Review of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) by William B — 05 Nov 2009

Before Hollywood took all that was precious, unique, and fun in cinema and sacrificed it to a industrial shredder machine to be processed for quick, easy money in the remake department, some amazing films managed to come out, which were made by bright, young minds with talent and originality flowing freely through their brains.

Do yourself a favor; before you see that silly remake, watch the original masterpiece about 4 heavily armed criminals in New York City hijacking a subway car and holding the hostages ransom. See how wonderful and intense characters like Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, and Hector Elizondo interact with a hard-nosed but fun character like Walter Matthau whose character works tirelessly to try and keep the criminals from killing hostages.

The remake takes the same tried and true story and modernizes it with flashy updates in a pussified and politically correct world. Take a trip back in time to see what it was like in the 1970's where New Yorkers were New Yorkers and racism, sexism, and bigotry were as common as life itself.

That's not to say that I condone these things, but with the original Pelham film, you encounter a unique and authentic piece of history and culture that the remake can't bring back and has to substitute subtlety for sound and fury; headache-inducing freeze frame and montage gimmickry; rap and heavy metal on the soundtrack; and far more crudeness and bloodshed than is really necessary.

I'm sure the remake isn't that bad of a film, but it seems unnecessary when this original classic is just as fun and entertaining. It's one major downfall in my opinion? Probably the slapstick-y ending.

I appreciated the humor throughout, but they could have made that ending less hokey. Overall, terrific move.