The Taking of Pelham One Two Three | | Cast : | Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw | | Director : | Joseph Sargent | | Studio : | Mgm/Ua Studios | | Format : | Color, Widescreen, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | January 01, 1974 | | DVD Released Date : | May 01, 2001 | | Language : | Unknown (Dubbed), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | April 29, 2005 | | Summary | I'm taking your train... | Content
 | THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE is a gritty heist and hijack caper. Set in year it was made (1974), TAKING is also a `perfect crime' movie. How do you hijack a subway train, demand a $1 million ransom, and get away safely with the loot? Robert Shaw, as the cool and efficient `Mr. Blue', seems capable enough. He certainly seems to have planned it out well. Opposing him, and sharing a number of radio-to-radio scenes, is subway security officer Lt. Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau).
Mr. Blue's demands are complicated and Garber is given an hour to meet them. The Mayor's approval is needed, and the viewer is dragged into a couple of unfunny comic relief scenes with a sick Mayor (Lee Wallace) agonizing whiningly over whether or not to meet the hijackers' demands.
British actor Robert Shaw is great as the ultra-smooth and unflappable hijacker. Matthau, more often in comedies, is a good match as the cop in the middle. Matthau's comedy talents are put to better use, as well, in an opening scene where he grudgingly leads a group of Tokyo transit officials on a tour of the facilities. Director Joseph Sargent, when not forcing the comedy, shows a sure editing hand when he contrasts the calm of the hijackers with the chaos surrounding the would-be hostage rescuers.
PELHAM is an enjoyable little crime thriller that goes relatively light on the gore and gunplay and relatively heavy on character and the tension imposed by a deadly deadline. Strongly recommended.
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| Rating | | | Date | March 30, 2005 | | Summary | MAGNIFICENT 1970'S CAPER FILM | Content
| This is one movie that I just love watching whenever it pops up on TV. A movie that really epitomizes the look and feel of a gritty, crime-ridden, 1970's New York city. Brilliantly acted by all parties and masterfully paced by Director Joseph Sargent, this is a classic caper film with Walter Matthau playing a dramatic role that he was really underrated in.
Four criminals led by the former British soldier Robert Shaw hijack a NYC subway train, holding the passengers hostage and demanding a one million dollar ransom for their release. The four criminals all wear similar costumes including glasses and mustaches, and are armed with machine guns. Shaw is Mr. Blue the leader, and he's joined by Mr. Green (Martin Balsam) who knows how to drive a train, Mr. Gray (Hector Elizondo) who is only too eager to shoot a hostage, and Mr. Brown (Earl Hindman). The four board at different stops and soon commandeer the train and make their demands.
Matthau plays Lt. Garber, a transit cop who is alternately trying to negotiate as well as stall the hijackers until the NYC cops can try to capture them. It's probably the first time anyone got a glimpse into the nerve center of the subway control station where all the trains are routed. While it looks dated by today' standards it was still interesting to see. Joining Matthau is the great Jerry Stiller as Lt. Rico Patrone, another tough transit cop and the interplay between he and Matthau is wonderful as they debate how to handle the situation. Rounding out the cast are some great character actors whose names you may not know but whose faces you'll recognize instantly including Dick O'Neill and Tom Pedi. Doris Roberts of "Everybody Loves Raymond" fame even has a bit part as the mayor's wife.
The tension builds as the cops try to figure out just how in the heck the criminals expect to escape the subway tunnels even if the ransom is paid. Shaw is quite powerful in one of his best screen roles as the tough, but somewhat gentlemanly leader of the hijackers. He is a man who planned for all contingencies to keep him always a step ahead of the police. Matthau is just as brilliant and there's a hilarious scene where he is giving a group of Japanese transit authorities a tour of the control room and insults them not knowing the speak English. The look on his face is priceless!
What a gem of a movie this is. Great Thriller with terrific performances from everyone involved. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 17, 2005 | | Summary | Forget 1, 2, or 3, this scores a solid 5 star rating! | Content
| If you want a review of this movie, the Top 500 reviewer below has done a thorough job!
However not mentioned was the music score by David Shire (also responsible for those of The Conversation, The Hindenburg, All the Presidents Men and Saturday Night Fever). The Taking of Pelham 123 though, is his masterpiece, indeed I consider it my favourite movie score ever, quite an achievement considering the mastery of Bernard Herrmann in particular. The pulsating opening theme sets you up for a simply superb movie, containing humour, suspense, and some formidable acting from the lead players, Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw and Martin Balsam.
There are more films made in the 1970's amongst my all-time favourites than from any other decade, and this movie in particular indicates why.
Criticism in regard to dark photography, hard to hear dialogue, foul language, stereotyping and more, is largely absurd, or at least irrelevant in the face of so much more that is positive, thrilling, and highly enjoyable.
There are so many memorable scenes that make repeated viewing a joy. Most feature Mr. Matthau, who really is in exceptional form here, particularly whilst he shows some Japanese visitors round the transport police department offices, when he finally loses his temper after a colleague continually gripes at him, and the final closing scene. Not wishing to spoil it, I will only say that his final expression, which sets off that incredible score again, is priceless!
I highly recommend this great film, which wins on all counts! |
| Rating | | | Date | October 23, 2004 | | Summary | A Rare Film That's Better Than The Book! | Content
| There is a genre of film simply known as a "New York Movie." It's a film where the city itself plays a role in the story. This can be as varied as the Musical, "On The Town," the comedy "Arthur," The fantasy "Superman: The Movie" or the drama "Taxi Driver." "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" is a true "New York Movie."
The plot begins when a small group of terrorists hijacks a subway train and holds the passengers for ransom. At first, the concept seems far-fetched ("Where're they gonna go?") but a convincing script from Peter Stone (from John Godey's novel) makes the plot move forward.
It's really the performances that keep the story on track: Walter Matthau as a harried trainmaster, barking out orders and watching the situation develop from his command post, Robert Shaw as the ringleader of the band of crooks aboard the hijacked train (with Martin Balsam and Hector Elizondo as his partners in crime), and an impressive and authentically New York supporting cast (including Jerry Stiller, James Broderick, Doris Roberts and Lee Wallace, who plays the mayor, and who looks quite a bit like Ed Koch, even though Koch hadn't yet been elected at the time of the film's release)!
It all works to give you a true sense of the flavor of the city in the mid 1970s. Filmed on location in the actual tunnels and trains, it's a clever story and is brilliant. If you like suspense thrillers that are a little smarter than the typical, this film is for you.
Highly Recommended! |
| Rating | | | Date | October 11, 2004 | | Summary | "What the hell did they expect for their lousy 35 cents?" | Content
| The subway...lifeblood of New York. The largest mass transit system in the world, currently operating over 8,000 rail and subway cars, traveling on over two thousand miles of track, serving nearly eight million passengers daily. Seems like a logistical nightmare, keeping tabs on it all, but MTA (Metro Transit Authority) does, anticipating many problems before they arise. One thing they couldn't anticipate, what no one could have, is someone hijacking one of the trains. But it did happen, once (in movie world, at least).
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), directed by Joseph Sargent (Colossus: The Forbin Project, Jaws: The Revenge), presents a wonderfully talented cast including Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, and Hector Elizondo. Also making appearances are Jerry Stiller (Seinfeld), Dick O'Neill (Gamera), Kenneth McMillian (Dune), and Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond). The film involves the hijacking of a New York subway train by a group of men armed with semi-automatic weapons for the purpose of extorting one million dollars from the city, otherwise they begin executing passengers, one by one. `What the hell they expect for their lousy 35 cents? To live forever?!"
This is really an entertaining, tense and witty film that kept me interested up until the very end. Matthau really owns this film, appearing as harried yet cool-headed Lt. Zachary Garber, an officer working for the Metro Authority, and main negotiator with the hijackers, lead by the ruthless Mr. Blue, played by Robert Shaw (it's said Quentin Tarantino got the idea of using colors for the names of his characters in Reservoir Dogs (1992) from this film). Garber really has to play a juggling act, trying to keep the hostages alive, placating the hijackers, and keeping the trigger-happy cops from starting World War III down in the subway tunnels. Robert Shaw does an excellent job playing tactical minded Mr. Blue, basically Garber's counterpart, leader of the hijackers, meticulously planning the entire operation as if it were a military action (we later find out he's a British mercenary `between wars'). He must keep not only the hostages calm and in line, but also his men, especially the psychotic Mr. Gray, played by Hector Elizondo, who seems to suffer from an extremely itchy trigger finger. He's also kinda sleazy...(doesn't it seem like there's always one psychotic in the group? I guess criminals are a highly unstable bunch). As I said, Matthau owns this film, but it certainly doesn't hurt that he had so many talented and highly professional actors supporting him throughout the movie. If The Taking of Pelham One Two Three has the feel of a superior made-for-TV movie about it, that's because one look at Joseph Sargent's credits will show a vast amount of TV work, including shows like Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and a ton of made-for-TV movies. He did venture into films a few times, most notably the 70's sci-fi film Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) and White Lighting (1973), to name a few, but always seemed to return to TV. He's also responsible for one of the worst movies ever made (in my opinion) in Jaws: The Revenge (1987), which probably put a serious hurting on any future film directing offers. As I said, Pelham does play like a TV movie (except for the brief but realistic use of profanity), but a really, really good one. Even the musical score for the film has a TV theme quality about it, but that of a top-notch theme, one that serves to enhance the overall product. The plot is tight, and moves along pretty quickly. The movie also has a real authentic flavor, especially all the smart alecky comments made throughout, the kind one would expect from New Yorkers. I loved the initial reactions to the news of the subway train being hijack, the incredulity accompanied by complete annoyance that someone would have the nerve to screw around with the New York Subway system, much less hijack it (the scene where the one of the men in charge with keeping the trains moving decides he's going to walk down the tracks and see what's going on for himself is priceless, at least until he finds out it's for real). The plot covers a lot of ground, focusing on not only the passengers and hijackers, but also the transit authority cop, the regular cops, right up to the politicians, forced to weigh the decision and consequences of paying the ransom money or not (they do, and the scenes involving the authorities racing to meet the hijacker's deadline is gripping, with slight dashes of humor...the police racing in their car, sirens blaring, Officer O'Keefe: "I always wanted to do this. Look, we're scaring the sh#t out of everybody.", Officer Miskowsky: "Yeah, including me.") The big question posed, and one that's focused on throughout is, even if the hijackers get the money, how are they going to get away with it? They're in a train, underground, surrounded by police, with no visible escape routes. Seems like a tricky proposition, but given Mr. Blue's talent for meticulously covering all the details, I'm sure he's got a plan (don't ask me, just watch the film).
The quality of the wide screen non-anamorphic print on this DVD is pretty good, but not as good as I would have liked to have seen. There's a lack of sharpness in the picture, and the colors a kind of dull. The audio is also pretty good, and the dialog is clear. MGM stints on the special features, as usual, providing a theatrical trailer and an informative 4-page booklet insert. Basically what you have here is an exceptional crime film set in New York, one that rises above most others and doesn't disappoint. Oh, and that warning you always hear about not touching the third rail, as it's full of juice (electricity), and will fry you like a side of bacon? You would do well to heed it, as it's not an urban legend, my friend...
Cookieman108
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