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Buster Edwards (Phil Collins) is a petty criminal from the East End in 1963 London. His long-suffering wife June (Julie Walters) thinks of him as a lovable rogue. The film opens with Buster walking along his local high street and breaking into a shop to steal a suit, which he then wears to a funeral. Also attending the funeral is police inspector Mitchell (Martin Jarvis), who happens to be an old school friend of Buster and wants to 'keep in touch'. Buster brings Harry (Michael Attwell), who has been used on other 'jobs' and has recently served 18 months in prison, to discuss the next 'job' with their ring-leader Bruce Reynolds (Larry Lamb). Harry wants 'in' and becomes part of the firm who are planning to rob a Royal Mail train allegedly carrying up to £1 million in cash.
After a complex and successful heist, the gang return to their farmhouse hideout to stay out of sight and split the spoils. They find they have stolen over £3 million − much more than anticipated. While lying low at the farmhouse, they hear on the radio that the police (led by Mitchell) are searching farmhouses and outhouses within a 30-mile (48 km) radius of the robbery site. The gang become nervous and some members want to immediately return to London for fear of discovery; others think they should keep to the original plan and stay where they are.
The gang decide to return to London, where they meet their 'contact', a solicitor's clerk who, as in the original plan, is to arrange for the farmhouse to be cleared and fully cleaned. The contact states he will bring the plans forward and have the cleaning done over the next two to three days. Bruce, Buster and Harry are not happy with any delay at all because they fear imminent discovery, so they set off back to the farmhouse, to do the job themselves. During the journey, they hear on the radio that the farmhouse hideout has been discovered, so they abandon their plans and return to London, hoping they will have time to escape with their families. Buster returns home and is devastated to find that June has had a miscarriage while he was committing the robbery. She cannot believe it when she learns of his involvement in what has been quickly dubbed "The Great Train Robbery". Politicians, incensed that the gang are being treated as antiheros by the newspapers, demand that they be punished with extraordinarily long prison sentences, and that no plea bargains ("deals") will be offered to any of the accused.
Most of the gang are slowly rounded up by the police. Several months after the robbery, Buster and June remain in hiding with their young daughter Nicky (Ellie Beaven) until they are turned in by a suspicious neighbour. Mitchell and an army of officers arrive too late and discover that they have already fled. Meanwhile, Harry is also arrested by Mitchell, who defies his superiors to offer Harry a deal in return for disclosing Buster and Bruce's whereabouts, but he refuses. Buster flees to Acapulco, where he is met by Bruce and his girlfriend Franny (Stephanie Lawrence), who are also on the run and living it up in the sun on the proceeds of the crime. June and Nicky arrive later, despite the disapproval of her mother (Sheila Hancock), and although Nicky seems to love her new life in the sun, June is immediately unimpressed and resolves to return to England, despite knowing that if Buster is to return with them he will be imprisoned. Buster remains in Acapulco after June leaves, until realizing (while celebrating England's 1966 World Cup triumph), that having money and the sun means nothing if he doesn't have his family.
He returns to England, in the knowledge he will have to face justice, but in the hope that a deal with Mitchell to reduce his jail sentence will be available. He is quickly arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Skipping forward to a later date after he has been released, Buster is seemingly content and running a flower stall near London's Waterloo Bridge, but he breaks the fourth wall and explains to the audience he still has a "dream", as he and June walk away as the end credits roll.
The real Buster Edwards plays a small cameo during the arrival in Acapulco. He is seen walking out of the airport (62 mins into the film) with his girlfriend, played by Phil Collins’ wife, just before Buster, June, and Nicky also leave.[citation needed]
Prince Charles and Princess Diana cancelled their attendance of the film's premiere on 15 September 1988, on the advice of Phil Collins, after the film was accused of glorifying crime. Collins said he wanted to avoid causing them "embarrassment".[4] One of the film's critics was ConservativeMPIvor Stanbrook, who said the royal couple should not be associated with a film that "commemorates a particularly sordid and vicious crime."[5]
Release
The film opened 16 September 1988 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London and grossed £65,883 in its opening weekend, placing sixth at the UK box office despite playing in just one cinema.[6][7] After expanding nationwide in its fifth week of release, it reached number one at the UK box office.[8] The film went on to gross £3,939,329 ($7.2 million) in the UK, the highest-grossing independent film of the year; tenth highest-grossing film of the year and the third best British film behind A Fish Called Wanda and The Last Emperor.[9][10] In the United States and Canada, it grossed $540,000 (£300,000).[11]
Critical reception
Reviews for the film were mixed, with praise for the lead performances but criticism of the film's tone. Radio Times gave the film three stars out of five, stating: "Too squeaky clean to be believable, this is an entertaining but fairy-tale view of law-breaking."[12]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4 and wrote: "Buster is played with surprising effectiveness by rock star Phil Collins, who looks and sounds like a gentler Bob Hoskins."[13]Halliwell's Film Guide described the film as an "uneasy combination of romantic comedy and chase thriller".[14]Leonard Maltin gave the film two-and-a-half stars, writing: "Singer Collins' starring film debut is a diverting (if forgettable) yarn, with Walters a good match as his loving, long-suffering spouse." Maltin also wrote that the film had a "great soundtrack".[15]
Stage version
A stage production of Buster was staged between 2000 and 2004 at various locations across the UK starring (amongst others) Ray Quinn in the main cast. The production was an adaptation by Kieran Woodbury of the original Colin Shindler screenplay.
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