Review of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) by David G — 16 Feb 2010

After the '98 TV and '09 theatrical remakes, this is the third and final (not to mention original) version of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three that I've seen and as with the others it has its pros and cons.

Since it's the original version it deserves credit for coming up with the tight and no nonsense story of an armed group hijacking a New York subway train in order to ransom the passengers for cash and the casting is excellent with Robert Shaw's cool-as-a-cucumber villain, Lee Wallace's responsibility-shy, flu-afflicted Mayor and the various shouty NYC police and subway officials including Walter Matthau, Tom Pedi and Jerry Stiller.

It's an entertaining and intelligent thriller but compared to the other versions it lacks the flair of Tony Scott's 2009 remake (if you like that kind of thing) and has the same bland look as the 1998 TV effort with dark train carriages, even darker subway tunnels and hijackers in realistic (for disguise purposes) but dull suits and hats.

One thing this version has that the others don't however is black humour, an abundance of it in fact and it surprisingly works! I'm not sure how much was intentional but the grouchy, I-hate-everyone New York natives and the way they bitch and moan at each other is hilarious! If I had to recommend one of the three versions I'd have to cheat and choose both this and the '09 remake depending on your age.

I feel older people would appreciate the steady pace and quality acting found here whilst younger audiences would prefer the flashy franticity of Tony Scott's remake. The '98 TV version, whilst not a bad film can be dismissed as basically an inferior carbon copy of this one.