SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

This is an exceptionally well made docu-drama based on the events surrounding the Granville train crash. I've seen it twice now and each time it has brought me to tears. The accident itself was the result of a tragic chain of events - everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The battle by the rescuers to save as many passengers as possible is inspiring and heartrending; they faced overwhelming odds - from the weight of the bridge to leaking gas that meant they were unable to use heavy equipment. The tragedy also revealed serious flaws in the emergency training and equipment, showing how unprepared the services were to deal with a disaster on this scale.This is definitely worth watching, and I think that although this is a dramatisation, it is still an excellent testament to the emergency services who risked everything and the ordinary people who survived that day. A very, very good film.

Although I didn't live in the Blue Mountains at the time of the Granville disaster, it happened only 20 minutes drive away from home. This dramatic recreation brought it all back to me. Despite the limitations of budget, it's an awe-inspiring effort on the part of the cast and production crew.A reviewer made mention of 'inaccuracies' but failed to name them. Yes, there are a number but surely with the passing of two decades it would have been near impossible to get everything right. A rivet counter (train fan) would most likely find fault with the loco which looked different after the event. The buffer beam was a different colour. It was of course a different loco. One of the station announcements was that the train stopped Penrith and all stations to Parramatta. It wouldn't have; usually it stopped at Blacktown then skipped all stations until Parramatta. But these are small points and didn't bother me at all.One poignant event which pops to mind was Scotty doing his best to get Bryan to give his name. Strange, as Scotty had just taken Bryan's electricity bill from him which would have included his name.There are so many good things I could mention that I won't bother. Buy yourself the DVD set and set back for a roller coaster ride of emotions. It's a pity that Umbrella as usual have failed to include any extras.

This is a very powerful documentary uncovering the events leading up to, during and following the Granville train disaster. I remember watching with horror the events on the television at the time, and although many other disasters have happened in Australia, and around the world since then, for many Sydneysiders it will remain one of the worst accidents in living memory. The movie, using the inquest as a focal point, is extremely well made, and very moving. The acting is sensitive and restrained, Rebecca Gibney, in particular, showing amazing depth of emotion. There are no big stars in this movie. It doesn't need them. The movie is essentially about the people whose lives were affected, and they are portrayed with humanity and empathy.

As evidenced by so many reviews when this was released three years ago, DAY OF THE ROSES is a stunning recreation of the 1977 Granville Train disaster. It is the type of docudrama that Australia absolutely excels in. For me though personally it is more, the reason for which I would like to share with you.For more than four years my family and I had lived in Katoomba, high in Sydney's Blue Mountains. Katoomba was in fact earlier dedicated the "Sister City" of Flagstaff, Arizona, both townships built on the edge of great natural chasms. Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon and Katoomba, the colossal Jamieson Valley. Working at a daily newspaper office at the time, in all that time I had religiously caught the 6.10 am daily from Mount Victoria, "The Fish" as it was affectionately called ("The Chips" followed 15 minutes later) As regular passengers are wont to do, I always sat in the same seat in carriage three in the majorly empty train still, Katoomba being only the third stop in its descent of the mountains. In four years, I had never once missed that train!On the night of January 17th, for reasons I have never been able to fathom, I rang my wife that evening from my desk at the Sydney Morning Herald and told her it had been a long day and I would stay overnight with her mom in Sydney. It wasn't until I arrived at work the next morning that I was met with dumbfounded stares and asked "How did you get here?" Upon enquiring why that should be unusual, a friend's reply stunned me, "Why??? he stared at me.."Because your train's on its side at Granville underneath hundreds of tons of railway bridge!" I remember just being numbed out and travelling in total silence in a Press car as we sped to Granville. Looking down from the roadway and seeing my carriage crushed to less than two foot in height in places, was not something bears speaking about. I knew several who died, perhaps not intimately but as well as you get to know people having five years familiarity I guess!So yeah, DAY OF THE ROSES is a kick-ass reminder for me of just how fate can work WITH you just as well as AGAINST you when it has a mind to. It is said everyone is master or mistress SOLELY of their own destiny...I wonder! 83 people died that day. DAY OF THE ROSES, as well as being a fitting epitaph to those poor people, is a tribute to the efforts of so many others who risked their lives beneath unstable concrete supports and a collapsed roadway, not to mention the risk of incineration from leaking gas, to rescue other critically injured passengers. If you have not seen this epic work, and you have the opportunity to do so in the future, I would hope that you take it!