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The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3, anamorphic? (1 Viewer)

Micah Cohen

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Um, DAYS OF THUNDER anyone?

And, is that Tony Scott I see also remaking THE WARRIORS? Hey! Are there NO ORIGINAL IDEAS LEFT in Hollywood ever? I mean, why remake a film as compact, pointed, and of-its-time as PELHAM? Anything you do to it will lessen it, even with Denzel -- THE MIGHTY QUINN anyone? THE BONE COLLECTOR?

Oh well. I guess it's wrong of me to consider anything a sacred cow. And someone on this board will chime in and say that THE BONE COLLECTOR, or DAYS OF THUNDER for that matter, was a masterpiece! But... Travolta for Robert Shaw?

Remaking PELHAM, to me, as a New Yorker who grew up with this vision of The City, is an act of hatred.

Blah.

I'll hope and pray to the sacred cow gods for a merely anamorphic re-release of the original film on DVD. I'll ignore the remake and cuddle alone in the dark with my original film (which is a masterpiece). And to anyone who has not seen the original, please (please!) see it before you see... the remake.

Nuts!

MC
 

Robert Crawford

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Micah,
Come on, you can do better than coming up with films made 10-20 years ago.
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There are no sacred cows when it comes to film appreciation and you're right, I liked "The Bone Collector", but I didn't really care for "Days of Thunder", but I haven't seen that title since 1990 or so.
 

Micah Cohen

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I'm just steamed, ya know; not thinking clearly, convinced that the root of all of society's problems stem from our too-easy acceptance of stuff like a remake of PELHAM123. I think we could demand more and better from our filmmakers and maybe get it, instead of being spoon-fed inferior rehash that banks on us never tasting the original recipe.

Even tho I know that in the history of Hollywood things get remade, and sometimes the classic we laud is the remake of some previous attempt, I am convinced that remakes are low-hanging fruit. This is especially so in the case of films so rooted in their own history and good timing (not to mention quality filmmaking), and so influential on their own. Isn't there something else we can make a movie of? Something that won't be cheap and pandering, updated and "enhanced," when the original is just so so so good. (Three "so"s!)

I guess John Travolta et al need to pay the mortgage just like the rest of us. I'm going to make sure he doesn't get my mortgage payment for this remake, tho.

I'm just an angry guy, you know? And instead of killing coeds from the clock tower (er... wait a sec?) I grouse about remakes here on the HTF. It's like home theater therapy!

MC
 

Jay E

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I would not say awful (except for the Bone Collector which is godawful), but Denzel has made some pretty mediocre films IMO in the past few years:

Deja Vu
Man on Fire
Out of Time
Antwone Fisher
Remember the Titans
The Hurricane
The Siege

Pairing him with Tony Scott, does not make me overly enthusiastic for the remake. I am just hoping this means a new anamorphic release of the original.
 

Robert Crawford

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I guess you guys have higher film standards than I so shoot me for having poorer taste in film.
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Micah Cohen

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Hey. Denzel made me cry like a little girl in GLORY. So there.

And Tony Scott... um... Well Ridley made BLADE RUNNER, so... Yeah!

:D


MC
 

Rick Thompson

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What I've always wondered is, why do they remake what are acknowledged as classics? Nearly every one opens to general derision, is compared to the original and found lacking, and then tanks at the box office.

If you're going to do a remake, why not try something that was terrible. At least then they'll say, "Well, it's better than the original."

"Ishtar" anyone?
 

Robert Crawford

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Because in this case, beyond us film buffs and those of us that were going to movies around the time this original film was made, few of todays movie-going public knows anything about the original.
 

Sergio A

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Re-makes can be a very good thing of course - for instance, the classic Bogart version of THE MALTESE FALCON was the third adaptation of the Hammett novel by Warner Bros in ten years. And lets not forget, PELHAM 123 has already been re-made once before as a TV Movie (starring Edward James Olmos and Vincent D'Onofrio). Tony Scott is not one of my favourite directors (I do like MAN ON FIRE, which is also a remake by the way) I'll admit, but even as critically acclaimed a filmmaker as Steven Soderbergh has either directed or produced several remakes (including OCEAN'S 11 and the sequels, SOLARIS, TRAFFIC, THE UNDERNEATH, INSOMNIA, WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD, CRIMINAL) all of which have many virtues compared to the originals.

What is undeniable is that while to re-stage a Shakespeare or Checkov play is rarely criticised merely because it re-uses the original text, there has always been a tendency to play very safe when it comes to commercial, star-driven and therefore very expensive movies, which is always a bit deflating as a customer as fewer films get distributed in the cinemas. And people SHOULD be encouraged to seek out older films first before automatically plumping for a newer model. What is also true is that the Bogart FALCON and the Soderbergh OCEAN'S 11 or William Wyler's 1940 version of THE LETTER are considerably, to my mind, better than other versions in many ways, which in my book makes me very grateful for those re-makes at least. And what about the Daniel Craig CASINO ROYALE compared with the Peter Lorre or David Niven versions? I know which one I'd rather watch again. On the other hand, I don't need to see the new versions of SABRINA or ALFIE any time soon, but that's just my personal taste.

In the meantime, let's get an anamorphic re-mastered disc of the first PELHAM 123 as soon as possible please!!!
 

Robin_B

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Nothing mediocre about any of those IMO. I like Bone Collector too.

I never understand why people get so bent out of shape when an old movie is remade for a younger modern audience. Now if they were going to gather every copy of the original and burn them in a huge bonfire on the night the new version is premiered then you might have something to get upset about. That's not gonna happen. If you don't like the new version then just ignore it. It won't effect the original in any way whatsoever. I like the original and I too am looking forward to a Blu Ray release but I'll give the new version a shot too. I lose nothing.
 

cineMANIAC

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I too don't see the point in getting upset about a remake: just don't go to see it. If anything, remakes help get mediocre DVDs of the originals re-released. I'm hoping that remakes of Scanners, Motel Hell and The Stepfather, among others, help get the originals properly released.
 

Sumnernor

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This thread has cost me a small bit of money because I had to rebuy it!. I first saw "The Taking of Pelham one two three" a few years ago late at night on the german ARD TV station. I liked what I saw and bought the DVD. After reading this thread I tried to find my DVD and couldn't find it:angry: . I looked in the german stores and could not find it. Amazon.de had it but from "sellers". On the Amazon-UK site it was available for 5 pounds.I ordered it last Thursday afternoon (Feb 19) and discovered last Saturday via a tracking function that it had arrived!!!
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This PAL region DVD is 4:3 LB Widescreen 2.35:1 and has 5 languages and 9 subtitles. On my widescreen TV, I cannot increase the size because I loose the subtitles at the bottom :angry: I highly recommend this film. Many of my friends know of it. I can see that it will never be shown on network stations because of the language. I have a british friend living outside of Geneva and he doesn't know it. His son has never heard of Casablanca:eek:
 

scribe1964

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It's great to see so many fans of this great movie. I first saw it on commercial TV back in the seventies, then later on VHS and DVD. Last summer I finally saw it in a theater, at the Film Forum in NY. It was a terrific experience. The theater was full and the audience just loved it.

As for the remake, I agree with what John Huston said: they should remake bad movies that had potential (he used "The Maltese Falcon," which he wrote, as an example). I'm still waiting for a good version of Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend."
 

larryKR

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Amazon.ca has it listed for a June 9th release (sd dvd). No info given about being anamorphic.
 

Scott David

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Well, there is that Canadian DVD to be released on June 9 mentioned several posts ago that may or may not be anamorphic; it would be great to find out if it is.
 

larryKR

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Apr 24, 2006
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Foxstore.com is calling it repackaged, and yes it does have a new cover, but still no info about being anamorphic.
 

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