• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

What about a BioPic Big Screen Movie on Brunel?

Status
Not open for further replies.
John Luxton

John Luxton

Established Member
Joined
23 Nov 2014
Messages
1,658
Location
Liverpool
In 12 years time we will be celebrating GWR 200.

Given that Isambard Kingdom Brunel was considered to be the second greatest Briton some years ago is it not time to give Brunel the movie treatment?

As a youngster I used to enjoy watching Edison the Man - starring Spencer Tracey and his quest to perfect the electric light bulb.

I have often thought Brunel could do with a similar "bio-pic" style movie.

Plenty of scope for excitement, daring do and a bit of romance to keep the ladies happy.

Time to give IKB the big screen treatment?

Given that most of his structures still stand, there are a couple of broad gauge locos at Didcot and another at Swindon.

SS Great Britain at Bristol.

Throw in some digital trickery and who knows what could be possible?

There are also a number of biographies which could be turned into a screen play.

What do others think?

Perhaps not the best time to make a suggestion such as this with the movie industry on strike but if they can make on on Oppenheimer, and there have been quite a few on Churchill - then why not?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

G

Gloster

Established Member
Joined
4 Sep 2020
Messages
8,486
Location
Up the creek
John Luxton said:
Perhaps not the best time to make a suggestion such as this with the movie industry on strike but if they can make on on Oppenheimer, and there have been quite a few on Churchill - then why not?
Click to expand...

Ah, but Oppenheimer and Edison were American and our friends across the Pond regard Churchill as a sort of American. The only interest they could have in IKB is showing his burning desire to connect the freeway from quaint old London Town to the good ole USA to allow Henry VIII’s wives to avoid his chopper.
 
T

Trestrol

Member
Joined
12 Apr 2022
Messages
208
Location
Newcastle
Joseph Swan invented the light bulb not that American bloke. He was just quick at getting a patent registered.
 
E

Ediswan

Established Member
Joined
15 Nov 2012
Messages
2,862
Location
Stevenage
Who would you cast as IKB ? Ideally somebody who can pass for five feet tall, without digital trickery.
 
G

Gloster

Established Member
Joined
4 Sep 2020
Messages
8,486
Location
Up the creek
’He dreamed of building a super sea-highway cross the ocean from the Tower of London Bridge Harbour to the greatest country in the world using the HMS Titanic Western…Tom Cruise is ‘IKE’ Brunel. With Meryl Streep as Queen Vicky, Robert de Niro as Chuck Dickens and Hugh Grant as Sherlock Holmes. And a special guest appearance by Dick van Dyke as the lovable Cockney Cuthbert (subtitled).’
 
R

randyrippley

Established Member
Joined
21 Feb 2016
Messages
5,151
It would be a film too full of pathos and failure to be interesting to the moneymen.

He lost the argument over track gauge.
The atmospheric railway didn't work.
His locomotive designs were poor.
The Clifton Suspension bridge - not completed in his lifetime
Saltash bridge - died before completion
Thames tunnel - nearly killed him
SS Great Britain - rapidly overtaken by evolving technology
SS Great Eastern - arguably the stress of being unable to launch the ship killed him
 
J

John Webb

Established Member
Joined
5 Jun 2010
Messages
3,085
Location
St Albans
Lucan said:
......Indeed, he made a fool of himself with his atmospheric propulsion.
Click to expand...
I think only in the sense that he didn't appreciate either (a) the materials of the day couldn't do the job to make the atmospheric railway work; (b) the relatively rapid development of the railway steam engine to greater power and efficiency.

There have been a number of factual documentaries about the Brunels - Marc and Isambard - I would have thought the struggle to build the Thames tunnel could make a complete film on its own!
 
John Luxton

John Luxton

Established Member
Joined
23 Nov 2014
Messages
1,658
Location
Liverpool
Trestrol said:
Joseph Swan invented the light bulb not that American bloke. He was just quick at getting a patent registered.
Click to expand...
That is a different argument which I have seen before.

Who ever was the first doesn't remove the fact that "Edison The Man" is a film that fascinated me as a child and over the years have watched it a few times.
 
Merthyr Imp

Merthyr Imp

Member
Joined
24 May 2016
Messages
495
Location
Merthyr Tydfil
Lucan said:
Did he design any? I thought he left it to Daniel Gooch.
Click to expand...
According to this website Brunel produced specifications for locomotives which were then designed and built to these specifications by various manufacturers.

www.classiccollectmodels.co.uk

Early broad-gauge engines, Brunel's disastrous specification.

In 1836, I.K Brunel drew up a set of locomotive specifications for the fledgling GWR. These specifications proved to be a handicap to the designers
www.classiccollectmodels.co.uk www.classiccollectmodels.co.uk

Following the lack of success of these Gooch then took over locomotive design.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top