Review of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) by Jason M — 22 Aug 2009
Based on a 1973 novel by Morton Freedgood (under the alias of John Godey), and directed by TV director Joseph Sargent. This is a taut and suspenseful crime thriller in which a group of men codenamed by colours, led by Blue (Robert Shaw) and Green (Martin Balsam) hijack an underground train in New York, (the train is the titular Pelham 1-2-3), and demand a ransom for the passengers.
If the money is not delivered by their set deadline, they'll start murdering the hostages one by one. Meanwhile, Police Lt. Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau) who works for the police's transit division, has to negotiate with the criminals, and convince the city's clueless mayor (Lee Wallace) to give in to their demands.
It's a very gripping thriller, with some good performances to it's name, it's well made and captures the era well too. It's just been remade by Tony Scott, but this is the original and best, and a certain QT nicked the idea of the colour-coded named criminals for his debut film, yes, it is influential, and it hasn't aged a bit at all.
.. ;).
This review of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) was written by Jason M on 22 Aug 2009.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three has generally received very positive reviews.
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