough. You will be intrigued if you do not expect the deafening slam-bang action of Hollywood presentations. There is good action here, but all within the size and scope of the drama, not overboard. A thoughtful rendering of a bizarre man, and you will be amazed at his life story beyond the train wrecks he caused.

uninteresting drama about interesting obscure (at least in US) historical events and people

[FieCrier · 3/10 · 3 November 2005]

I watched this on videotape, but it is out on DVD both by itself and in one or two cheap DVD sets from Platinum and/or Brentwood.

I didn't find it very involving. It would have helped a little bit if it were in Hungarian with English subtitles, but unfortunately it was dubbed. It was also full-screen, and I suspect it looked a lot better in widescreen given that it deals with wide things like trains, and bridges and so on; the color was nice.

I think a documentary about the real-life subject of this film would have been more interesting. Oh well.

As the English title The Train Killer suggests, the subject is a man who compulsively derails trains by various methods. Why he does so is not clear. There are a couple brief sex scenes which do feature some nudity.

The Train Killer

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 18 February 2021]

Based on a true story of Szilveszter Matuska, who said "I wrecked trains because I like to see people die. I like to hear them scream." Yes, the man literally orgasmed when he wrecked trains, including his most brutal crime, when he killed twenty-two people and injured a hundred and twenty when he derailed the Vienna Express with dynamite, sending the engine and nine of the eleven coaches to plunge down a hill.

Matuska reportedly escaped from jail in 1945. He may have served as an explosives expert during the latter stages of World War II. No one is sure, as he was never recaptured. Some believe that he served on the Communist side in the Korean War.

Michael Sarrazin plays him in this Hungarian/German made for TV movie directed by Sándor Simó. Somehow, Sarrazin has been in two movies I've watched this week.

While history claims - as stated above - that Matsuka only really achieved bliss thanks to train destruction, he sure gets a lot of action in this movie. I think what happened after - even if the film only guessed at what happened - would have made for a better movie.

The band Lard recorded a song about Matsuka in which they sang:

Remember this: No matter how many books you ban No matter how many records you burn The seeds of fertile fetishes Are planted at an early age And somewhere out there Someone amongst you May at this very moment lust For derailing trains

Time Killer!!!!!!

[cojosh · 1/10 · 15 September 2005]

I've just wasted a few hours of my life watching this film. I expected more since it was based on actual events. Some of the acting is horrific and I'm almost positive I saw a guy reading a Q-card. The two twin sisters that own the hardware store are scary. They're more frightening than the "train killer". He didn't seem like such a bad guy! Every now and then he would get a little angry.

Most of the characters didn't even speak with an accent. They sounded like Americans. I hated to see that steam engine go to waste on this movie. I can't encourage any one to take the time to view this film. Overall, it stank!!!!

Quality Video Fair, if you can find it

[ryangilmer007 · 8/10 · 20 April 2000]

This is a quality movie with quality dubbing based off of historical fact. While there may be multiple versions of this short movie (as a lot of people were uncredited in my VHS US dubbed version), the story is the same. Aside from one flashback sequence, to get the story going, the movie flows along wonderfully and logically. Historical dates, statements, and results are even given. AND, there is room for a sequel (Holloywoodinized of course). Yet being nearly 2 decades old, this movie is not well known. It is quality in a drama/thriller/mystery role and is recommended (if you can find it). viewed/owner on VHS

Glad I watched it, but once was enough.

[roskalnikov · 28 January 2003]

***SLIGHT SPOILERS*** What an odd little film. It's lovingly photographed in places, but the direction is slipshod, the screenplay laughable, the acting almost ineffably terrible, and the dubbing among the worst I've heard. Despite these flaws, I was somehow drawn to the very end of the picture, which is more than I can say for many recent thrillers I've regretted seeing (Memento leaps to mind). I suspect my patience would have thinned had it not been based on a true story. But the film's connection to reality, though probably tenuous, was enough to hold my interest to some small degree. Some psychological depth would have been nice in a movie about a man who reveled in the destruction of trains in pre-war Hungary, but the closest we get is when the protagonist leans over a stretch of track, toiling to bring about one of his catastrophes, and mutters to himself, "Damn trains!" Oh, I get it! He doesn't like trains. That's why he kills all those people and destroys all those trains. Oh well, whether I recommend it or not (I do, kind of), you may be hard pressed to find a copy of it, and I don't foresee a DVD release anytime soon.

Soft treatment

[Wizard-8 · 4 September 2013]

While I was watching "The Train Killer", I kept thinking that the movie sure looked like a made for television effort despite some nudity, sex, and a couple of impressive train wrecks. Doing some research after watching the movie, I came across some evidence suggesting it was indeed made for European television, but I was unable to get enough confirmation. Anyway, the cheap look of the enterprise isn't the only problem to be found here. The main character is barely explored - there's no real explanation (or even theories) brought forward as to why he wants to wreck all those trains. Also, the feel of the movie is very sedate, despite the explosions and wrecks - the movie comes across as surprisingly low key, so much so that it's hard to stay alert and interested in what happens. You'd be better off looking up Szilveszter Matuska on the Internet and reading about him rather that watching this disappointing movie.