Original ‘Taking of Pelham One Two Three’ tops insipid remake

THE TAKING OF PELHAM
ONE TWO THREE (1974)

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

From the thumping, repetitive bass line of the main title theme to the gritty New York City atmosphere, “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” remains one of the screen’s most successful crime thrillers.

Of course, I’m referring to the 1974 original film – not the pointless 2009 remake featuring Denzel Washington and John Travolta, an unsuccessful and totally unnecessary exercise.

“The Taking of Pelham One Two Three,” based on the book of the same name by John Godey, tells the gripping story of a group of heavily armed men who hijack a New York City subway and hold its passengers for ransom.

Meanwhile, Lt. Zachary Garber of the New York City Transit Authority leads efforts above ground to negotiate with the terrorists, secure the $1 million ransom and rescue the passengers. The back-and-forth play, above and below ground, heightens the film’s tense suspense.

Walter Matthau steps into rare dramatic form for “Pelham,” starring as Garber. Matthau brings a much-needed gravity and slight sense of humor to the film’s overall edgy feel. He meshes well with the great Robert Shaw, who leads the gang hijacking the train.

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The movie was so successful that filmmakers tried desperately to replicate its success with two horrid remakes. Besides the Tony Scott-helmed 2009 disaster, Edward James Olmos stared in a tepid 1998 television version. Both films highlight the dearth of ideas plaguing the American film and TV industry these days.

That wasn’t the case in the 1970s, the greatest decade for American films. Among the decade’s best genres were crime thrillers and police procedurals that included such films as “The French Connection,” “The Seven-Ups” and “Serpico.”

Those films jumped behind the headlines and attempted to give moviegoers a taste of what life actually was like on the streets. “The French Connection” from 1971 comes quickly to mind as one of the decade’s best police thrillers, a simple yet complex look at the drug trade in New York City.

One reason for the success of “The French Connection”: Director William Friedkin and his conematographer, Owen Roizman, brought a gritty, real-life documentary feel and a sense of profound urgency to the film – a quality that many thrillers of the 1960s lacked.

Friedkin had nothing to do with “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.” Veteran big-screen and TV director Joseph Sargent helmed “Pelham.” Roizman, however, did serve as director of photography on “Pelham” – duplicating the same urgent, documentary feel he used to such a great extent on “The French Connection.”

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Roizman’s color palette in “Pelham” is subdued. Roizman and Sargent capture the essence of 1970s New York City, a city alive with character and feeling above and below the street.

Combine that with a memorable film score by composer David Shire, including a stylish main them in which he uses a thumping, repetitive bass to mimic the rhythm of a subway train, and you have a film that becomes a perfect thriller.

I should also note an impressive cast that includes Matthau, Shaw (one year before his best role as Quint in “Jaws”), Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo and Jerry Stiller – all of whom do top-notch work.

“The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” is such an influential film that Quentin Tarantino borrowed one of its main plot devices for his breakthrough hit “Reservoir Dogs.” Like “Pelham,” the criminals in “Reservoir Dogs” refer to each other as colors rather than their real name (Mr. White, Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, etc.).

MGM released “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” on Blu-ray disc in a pristine high-definition transfer; you can buy it exclusively at Best Buy. You can rent the film through Netflix; you also can stream it to your computer or TV in high definition through Netflix. The film is rated R for violence and profanity.





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