# The Great Train Robbery (2013)

> A two-part British miniseries dramatizing the 1963 Bruce Reynolds-led mail train robbery and the police hunt that followed.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/56890

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 2
- Episode runtime: 90 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Chris Chibnall
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Jim Broadbent, Luke Evans, Jack Roth, Robert Glenister, Paul Anderson, Neil Maskell, Martin Compston, Nicholas Murchie
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2763296/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, gritty, cerebral, sober, wry

## What critics say

Audiences rated this two-part dramatisation of the 1963 Great Train Robbery positively, praising its period detail and cast.

## Synopsis

The Great Train Robbery (2013) is a British BBC One crime miniseries created by Chris Chibnall. Dramatizing the real 1963 raid that stunned postwar Britain, the two-episode story follows detective chief superintendent Tommy Butler (Jim Broadbent) as he works the investigation while a crew of robbers led by Bruce Reynolds (Luke Evans) plots and carries out the audacious hijacking of a mail train thirty-five miles from London. Supporting players include Jack Roth as Charlie Wilson, Paul Anderson as Gordon Goody, and Neil Maskell as Buster Edwards, whose ordinary lives collide with extraordinary ambition. Each episode is built from planning rooms, interrogation tables, and tense operations on the rails, so the drama pivots between the criminals' nerve and the police's methodical pursuit. Set in 1960s Britain, the production has a grounded, gritty texture with a hint of wry period charm. Its tone is tense and cerebral, with a sober sense of class and institutional pressure. Fans of Peaky Blinders, Stolen and British true crime dramas will find resonance in its blend of period detail and procedural suspense.

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