Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Starring:Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, James Broderick, Dick O'Neill, Lee Wallace, Tom Pedi, Beatrice Winde, Jerry Stiller, Nathan George, Rudy Bond, Kenneth McMillan, Doris Roberts, Julius Harris, Cynthia Belgrave, Anna Berger, Gary Bolling, Carol Cole
Director: Joseph Sargent
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

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

Customer Reviews:

Take this A Train.......2007-04-23

I was turned on to this movie after hearing David Shire's soundtrack from Jim Aquino's "Fistful of Soundtracks" internet station -- so I came to the movie wanting to get more music. I noticed that Hollywood is currently recycling the soundtrack for some goofy new crime movie (as of April 07) -- but here I get the music set to the original images.

One reviewer here compared it to the Diehard movies -- a good comparison. I told my wife it was it was Diehard without the action, more of a psychological test. The movie is extremely enjoyable for how it depicts criminals, the law, and the people caught inbetween -- specifically how New Yorkers circa the mid-70s were. There are many goofy jokes about gender and race that just reek of the movie's time (fortunately the film, at places, shows the ability to criticize itself for having those biases).

But the movie really works because, unlike the Diehard movies, you get this very local, very New York feel. Not only are the people racist or sexist -- they just about hate everyone they work with -- the antipathy every character shows makes this movie about a hijacked subway car work. People here do not lie down when pushed, and all of the characters (except for Shaw's brilliant British merc) have a ironic edge to most of what they say. Matthau and Stiller here work great together as a pair of transit detectives. And did I say the score is awesome?

Cooltastic.......2007-01-21

This movie is not for those who like to hear the f-bomb a lot. It's pretty funny and creative though! Great ending!

Train Thriller That Roars into Action.......2006-11-16

Despite its being dated, espeically with regard to such political incorrectness as making yellow-man fun of a Japanese business delegation, this thriller is an extraordinary example of how storytelling can overcome its own defects. From a beginning that feels harsh and over-the-top, and a set of New York characters you'd RUN to avoid, the momentum builds to a frantic 3-way intercut chase that will leave you glued to the screen and breathless--a masterpiece of directing that clearly influenced Tarantino in more than just the "Mrs" "White" and "Green."

Terrific "Diehard" type film, but it is not a 2 hour movie........2006-07-24

I am writing this review having just viewed this DVD. I noticed on the DVD package that the running time is supposed to be 124 minutes. But when playing the DVD, the actual runtime was 104 minutes. I am curious if anyone knows if there actually was a longer version or if this is really a typo. Robert Shaw is the Hans Gruber character - European with lofty ambitions, Another bad guy is the one with the knowledge of the system, another is a blood hungry trouble-maker. Walter Matthau is the perfect anti-hero John McClane character as the befuddled Subway detective. This movie is a great portrait of how New York works, as well an insight into the workings of the Subway system. I saw a man in NYC wearing a t-shirt that said "Let me drop everything I'm doing and help you with your problem", which kind of sums up the attitudes of the major players in this race-against-the-clock hostage drama. I give it a 7 out of 10.

NYC subway hijack.......2006-04-16

The Joseph Sargent directed "Taking of Pelham One Two Three", with a terrific cast and filmed on the streets of New York had all the earmarks to be a top flight thriller. It however ultimately fizzles as the plot drags on and cannot be saved by a fine array of actors.

A four man crew headed by ex-mercenary Robert Shaw and featuring a deviant Hector Elizondo and ex-subway conductor Martin Balsam hijack a NYC subway train. They demand a one million dollar ransom to be delivered in one hour (don't laugh because the subway fare was 35 cents) to release the eighteen hostages they hold. Transit police lieutenant Zachary Garber played by the gruff and often disheveled Walter Matthau directs a task force while remaining in communication with Shaw.

As the deadline arrives a bankrupt city lead by a hated mayor played by a flu suffering Lee Wallace scrounges together the ransom. An army of cops desperately attempts to deliver the money to the hijackers in time. The real conundrum becomes the means by which the crew will escape with their spoils.

Matthau tries to keep a cool head in his dealings with Shaw but is egged on by star of the film, TV veteran character actor Dick O'Neill playing the cantankerous Frank Correll head of the Transit Authority.

The drama plays out but lacks any real feeling of tension and suspense as the characters often appear to just be going through the motions.

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