BUSTER PRODUCTION.
Crime pays It’s 35 years since Phil Collins played the titular role of Buster Edwards in a film about the Great Train Robbery. Director David Green explains the pros and cons of modern filmmaking – and how he would make Buster today
WORDS. Robert Shepherd IMAGES. Buster Films & Various
B uster was a refreshing light-hearted, comedic tone and warm love story made it stand out among its peers. The film manages to evoke a sense of nostalgia and charm without being saccharine or overly sentimental, which is particularly interesting when you consider its very serious subject matter – the Great Train Robbery. The film tells the story of the 11 men who hijacked a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London, and made off with £2.3m (thought to be circa £30m today) on 8 August 1963. The train operator, Jack Mills, was struck on the head and sustained injuries as a result. At the time, the British tabloid departure from the typically gritty, depressing British films of the eighties. Its press went to town with the story, dominating headlines for weeks
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and making mini celebrities of those who were guilty of the crime. Ronnie Biggs, for example, spent 36 years as a fugitive – mainly in Brazil – where he often toyed with the British police by carrying out various publicity stunts. Securing global pop star Phil Collins to adopt the role of Ronald Christopher ‘Buster’ Edwards certainly didn’t harm the publicity push. That said, then Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles
DRAMA KING David Green is a major figure in British and US TV, working on many BBC and ITV shows
“British tabloid press went to town with the story, dominating headlines for weeks”
65. MAY 2023
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