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Years before his critically acclaimed role in FX's Shogun, Hiroyuki Sanada starred in the 2013 war film, The Railway Man. It will be streaming on Prime Video starting March 13.

The rest of The Railway Man's cast included Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvine and Stellan Skarsgård. Firth stars as Eric Lomax, a former British army officer and prisoner of war, who discovers that the Japanese interpreter who tortured him during World War II is actually still alive. Lomax and his wife, Patricia (Kidman), travel to Thailand to confront the man (Sanada). The Railway Man was an adaptation of Lomax's 1995 autobiography of the same name.

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Critical reception of The Railway Man was mostly positive. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the movie...

Colin Firth in The Railway Man The Railway Man, 10.40pm, BBC1, Wednesday, August 24

Nuanced twin performances from Colin Firth and Jeremy Irvine as the old and young Eric Lomax - which show care in the way they maintain consistent mannerisms - anchor this real life adaptation of the former Royal Signals officer's memoir. The film not only tells of the brutality Lomax suffered as a PoW working on the Burma railway but spins out beyond that to show how he later tracked down his chief persecutor (Takashi Nagase), with affecting results. Nicole Kidman is slightly odd casting as Lomax's wife, but don't let that put you off.

Late Night, 9.55pm, BBC3, Sunday, August 28

It might drift towards the formulaic but with Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling riffing off against one another, this comedy drama from Nisha Ganatra has plenty to recommend it. Thompson plays late-night talk show host Katherine, a sharp-witted frontwoman in the.

I caught Jonathan Teplitzky's The Railway Man at last year's Toronto Film Festival and while the film never gained much traction at the fest or once it eventually hit theaters back in April, I actually enjoyed it. While noting it's story structure builds it as "yet another traditionally told period piece", I felt it was "elevated due to a wonderfully effective story and strong lead performances from Colin Firth and Jeremy Irvine" who play the lead character Eric Lomax, based on his autobiography telling of his time in World War II and the years well beyond after the war ended. amz asin="B00KB01PWG" size="small"This week the film comes to DVD and Blu-ray and Anchor Bay and The Weinstein Co. have given me the following exclusive clip from the behind-the-scenes featurette included on the disc featuring Nicole Kidman discussing Firth's transformation into Lomax as well as...

Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman are finding collaboration fruitful. Next month you'll see the two in the thriller "Before I Go To Sleep" and they'll soon be shooting the literary drama "Genius," but their partnership commenced with "The Railway Man." It's a WWII-set piece about revenge and forgiveness, and if you didn't catch it, we're got some copies on Blu-ray for some lucky readers. Also starring Stellan Skarsgård, Jeremy Irvine and Hiroyuki Sanada, the movie tells the story of Eric Lomax, a British Army officer captured by the Japanese during WWII and sent to a Pow camp, where he is forced to work on the Thai-Burma Railway. Decades later, still suffering from wartime trauma, Lomax and his wife Patti discover that the Japanese interpreter responsible for much of his torment is still alive. The pair then resolve to confront their antagonist. For a chance to win, follow us on Twitter,...

Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week

"Locke"

What's It About? Tom Hardy stars as a construction foreman who's driving to London to attend the birth of his child. You really shouldn't have stressful conversations on your cell while driving, but Ivan (Hardy) doesn't care. He has to make sure his big job tomorrow goes as planned, confess to his wife that he cheated on her with a co-worker, and coaching the aforementioned co-worker through the premature birth of their baby. Yikes.

Why We're In: Hardy is more than capable of commanding the screen for the entirety of the movie. Although you hear other characters' voices, it's all Hardy, all the time. Who could argue with that?

Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week

"Love Streams" (Criterion)

What's It About? John Cassavetes and real-life wife Gena Rowlands star as siblings who turn to each other for support after being left by everyone else in their lives.

Anchor Bay Entertainment is bringing The Railway Man to DVD and Blu-ray™ on August 12, with the early digital download window beginning this Friday, August 1.

Academy Award Winners Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman star in the remarkable autobiography of Eric Lomax (Colin Firth), a British Army officer who is captured by the Japanese during WWII and sent to a Pow camp, where he is tormented and forced to work on the Thai-Burma Railway.

Decades later, still suffering the trauma of his wartime experiences, Lomax and his wife Patti (Nicole Kidman) discover that the Japanese interpreter responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and set out to confront him, in this powerful and inspiring tale of heroism, humanity and the redeeming power of love.

Claudia Puig (USA Today) called director Jonathan Teplitzky’s film “A celebration of compassion and forgiveness.”

From The Weinstein Company, The Railway Man is rated R...

The Railway Man flew a little too under the radar, but hopefully we can make up for that when it comes home on August 12th. The Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman vehicle based on the memoir of Eric Lomax had a lot of critics talking, but wasn’t quite the sort of thing to become the number one water cooler subject.

Such is the way of dramas about prisoners of war, especially long after the fact, but this one has a lot to recommend, not least just any chance to see Colin Firth. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we’re exactly overloaded with special features, but you probably can’t expect too much here. Get the full info below, and be sure to check out the trailer above.

Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Company are proud to announce the home entertainment release of Jonathan Teplitzky’s The Railway Man,...

Following the recent home entertainment release of The Railway Man, HeyUGuys was privileged to have an opportunity to speak with British journalist John McCarthy. From 1986 to 1991 McCarthy was a victim of torture – one of the journalists held prisoner during the Lebanon hostage crisis. The story of the crisis was brought to the screen in the 1993 film Hostages in which Colin Firth played McCarthy.

Now The Railway Man sees Firth appearing as the older Eric Lomax. It is perhaps one of those coincidences cinema and life is famous for, but it is one that links the three men .

One recent Monday morning John took the time to speak with us about his friendship with Lomax, and the importance of The Railway Man as both entertainment, but also as a deeper exploration of the past that brings history and the present day hurtling towards one another.

Why a career in journalism? Was there that one inspirational moment?...

Jeremy Irvine, who first became known to American audiences after starring in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated War Horse, really took method acting to a new level for his new film The Railway Man in which he plays a World War II soldier who was captured and tortured by the Japanese.

Irvine On Waterboarding

Fully committing to his role, Irvine volunteered to actually experience waterboarding for one of his torture scenes. “I was quite keen — I really didn’t want me to imagining things. I wanted it to be as real as possible,” Irvine told uInterview. “I mean, yes, I could stop at anytime and that's the real torture not being able to stop. There's one shot in the movie where I let it carry on just a second too long, and you have this one flash of realism, and I think that's real important to the film.

“You know, it was described to me,...

Jeremy Irvine plays a complex role in Jonathan Teplitzky’s film The Railway Man, the younger version of Colin Firth’s Eric Lomax. The film tells the true story of Lomax who was captured and tortured by the Japanese during World War II, and over the years following, suffering from Ptsd and with the help of his wife Patti (Nicole Kidman) and lifelong friend Finlay (Sam Reid, Stellan Skarsgård) goes on a journey to find and confront his former torturer. "It's a story of, I suppose, about the effects of post-traumatic stress and forgiveness, and it's a story I think that is very relevant today," Irvine told uInterview in an exclusive video interview. "We still have a lot of people coming back from fighting in foreign lands, suffering from the same problems, and I think this is a story about that before post-traumatic stress was really realized.”

Irvine’s role...

Academy Award winner Colin Firth heads up a stellar cast in moving war drama The Railway Man (2013), based on the bestselling autobiography of Eric Lomax. Chronicling Lomax's experiences as a British Army Officer in a Japanese labour camp, the film provides a haunting and inspiring tale of heroism and redemption. To celebrate the DVD and Blu-ray release of Jonathan Teplitzky's tearjerker this coming Monday (5 May), we have Three DVD copies of The Railway Man to give away to our readership, courtesy of the stellar team at Lionsgate Home Entertainment. This is an exclusive competition for our Facebook and Twitter fans, so if you haven't already, 'Like' us at facebook.com/CineVueUK or follow us @CineVue before answering the question below.

★★☆☆☆Based on the autobiography of the late Second World War veteran Eric Lomax, who passed away in 2012 at the age of 93, director Jonathan Teplitzky's prim and proper The Railway Man (2013) attempts - and largely fails - to cinematically tackle the Ptsd suffered by the former British officer after his rescue from a Japanese Pow in 1945. With actors Jeremy Irvine and Colin Firth representing Lomax in his early and later years respectively (Irvine is unfortunately reduced to mimicking Firth throughout, despite being by some distance the more convincing performer), Teplitzky's film jumps between the past and the present, hoping to offer a portrait of conflict-induced trauma whilst squandering the opportunity.

Colin Firth is outstanding in a determinedly old-fashioned movie, while a Japanese switched-at-birth drama is mawkish and melodramatic

For a time, smart Us pop culture writer Joe Reid ran an elegantly simple Tumblr titled This Had Oscar Buzz an online cemetery of sorts for films that enjoyed fleeting, dolefully unfulfilled awards hype before anyone actually saw them. (I'm partial to the acronym Thob.) Released in January to a chorus of polite silence, Jonathan Teplitzky's prisoner-of-war drama The Railway Man (Lionsgate, 15) is a Thob film of the first order, which isn't to say that it's at all bad: it's dun-hued and solidly unfashionable, the cinematic equivalent of sensible shoes.

Colin Firth is comfortingly cast as Eric Lomax, the former British army officer on whose bestselling autobiography the film is based. Still traumatised years later by second world war experience in a Japanese Pow camp, he seeks out his chief captor...

To mark the release of the Railway Man on 5th May, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on Blu-ray.

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky (Burning Man), The Railway Man tells the story of Eric Lomax (Jeremy Irvine, Great Expectations, War Horse), serving in the Second World War when he is captured and held prisoner by the Japanese. Brutally tortured and forced, along with his fellow captives, to build the Thai-Burma Railway, he is left traumatised and uncommunicative for years to come, despite the best efforts of his wife (Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy, Stoker).

Many years later, an older Lomax (Colin Firth, The King’s Speech) resolves to track down one of his torturers, Takashi Nagase (Hiroyuki Sanada, 47 Ronin, The Wolverine), hoping to find the answers that will enable him to finally let go of the hatred he has felt throughout his life.

Please note: This competition is open to...

Stars: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeremy Irvine, Hiroyuki Sanada | Written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, Andy Paterson | Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky

At first glance The Railway Man appears to be the latest addition to the genre of stale British golden age love stories–a tale of an introverted man, with an odd fascination of trains, failing in love at first sight with a beautiful woman during a random encounter. In reality the romance element is summed up within the first fifteen minutes in order to approach much deeper and darker territory.

The Railway Man adapts the memoir of World War II veteran Eric Lomax as it recants his story of surviving a brutal Japanese Prisoner of War Camp and the struggle he faced long after he left the gates of confinement. With its multifaceted narrative and gripping performances, it continues the crucial discussion of the effects of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

A particular subgenre I've enjoyed from an early age thanks to my father's influence is war movies, including the classics -- The Bridge on the River Kwai, Kelly's Heroes and The Dirty Dozen topped our list -- with a particular fondness for prisoner-of-war tales including Victory and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. I find the stories of brave servicemen who overcome torturous emotional and physical conditions to be inspiring testaments to courage and bravery.

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky, the movie The Railway Man portrays such a character, Eric Lomax (Colin Firth). It's based on the real-life story of a British army officer and radio engineer who was captured with his unit during the fall of Singapore in 1942. The prisoners of war were used to build the railroad from Burma to Siam through rough terrain, under brutal conditions.

The Railway Man begins with a chance encounter on a train between Eric Lomax...

Railway Man is a tale of revenge and redemption in the trappings of a WWII melodrama. The true tale jumps back and forth between 1942 and 1980 to tell the story about one man forced to deal with his horrible memories of the atrocities of war. The Railway Man is a sober, well-meaning picture that aims to raise serious issues about truth and justice, but it’s ultimately undone by its own earnestness and predictability.

In 1980 Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) is a socially awkward rail enthusiast (not a trainspotter, he clarifies) who travels around the UK with a detailed knowledge about train timetables and British towns. Eric meets nurse Patti (Nicole Kidman) on a train and after a whirlwind romance, they are married. But after the honeymoon Eric is waking up in the night sweating and screaming – it’s the emotional distress caused by his treatment at the hands of Japanese prison...

Some American critics are ambivalent about The Railway Man, full of admiration for the performances but less than whole-hearted about the film.s overall impact.

Perhaps Us moviegoers share those mixed feelings, judging by the initial box-office results. Jonathan Teplitzy.s drama rolled out on 22 screens around the Us last Friday after platforming at four theatres in Los Angeles and New York the previous weekend.

The 3-day take was $US164,252 for a per-screen average of $6,317, which brings the total to $252,402. That.s a fair number but it suggests the film may not have break-out out potential, despite getting far more positive than negative reviews and the backing of the canny Us distributor, the Weinstein Co.

Out of 80 reviews counted by Rotten Tomatoes, 52 are positive, meaning a .fresh. rating of 65%.

The Washington Post.s Michael O.Sullivan seems to typify the ambivalent tone of many critics, observing, .It.s easier to...

Chicago – One the hidden implications of World War II was the suffering of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (Ptsd) from the millions of soldiers who survived the horrors of that war. The difficulties associated with Ptsd are communicated with honor by Colin Firth in “The Railway Man”

Rating: 3.5/5.0

The story is of a WWII veteran, played by Firth, whose obsessive and difficult nature is modified by a new wife, portrayed by Nicole Kidman. She seeks the truth of his behavior, and the secrets that are revealed could lead to his healing. Although the film had some real problems with timelines and composition, the sincerity behind it is authentic, and the truth of the narrative – based on the story of Eric Lomax – is reverentially displayed. Ever since “The King’s Speech,” it seems that Colin Firth has been flailing a bit, but in “The Railway Man” he reminds us why he’s...

There is a compelling story bursting to get out of The Railway Man, Jonathan Teplitzky’s flat adaptation of Eric Lomax’s memoir. However, some of the most fascinating sections of Lomax’s tale are a mystery to those who have not picked up his award-winning book. Strong performances from Colin Firth and Jeremy Irvine, as a middle-aged and young adult Lomax, respectively, give the veteran’s story layers that Teplitzky fails to capture in the rest of his woe-begotten film, which is safe, simplistic and only intermittently involving.

As an older man, Lomax obsessed over the order and operation of England’s railways, to the extent that he can hop between platforms to the one that most suits his travels when his original trip is delayed. Coasting through the countryside on the train one morning, in a shabby coat, he chats with Patti (Nicole Kidman, hardly used), and falls in love with her.

Almost entirely ignores the amazing aspect of this true story that makes it worth telling, and even the very good performances point us in another direction than the intended one. I’m “biast” (pro): like the cast; enjoy stories about WWII

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

I have not read the source material

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

The Railway Man starts out like a sweet little romance, when Colin Firth meets Nicole Kidman, somewhere near Edinburgh in 1980, on a train he’s only on because his encyclopedic knowledge of train schedules is allowing him to compensate for an unexpected delay in his travel plans. “I’m not a trainspotter,” he assures her — and us — not that most prototypical of British nerds; “I’m a railway enthusiast.” Later, he is able to contrive a second meeting with her because of his, yes, trainspotting superpower.

Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to “The Railway Man” with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman!

“The Railway Man,” which is rated “R” and opens in Chicago on April 18, 2014, also stars Stellan Skarsgård, Jeremy Irvine, Sam Reid, Ben Aldridge, Akos Armont, Tom Hobbs, Bryan Probets, Tom Stokes, Tanroh Ishida and Jeffrey Daunton from director Jonathan Teplitzky and writers Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson. Note: You must be 17+ to attend this “R”-rated screening.

To win your free “The Railway Man” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of winning...

[This is a re-post of my The Railway Man review from the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The Railway Man opens today in limited release.] War is an undeniable certainty. For as long as there is civilization, there will be war. With conflict comes tragedy, but it does not end when the war concludes; the effects a human being are long lasting and not easily forgotten. We’ve see countless aspects of war explored onscreen in various films, some focusing on the battles at hand, some zeroing in on the psychological experience, and some chronicling the lasting effects years after the actual conflict. The Railway Man tries to have it both ways by telling two stories: one of atrocities during World War II and one of the after effects on man’s psyche nearly half a decade later. By splitting its focus in two, though, the film fails to wholly capture either story, resulting in a disappointing feature all together. Hit the jump for my full review. Based on a true story, The Railway Man...

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky and based on the autobiography of Eric Lomax, the man behind the nickname of the title character, The Railway Man is yet another traditionally told period piece, elevated due to a wonderfully effective story and strong lead performances from Colin Firth and Jeremy Irvine. We're first introduced to Lomax (Firth) as a middle-aged British Army veteran of World War II. He's obviously a quiet man, but there are no visible physical or emotional scars, and for the time being his life is about to take a turn for the better. A chance meeting with a woman, Patti (Nicole Kidman), aboard a train results in love at first sight. The two eventually marry and find a house together, but the horrors of war can't elude him forever. It's never quite clear if Eric told Patti about his time in the British Army, but she's soon made well...

Director Jonathan Teplitzky's The Railway Man opens in select theaters today and we've got an exclusive featurette on the building of the Thai-Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, as depicted in the film. Based on a remarkable autobiography, The Railway Man tells the extraordinary and epic true story of Eric Lomax (Colin Firth), a British Army officer who is tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II. Decades later, Lomax discovers that the Japanese interpreter he holds responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him, and his haunting past, in this powerful tale of survival, love and redemption. Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvine, Stellan Skarsgard, Sam Reid, Tanroh Ishida and Hiroyuki Sanada co-star.

Japan's involvement and subsequent denial in its atrocities of World War II has always been a difficult point to convey. The Railway Man, which is based on the incredible true account of soldier Eric Lomax, attempts to tell this story and honour his book and memory. Unfortunately the results are so middling and inadequate compared to the book, and so emotionless compared to the phenomenal searing tones of director Jonathan Teplitzky's previous work Burning Man, that it lets the complex story down considerably. The setting could be any time and place, given the lack of period detail, but it is in fact years after the war. Teplitzky's eye for vivid and emotional colour certainly does not go astray and from dreary England to exotic jungle,...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Years after the George W. Bush administration stirred massive controversy by using waterboarding to glean information from some terror suspects, the Weinstein Company is about to put the issue front and center again with its U.S. release Friday of The Railway Man, which likely contains some of the most graphic scenes of the practice ever put on film. The Railway Man tells the true story of Eric Lomax, a British soldier who was captured by the Japanese during World War II and forced to help build the Burma Railway. When his captors discover he has secretly built a radio, weeks

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New Release

The Railway Man

R, 1 Hr., 48 Mins.

The true story of Eric Lomax, a British WWII soldier who survived a Japanese Pow camp and confronted his torturer 50 years later, is astonishing. The movie version isn’t. Colin Firth smolders as the Ptsd-riddled veteran (played in flashbacks by War Horse’s Jeremy Irvine), and Nicole Kidman cries dutifully as his wife — but they’re both derailed by the movie’s tidy emotional resolutions. B- —Adam Markovitz

New Release

Cuban Fury

R, 1 Hr., 38 Mins.

Nick Frost, Simon Pegg’s portly partner in crime from Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End,...

Los Angeles (AP) — With several films set to debut this year, including such disparate turns as a taxidermist villainess, mysterious amnesiac and an actress-turned-princess, Nicole Kidman will again become a familiar face in theaters. While maintaining a steady presence in Hollywood for more than two decades, the 46-year-old Academy Award winner has been focusing more in recent years on raising her two daughters with husband and country star Keith Urban — away from the spotlight in Nashville, Tenn. For her latest role in "The Railway Man," out April 11, the "Moulin Rouge" and "The Hours" star plays a supportive wife to World War II veteran Eric Lomax (Colin Firth). In the autobiographical adaptation, Patti and Eric Lomax confront his past as a prisoner of war in Thailand, where he worked on the "death railway," a 258-mile stretch of treacherous train track running into Burma. Upcoming this year, Kidman will also play a villainess in "Paddington,...

Watch 5 clips from Weinstein Co's "The Railway Man" starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. Jonathan Teplitzky directs the film from the script by Frank Cottrell Boyce, and Andy Paterson, based on the book by Eric Lomax. The cast also features Jeremy Irvine, Stellan Skarsgard, Sam Reid and Hiroyuki Sanada. Watch 5 clips from Weinstein Co's "The Railway Man" starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. Jonathan Teplitzky directs the film from the script by Frank Cottrell Boyce, and Andy Paterson, based on the autobiography by Eric Lomax. The cast also features Jeremy Irvine, Stellan Skarsgard, Sam Reid and Hiroyuki Sanada. "The Railway Man" tells the extraordinary and epic true story of Eric Lomax (Colin Firth), a British Army officer who is tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II. Decades later, Lomax and his beautiful love interest Patti (Nicole Kidman) discover that the Japanese interpreter...

Title: The Railway Man Director: Jonathan Teplitzky Starring: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Jeremy Irvine, Stellan Skarsgard. Jonathan Teplitzky adapts the bestselling autobiography by Eric Lomax into a feature film: ‘The Railway Man’ tells the extraordinary and epic true story of a British Army officer who was tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labour camp during World War II. Decades later, Lomax and his loving wife, Patti, discover that the Japanese interpreter responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and set out to confront him. This inspiring tale of heroism, humanity and the redeeming power of love, is utterly powerful in delivering the Britishness [ Read More ]

The post The Railway Man Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Weinstein Co's "The Railway Man" thriller directed by Jonathan Teplitzky, has a fresh poster up. The script comes from Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson based on the book by Eric Lomax. Pic was seen at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, and has yet to find a confirmed release date Stateside. This tells of Lomax's time as a Pow in a Japanese camp during World War II and his reconciliation with one of his captors many years after the war. Hiroyuki Sanada, Stellan Skarsgård and Jeremy Irvine also star.

Although Lionsgate has still not issued a release date for their upcoming drama The Railway Man, the studio released a new poster, featuring stars Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. The film is based on the incredible true story of Eric Lomax (Colin Firth), a British soldier who was captured by the Japanese in World War II. Years later, with the support of his wife Patti (Nicole Kidman), the former Pow tracks down the man responsible for his torture (Hiroyuki Sanada), who was also profoundly affected by the war. Take a look at this one-sheet for director Jonathan Teplitzky's adaptation, and stay tuned to find out when this film may hit theaters later this year.

The Railway Man comes to theaters in 2014 and stars Nicole Kidman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeremy Irvine, Sam Reid, Marta Dusseldorp, Tanroh Ishida. The film is directed by Jonathan Teplitzky.

The torture scenes are terrifying – and completely realistic. Dick Cheney should see The Railway Man, says torture rehabilitation expert Dr William Hopkins

I saw this film with a colleague who knew Eric Lomax, whose memoir it is based on. He had been a victim of torture, too. We both found it strikingly realistic: the torture scenes are terrifying without being remotely sensationalist, as can sometimes be the case with film and TV.

Both Lomax's experience of torture in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and his ultimate reconciliation with his torturer are put across excellently. The waterboarding is particularly horrific: the victim, as we see here, has a cloth placed over their mouth, and water poured on to their face so they can't breathe. There has been a lot of talk recently about waterboarding somehow being a lesser form of torture – Dick Cheney famously described it as a "dunk in...

It's rare when a film adaptation lives up the book it was based on so with that in mind I have compiled a list of 40 books that have been adapted for the big screen that we can expect to see in theaters this year. This includes two books from Gillian Flynn, young adult adaptations of work by Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and James Dashner, a short story from Dennis Lehane, a Nick Hornby adaptation, and an adaptation written by Nick Hornby, a new John le Carre adaptation and a prequel to the stories written by Tom Clancy as well as a couple comics and graphic novel adaptations from the likes of Frank Miller and Hiroshi Sakurazaka and Alexander O. Smith. I've added everything I could think of and while I'm sure I missed a few, please forgive me and hopefully you'll find something that appeals to your taste on the list.

Jonathan Teplitzy.s The Railway Man rolled out on more than 400 screens in the UK last weekend and posted very solid numbers, despite the polarised reactions from Pommie critics.

The drama based on the autobiography of Eric Lomax, the former British army officer who was traumatised by his experiences in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, fetched £1.22 million ($A2.2 million) in its first three days.

.Steve McQueen.s Twelve Years a Slave was the top title, grabbing $4.5 million in its debut.

Most British reviewers lavished praise on the performances of Colin Firth as Lomax, Nicole Kidman as his wife Patti and Jeremy Irvine as the young Lomax.. Among the most positive was The Guardian.s Catherine Shoard, who wrote, .The unspeakable horrors dished out by the Japanese army to British prisoners-of-war working on the Burma railway are the subject of this extremely affecting and accomplished drama.

.Teplitzky finishes with a kind of...

Eric Lomax's story of life and death on the Burma railway gets another retelling, although it does get a little muddled

The story of Eric Lomax, a signals engineer who was forced to work on the infamous Thai-Burmese "Death Railway" after being taken prisoner by the Japanese during the second world war, has been told several times before, in print and on screen. We have Lomax's source memoir (upon which this film is based) and Mike Finlason's documentary Enemy, My Friend?, alongside an episode of the long-running Everyman TV show Prisoners in Time that cast John Hurt as the former soldier eaten away by nightmares of torture. Even Lomax's wartime tormentor Takashi Nagase has told his side of the story in the book Crosses and Tigers.

This latest retelling, from a screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson, wrestles with themes of suffering and redemption as it criss-crosses...

Have you ever heard of the Death Railway? It was a train line alternately known as the Thai-Burma railway, which was created to aid the Japanese in World War II. This transit track earned its ugly because of how it was built - namely by 60,000 prisoners of war, captured by Japanese forces. The estimates of men who died in the construction of the Death Railway are said to be more than 12,000, But one who lived is Eric Lomax, the hero of Railway Man, a historical drama starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. Yahoo has debuted the film's first Us trailer. While The Railway Man's previously released UK trailer focused mainly on Lomax's struggle to overcome the travesties of his past, this new trailer shares focus between the dark past that haunts Lomax, and his present relationship with his wife that spurns him to find catharsis. It's a compelling setup.

Sneak Peek more new footage from director Jonathan Teplitzky's WWII feature, "The Railway Man", adapting the autobiography of Eric Lomax, starring Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Jeremy Irvine:

"....during World War II, 'Eric Lomax' (Firth) is a British officer who is captured by the Japanese in Singapore and sent to a Pow camp, where he is forced to work on the Thai-Burma Railway. During his time in the camp he is tortured by an officer and meets a fellow Pow (Ben Rossberg).

"Years later, still suffering the psychological trauma of his wartime experiences, Lomax is persuaded by his wife 'Patti' (Kidman) to find and confront one of his captors.

Accompanied by his best friend 'Finlay' (Skarsgard), Lomax returns to the scene of his torture and manages to track down his captor..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Railway Man"...

When Eric Lomax met his future wife Patricia on a train bound for northern England, he was something of a broken man. A British survivor of the Japanese occupation of southeast Asia, Lomax still suffered from severe post-traumatic symptoms almost 40 years after the end of World War II. When Lomax discovered that one of his main tormentors – a now middle-aged man named Nagase – was living in Burma, Patricia found herself having to stand behind her husband as he traveled to confront the man who had ruined his life.

Thus is the true story that inspired The Railway Man, a biopic/drama released internationally late last year. Though the film does not yet have a release date in the United States, it has released a new trailer for that market in the run-up to a theatrical debut.

Click to continue reading ‘The Railway Man’ Us Trailer: A True Tale of Trauma...

A new clip has been released for the drama The Railway Man. Based on a true story, the film takes place in 1980 England and stars Colin Firth as Eric Lomax, a former British officer and Prisoner of War who was interred by the Japanese in Singapore. As he suffers from severe psychological trauma in the present, his wife (Nicole Kidman) attempts to find a way to relieve his suffering. The domestic trailer was released yesterday, but I haven't watched it since Adam says it gives away almost the entire film. Instead, I just watched this new clip where Eric presumably confronts his torturer (Hiroyuki Sanada), and it looks fairly tense and intriguing. But it's a brief clip, and I'm far from sold, especially since in his review from Tiff, Adam said that the movie never really comes together. Hit the jump to check out the clip. The film also stars Jeremy Irvine and Stellan Skarsgard.

We’ve seen Colin Firth overcome a stutter, win an Oscar, and launch England’s involvement in WWII with “The Kings Speech," but in the actor’s first historical drama since, we witness the other side—the severe emotional trauma present in many soldiers afterwards. “The Railway Man” pairs Firth in that situation with the possibility of revenge, and after several international trailers we’ve got the first stateside look at the Jonathan Teplitzky-directed drama. Based on Eric Lomax’s autobiographical account of his time spent in a WWII Singapore Pow camp, the film depicts Lomax’s journey—both in flashback as he contributes to the Burma-Siam “Death Railway,” and also later as Firth falls in love with his wife (played by Nicole Kidman). Then, as his nightmares grow worse and the man (Hiroyuki Sanada) who tortured him all those years ago enters his life once again, the stage...

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This week sees the release of Colin Firth’s new film The Railway Man, an adaptation of Eric Lomax’s true story of working on the Thai/Burma railway as a prisoner of war and, later in life, meeting the Japanese officer who’d tormented him. We’re in awards season now and Colin Firth has become one of those actors that every year or two seems to be in an ‘important’ film. He is a worthy English gent in the time of Danny Dyer Dtv releases and foreign financed Vinnie Jones films. He has won an Oscar for Best Actor, his films have grossed nearly a billion dollars worldwide and he is a thoroughly likeable chap. He’s come a long way since his debut as ‘Jack Frost’ in the infant’s school pantomime.

Is he more than this though? Unlike his, well, stable-mate Hugh Grant, Firth can jump from genre to genre.

A potentially powerful film about a Pow reconciling with his former torturer is let down by some woeful casting

Here is an intensely well-intentioned movie with an important story to tell, but also, unfortunately, with jarringly awkward moments and very serious casting problems. It is an adaptation of the 1995 memoir by Eric Lomax, the former Royal Signals officer who described his wartime experiences of being forced to work on the Burma railway after the fall of Singapore. He was tortured by Japanese soldiers, but travelled back to the far east decades later to track down his former torturer, Takashi Nagase, with whom he was reconciled. The friendship of these two men became a moving emblem of peace.

Colin Firth plays the older Lomax, with Jeremy Irvine as the younger man. Firth does an honest job in the lead role; so does Irvine, who cleverly shows Lomax's mannerisms in embryo. Hiroyuki Sanada...

I am most impressed by Weinstein Co's first trailer for The Railway Man, which looks to deliver excellent performances from leads Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Hiroyuki Sanada, as well as Stellan Skarsgård and War Horse star Jeremy Irvine. The story which is based on Eric Lomax's autobiography, is scripted by Andy Paterson and Frank Cottrell Boyce. Jonathan Teplitzky, known for TV's Spirited and 2011' Burning Man starring Matthew Goode, takes on the biggest project of his short career, and looks to have turned in a gem of a film. In The Railway Man, Lomax, a man scarred with memories from World War II's "Death Railway" finds love in Patricia Wallace (Kidman). When one of the men responsible for his torture is tracked down, Lomax confronts him.

The Weinstein Company has released a new trailer for director Jonathan Teplitzsky’s drama The Railway Man, and it basically gives away the entire movie. Based on a true story, the film takes place in 1980 England and stars Colin Firth as Eric Lomax, a former British officer and Prisoner of War who was interred by the Japanese in Singapore. As he suffers from severe psychological trauma in the present, his wife (Nicole Kidman) attempts to find a way to relieve his suffering. I caught the pic back in September at Tiff and, sadly, it doesn’t really come together. The flashback sequences featuring Jeremy Irvine as a young Lomax during the war are excellent, but the rest of the film is pretty unremarkable and predictable. That being said, if you have any desire to see the pic I would discourage you from watching this new domestic trailer, which sequentially runs through almost the entire film.

From director Jonathan Teplitzky comes the harrowing true-life drama The Railway Man, starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. Based on Eric Lomax's autobiography, the story follows an engineer with a passion for trains who is kidnapped during WWII and forced to work the brutal Burma-Siam railways, where he is repeatedly tortured and interrogated. Check out the latest footage as we await a domestic release date from The Weinstein Company.

The Railway Man comes to theaters in 2014 and stars Nicole Kidman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeremy Irvine, Sam Reid, Marta Dusseldorp, Tanroh Ishida. The film is directed by Jonathan Teplitzky.

Having already premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, and opening in the United Kingdom last week, we've seen a couple international trailers for The Railway Man starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. But now the film is preparing for it's release in the United States sometime this year, and the first domestic trailer for the drama has arrived. The film follows Colin Firth as a man looking for revenge years after being tortured by a Japanese military officer during World War II. There hasn't been tons of praise for this one, which is probably why it didn't shoot for an awards release last year. Watch now! Here's the Us trailer for Jonathan Teplitzky's The Railway Man, originally from Yahoo: Jonathan Teplitzky directs The Railway Man from a script by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Millions) and first-time writer Andy Paterson, based on a memoir by Eric Lomax. Along with thousands...

Feature James Clayton 10 Jan 2014 - 06:24

The new year brings with it a wave of sombre dramas. James provides a solemn guide to these serious movies...

Real talk: it's high time you wiped that silly smile of your face, sunshine. We're in serious and sombre season and a cheery disposition is inappropriate during this difficult period. Please show some respectful decorum and put on your best po-face. Act accordingly, for these are grave times and we're grappling with grave issues.

Now that you've adopted the expression of an Easter Island statue you're ready to trip off to the cinema and watch all the sobering films that are being screened. Indeed, if you look at the release schedule for the next few weeks you'll found that there are a lot of solemn affairs on the slate and making their way into movie houses to exert an ominous presence. Expect much...

Following an international version back in September , The Weinstein Company has released the domestic trailer for Jonathan Teplitzky's upcoming drama The Railway Man , starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. Check it out in the player below. Based on Eric Lomax's autobiography, The Railway Man features Firth as Lomax, an engineer with a passion for trains who is captured by the Japanese during World War II and sent to work on the brutal Burma-Siam railroad where he was repeatedly tortured and interrogated.