Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 | Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw | Theres just one thing baby. They're all...

Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 | Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw | Hijacked a what?

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Taking of Pelham 1...

	Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw MGM (Video & DVD), 1996 average customer review:based on 70 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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Theres just one thing baby. They're all green!!

This movie is truly a timeless classic, from the goofy college girl meditating for a red light, the gruf not suffering any fools police officers.The powerless MTA officials expressing their frustration of powerlessness at the unrevaling of events.The portrayal of NYC in grips with a financial crisis of the 70s.The dialogue and reaction of the average person on the subway train.The glimpses of the WTC in the background(who knew those glimpses would mean so much for someone who grew up in NYC).The facetious remarks('Yeah I got eyes', 'How many hijacked trains have we got?','Whose moving?'),they may seem like goofy one liner fillers but they are genuine and not canned like todays movie dialogues.
This is the movie that deserves to be a cult classic, not the ridiculous and surreal Taxi Driver.Character development is excellent because it feels genuine.This movie can never be replicated.Most of the key characters in this movie grew up in NYC which is so key to playing a genuine New York official.The subway scenes are authentic, I've ridden the subway for decades and know those lines and the streets with the exits.All of it 100% authentic.I've realized that movies are meant more to be enjoyed than believed.This movie is enjoyable because of its authenticity.This movie shows that NYC is the main character and the people add life to it.This movie will never be replicated or duplicated, but has been copied.Oh, cant forget the music.The theme from Taking of Pelham 123 is so very NYC, a 70's jazz song that tells you there is trouble in NYC, big trouble.You could transplant the characters from the 70's into today and they wouldnt seem out of place.The reason thats even possible is because they all played their background.Shaw plays an English out of work mercanary (Shaws from the UK and has that sinister look to him),Mathau plays a Transit Cop(Mathau grew up NYC), even the little kids playing at the front of the subway car (I remember hoping to get on the front of the train when my mom and I would ride it when I was a kid).This is THE NYC Subway thriller movie.

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Hijacked a what?

Absolutely one of the most definitive 70's gritty NYC films. I've read how other reviewers have called it "dated". But what does that mean? It captured the time so well? It captured the way people spoke in Manhattan on subway trains? The lead character (Walter Matthau as Zach Garber) isn't PC enough? (Yes, he makes fun of a group of visiting Japanese men as he gives a tour of the subway operations, but he gets it back in the end.) It's not dated at all. It's spot-on.

Taking of Pelham, One, Two, Three is the kind of film, if made today, would be called an independent. It lacks every formulaic moment that goes into a studio picture. It has no big action sequences (with the lone exception of a police car racing through the traffic of New York), it has no forced love interest, and there is no "big twist" ending.

This is currently being remade by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. What does this mean? It means the look of the film will have a mustard-dirt filter that Scott puts into every movie and the editing will be fast cutting, like he does in every movie. Denzel Washington will be smooth-talking, Yale-smart, unlike Matthau who had the weathered look of a beat cop with street smarts. John Travolta will play the maniacal laugh and smile he does all the time when he's the villain, a la 'Broken Arrow' and 'Face-Off', unlike Robert Shaw who played it cool and collected.

In other words, please see the original. It allowed the story and characters to be the entertainment instead of over-the-top fast cutting "stylized" nonsense that distracts rather than entertains. This is a classic!

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Like New York, like that movie!

Not just for transit buffs, and those loving good, solid classic movies! It should not miss in any New York City lovers DVD libairy. Classic New York language presented by great actors.
The story is thrilling an even so, you saw the movie a couple of times, it is enjoyable over and over again!

New York, New York!

A great capper movie with a New York attitude! Indeed, what do these riders expect for their lousy 35 cents? The acting and writing are fantastic. The wit-laden stress and frustration expressed by Lt. Garber, mixed with the cool, calculated brutalness of Mr. Blue makes this movie pure fun and completely entertaining. The bizarrness of the two character's figuring the other out and playing off one another has been unmatched since.

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A CLASSIC THRILLER THAT HAS MELLOWED WITH AGE!

This is a classic crime/drama movie from the 70's. Excellently cast, this well written story is a bit dated now but, not so much that it isn't a very enjoyable experience. I guess we're all spoiled by the intensity of today's action films but, I'm sure this one was pretty intense for it's time. Watching this film now, I barely remembered it. I'm glad I got to see it uncut in my home theater, it's an excellent movie, well worth seeing or revisiting.

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