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MRotW: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
16 years ago
Some wonderful artists well worth your time:
Down in the depths of the New York subway system (the largest such system in the world), trouble is brewing. A gang of four armed and dangerous men hijack the front car of Pelham 123, demanding one millions dollars (cash) for the release of the hostages. The lead hijacker gives police one hour to deliver the money, and will start killing one passenger a minute for every minute they're late. It becomes a race against time as the police desperately try to get the money to the hijackers in time before they start opening fire with their machine guns.
One of the more underlooked and unappreciated heist movies, this is one that definitely needs to get more fame. Reason being is that it's a great movie (shoot, I'd make this a chaser to Dog Day Afternoon anytime). The whole movie moves at a good pace, building up to a very satisfying conclusion. There's comedy and drama wonderfully intertwined, and the action (while entirely tame by today's standards. By 80s standards, actually) fits the mood perfectly.
And then there's the characters. The four hijackers are played great, especially the leader Mr. Blue (yes, Tarantino got the idea for color aliases from this movie). Played by a pre-Jaws Robert Shaw, he's one of the craftiest and coldest villains I've ever seen in a movie. He's always calm and collected, always has a plan, and never changes his mood, even when things start to go wrong. He's one devil of a bad guy, and easily one of my new favorite antagonists.
Now, this movie was made back in 1974, and it shows. From the racial/gender stereotypes to the clothing (especially those ties), everything just oozes of the 70s. And really, that adds to the charm of the movie, gives it some character. As does the gritty depiction of New York, a New York that you don't see anymore. Finally, it's got one hell of a musical score (gotta dig that opening number).
I said that it mixed drama and humor well, and it does. While it's generally played straight and some moments can be quite tense, there's an underlying layer of cynical humor running throughout the film. While nobody's cracking straight jokes, a lot of the lines do draw a laugh (intentionally so), and help break up the tone of the film when appropriate. Plus, it's a movie that's got a subplot of an inept mayor of a broke city more interested in votes than lives. Almost feels like a Simpsons joke in action.
This movie is probably getting more press as of late as it's being remade by Tony Scott (I'll be honest, it's how I heard of it. Like I said, it's a very underlooked movie, almost criminally so). It's a remake that I'm trying to be optimistic about. While Scott will definitely change the gritty and cynical tone to something more... digital, as it were (certainly reflecting his editing style), he's done a good job on remakes before, like with Man on Fire. And also like that movie, this one's got Denzel Washington doing his thing. My main concern is John Travolta as the main villain. Put simply, Travolta is no Robert Shaw, so I'll be surprised if the performance he gives is even half as good as Shaws was.
Remake aside, the original is a very good movie, gripping and amusing all at once. It's one that I think everyone would enjoy, particularly those fans of the heist genre. Check it out whenever you get the chance. Also, until very recently the entire film was free to watch on Hulu (it's how I first saw it). It's down now, but there's always a chance it'll go back up, so keep your eyes open.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqOTObjWGH8
One of the more underlooked and unappreciated heist movies, this is one that definitely needs to get more fame. Reason being is that it's a great movie (shoot, I'd make this a chaser to Dog Day Afternoon anytime). The whole movie moves at a good pace, building up to a very satisfying conclusion. There's comedy and drama wonderfully intertwined, and the action (while entirely tame by today's standards. By 80s standards, actually) fits the mood perfectly.
And then there's the characters. The four hijackers are played great, especially the leader Mr. Blue (yes, Tarantino got the idea for color aliases from this movie). Played by a pre-Jaws Robert Shaw, he's one of the craftiest and coldest villains I've ever seen in a movie. He's always calm and collected, always has a plan, and never changes his mood, even when things start to go wrong. He's one devil of a bad guy, and easily one of my new favorite antagonists.
Now, this movie was made back in 1974, and it shows. From the racial/gender stereotypes to the clothing (especially those ties), everything just oozes of the 70s. And really, that adds to the charm of the movie, gives it some character. As does the gritty depiction of New York, a New York that you don't see anymore. Finally, it's got one hell of a musical score (gotta dig that opening number).
I said that it mixed drama and humor well, and it does. While it's generally played straight and some moments can be quite tense, there's an underlying layer of cynical humor running throughout the film. While nobody's cracking straight jokes, a lot of the lines do draw a laugh (intentionally so), and help break up the tone of the film when appropriate. Plus, it's a movie that's got a subplot of an inept mayor of a broke city more interested in votes than lives. Almost feels like a Simpsons joke in action.
This movie is probably getting more press as of late as it's being remade by Tony Scott (I'll be honest, it's how I heard of it. Like I said, it's a very underlooked movie, almost criminally so). It's a remake that I'm trying to be optimistic about. While Scott will definitely change the gritty and cynical tone to something more... digital, as it were (certainly reflecting his editing style), he's done a good job on remakes before, like with Man on Fire. And also like that movie, this one's got Denzel Washington doing his thing. My main concern is John Travolta as the main villain. Put simply, Travolta is no Robert Shaw, so I'll be surprised if the performance he gives is even half as good as Shaws was.
Remake aside, the original is a very good movie, gripping and amusing all at once. It's one that I think everyone would enjoy, particularly those fans of the heist genre. Check it out whenever you get the chance. Also, until very recently the entire film was free to watch on Hulu (it's how I first saw it). It's down now, but there's always a chance it'll go back up, so keep your eyes open.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqOTObjWGH8
