Narrow Margin
Narrow Margin
R | 21 September 1990 (USA)

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An L.A. District Attorney attempts to take an unwilling murder witness back to the United States to testify against a top-level mob boss. Frantically attempting to escape two deadly hitmen sent to silence her, they board a Vancouver-bound train only to discover that the killers are onboard with them. For the next 20 hours, as the train hurls through the beautiful but isolated Canadian wilderness, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues in which their ability to tell friend from foe is a matter of life and death.

Reviews
Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?
Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
bkoganbing This remake of the 1952 noir classic The Narrow Margin has a lot more budget attached to it and some of the Clint Eastwood classic The Gauntlet tossed in as well. Like Charles McGraw in the original and Eastwood, Gene Hackman has to bring in a witness who can nail big time mobster Harris Yulin. Nail him for murder one.Hackman and cop M. Emmett Walsh locate witness Anne Archer up in the Canadian woods in a really remote spot. But the bad guys are on to them and Walsh is killed. The two make it to a southbound train for Los Angeles, but unarmed they are sitting ducks for the contract killers sent to get them. Hackman and Archer really have to use their wits to out think these people to stay alive.Hackman who has an edginess to his screen persona which makes castable as both good and bad guys with various shades to their character. Narrow Margin is one of the few films you will see him in as a thoroughgoing good guy.What Archer did is unfortunately be in the wrong place at the wrong time and what Yulin did wrong is be on the scene of a murder he ordered the hit for of J.T.Walsh a mob lawyer who stole from him. They didn't know she was there, but find out soon enough. Archer is the perfect portrayal of a witness who just wants to run and hide. As for Yulin, he forgot that successful crime families like the Corleones use a lot of buffers.Good tension that doesn't let up for a second once Archer is located and she and Hackman board the train.
callanvass (Credit IMDb) A woman secretly witnesses the murder of her blind date for the evening by a top Mafia boss. She immediately goes into hiding without informing the authorities. When they finally catch up with her, she is unwilling to testify to what she has seen, but the Mafia are on her trail. Accompanied by a deputy district attorney, the woman boards a train travelling through a remote part of Canada. The Mafia know him but they have never seen her.Come on! It's Gene Hackman. Do you really need much more of a recommendation? It's rather derivative and nothing all that special, but Hackman can make the dullest of things come to life. With any other lead actor, this movie would have probably been very mediocre. With his presence, it becomes above average. I was surprised about the decent amount of suspense as well. Anne Archer makes for a great heroine, while the two Walsh's are solid as well. I've never seen the original, but I personally enjoyed this6.3/10
Neil Doyle If your memory is good, you'll recall that this is a remake of the B&W sleeper classic starring Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor called "The Narrow Margin," with most of the action taking place aboard the confinement of a speeding train. Their tough chemistry throughout made it very watchable indeed.The remake has made a few minor changes in the story and expanded the scenery to include some lush images of Canadian forests and countryside to give credit to some photogenic Canadian wilderness from various angles. The expansions mean the film isn't quite as taut as the '52 thriller with occasional dull stretches of talk, but the performances are so good that it doesn't matter too much. It still contains a spellbinding climax aboard the top of the train that includes some dangerous stunt work and a nice twist, as well as spectacular moments involving a helicopter.Not bad at all, passes the time quickly and once the suspense aboard the train starts there's no turning away.Perhaps not as good as the original, but still worth watching. Gene Hackman and Anne Archer do fine work at the head of a competent cast.
sydneyswesternsuburbs Director Peter Hymans who also created other classic flicks, Sudden Death 1995, End of Days 1999 and Time Cop 1994 has created another gem in Narrow Margin.Starring Gene Hackman who has also been other classic flicks, Bonnie and Clyde 1967, Marooned 1969, The Quick and the Dead 1995, Crimson Tide 1995, The Hunting Party 1971 and Behind Enemy Lines 2001.Also starring Anne Archer who has also been in other classic flicks, Felon 2008, Clear and Present Danger 1994, Short Cuts 1993 and Fatal Attraction 1987.I enjoyed the shoot outs, chase scenes and the scenery.If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic train flicks, Runaway Train 1985, Taking of Phelham 123 1974, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory 1995, Snowpiercer 2013, REC 4: Apocalypse 2014, The Midnight Meat Train 2008, Train to Busan 2016, Train 2008, The Commuter 2018 and The End of the Line 2007.