Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 | Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw

Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 | Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw | Love this movie....

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	Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw MGM (Video & DVD), 1996 average customer review:based on 75 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Dog Day Afternoon. Annie Hall. Taxi Driver. In the pantheon of classic New York films, these three take pride of place. But there are, of course, others, some of which have fallen through the cracks over the years, criminally overlooked and unjustly relegated to commercial-riddled Saturday-afternoon TV broadcasts. Joseph Sargent's The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is just such a picture. This taut 1974 thriller about four armed men who highjack a New York City subway train and hold it and its passengers for ransom may be hopelessly dated (it's loaded with ethnic stereotypes, impossibly wide neckties, and bad hairdos--and there are no explosions!), but that's part of the fun. A gruffly sardonic Walter Matthau heads a fine cast that includes Jerry Stiller, Hector Elizondo, Martin Balsam, and a perfectly villainous pre-Jaws Robert Shaw. Think you'll find a better film that depicts a nearly broke city led by an inept mayor forced to deal with armed terrorists? Fuhgeddaboutit! --Steve Landau

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Historical Landmark Alert

Historical Landmark Alert: in one of the shots of Walter Matthau sitting in the back seat of a speeding police car, you can see the Twin Towers through the rear window.

I can't really be objective about this movie since I was there at the time and I walked through Astor Place (where the police car hits the bicycle) on my way to school and I knew someone who was one of the extras in the street crowd around the subway entrance. But as far as I'm concerned there's only one flaw: we don't get to hear Robert Shaw's nigh-superhuman shouting voice. Other actors pulled their vocal muscles trying to shout like him. The screenwriters must not have known.

Don't let Shaw and Matthau make you overlook the great Martin Balsam. How many actors could play a lovable terrorist in a non-comedy and make it work this well???

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Love this movie....

It was always a favorite of mine when growing up. Used to watch the repreats on TV in NY. I had a copy that I recorded from TV, but wanted better quality.

"Strap-Hangin' Good"

This is one of the most tense and exciting movies ever made as a NYC subway train is hijacked and commandeered by a group of criminals. You will go all "white knuckley" hanging on to the arms of your theater seat.
Robert Shaw and Walter Matthau are absolutely fabulous. If you never saw this gem, I highly recommend it. Be prepared to get a bit amused at the retro costuming--so stylish for the era.

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What was second-rate in '74 is top of the line today

After taking eighteen people hostage on a subway car, a group of four heavily-armed men in disguises hold New York City ransom for one million dollars. As anyone would expect, the focus of the story is not how the money is paid, but how the crooks plan to get away. These days, "Taking of Pelham" is best remembered as an influence on "Reservoir Dogs" - Tarantino copied the concept of formalized, color-coded names for his criminal characters. But in retrospect, this is a well-plotted and ably directed crime drama, helmed by Sargent at the top of his game well over a decade before the disastrous "Jaws: The Revenge" permanently relegated him to the TV fare that he cut his teeth on.

While Matthau's top billing is appropriate for his dominant screen time, the real show here is to be seen in Shaw and Balsam. It would be redundant to note that Shaw was in top form here - he was excellent in even the drivel that he participated in during the last few years of his life and career - and there's no ignoring the tense, imposing performance he delivers in his role as a ruthless mercenary-turned-criminal. The rest of the principle cast are serviceable, but the passengers are played horribly, as hammy as they are irritating. It's not easy to care about hostages when they're as obnoxious as these.

The action and drama of this movie are spot-on, while the comedy is hit-or-miss; for every laugh-out-loud line of dialogue, there's another that'll surely invoke a groan. But even at its silliest, "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" is absorbing, unpredictable and far more intriguing than the overblown, sanitized garbage that passes for crime dramas these days.

Like most MGM DVDs, this edition is of uniform and decent quality: you'll encounter neither surprises nor regrets. Unlike many of MGM's releases, this disc is single-sided and only features the widescreen version of the film (in this instance, the aspect ratio is 2.35:1). The audiovisual quality is fine, and both dubbed dialogue and subtitles are available in Spanish and French. The theatrical trailer is included.

Tony Scott is scheduled to direct a remake of this next year. That should be amusing.

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