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The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

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4 reviews

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From Time Out Film Guide

Four hijackers, got up like Groucho Marx and led by Robert Shaw with the voice of a Dalek, kidnap a New York subway train and hold the city to ransom. Saviour of the system is Transit Authority Inspector Matthau, harking back to his early acting days as a grim heavy, and with a Bronx accent as thick and fancy as a piece of angel cake. It's a slice of Urban Crisis life, you see, and to prove it the occupants of the train 'represent a cross-section of New York: a pimp, a Puerto Rican pregnant girl, a hippie, a hooker, a WASP, a wino and a homosexual'. This movie's so up-to-date even the mayor's a laughing-stock. Yet, despite the caricature, the facile screenplay by Peter Stone, and the desperate direction from Sargent ('who has directed some of television's finest hours'), the film retains a fascination - the way Juggernaut did; and needless to say, it's been a monster hit in cities with an underground system.

Author: AN

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

Ron Grabia said...

Posted on Feb 11 2008 00:50 The original taking of pelham 123 was excellent, the made for TV version was horrible though it followed the
novel alot more closly, now they are preparing to release a new version starring John Travolta this spring, how is that going to work doesn't anybody have any imagination anymore???????.
.

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pelham123 said...

Posted on Jan 17 2008 12:50 Pelham is my all time favorite movie, it's the perfect genre flick. Superb cast, decent plot and one of the greatest scores ever composed for film, In context, my other favourite movies are The Warriors (Walter Hill), Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio), Le Samurai (Jean-Pierre Melville) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick)

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mr.mike said...

Posted on Oct 16 2007 23:03 Matthau and Shaw are standouts in entertaining, somewhat comic thriller

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Leona Luk said...

Posted on Aug 19 2007 19:16 This is a racist, sexist film; it's also pretty entertaining. If nothing else, it's amusing to see so many famous people - not just actors like Matthau and Shaw, but also the man who played Wilson in "Home Improvement" and a short scene with Doris Roberts. Oh, and there's that whole subway kidnapping thing, which is fun to watch on it's own.
Very much a product of it's time, yet somehow still relevant and entertaining today.

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