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

[Harry-N]

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3 has long been a favorite of mine. I remember buying a commercial VHS tape of it to upgrade from the over-the-cable version I'd taped. And later I bought the letterboxed LaserDisc version of it, which is what I have to this day.

It's one of the movies I've meant to upgrade to DVD, but just hadn't gotten around to. The problem is, now that I have a 16:9 large-screen HDTV, I'm not sure I want the DVD that's out there, as I don't think it's anamorphic.

Is there any hope of this title being revisited?

Harry

 

[Joe Fisher]

No it's not. I would upgrade this one in a second for a 16x9 enhanced version.

 

[Micah Cohen]

Wow. Two other people know about this amazing film? What a disappointment the DVD is, but, I guess it's the best we'll get. :frowning:

It's very important that we have overblown multi-disc special editions of truly important films like DODGE BALL, AMERICAN PIE, THE MUMMY and ELEKTRA, tho.

"I once had a man shot for talking to me like that."

MC

 

[Kenny Neal]

Here's a review I wrote for dvdangle.com (back where there was a dvdangle.com):

Title: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Reviewed by: Kenny Neal
Reviewed on: November 12, 2001
Category: Action

Video Format: 2.35:1 Widescreen
Audio Format: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Mono)
DVD Format: SS-SL
Language Tracks: English, French, Spanish
Subtitle Tracks: French, Spanish
Length: 124 minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: May 1, 2001
Packaging: Keep Case
Region Code: 1
Studio: MGM
Catalog Number: 908375

Grades & Ratings:

Audio: 2.5
Video: 3.5
Extras: 1.0
Menus: 3.25
ROM: n/a
Movie: 4.0

Expectations & Reactions:

In the '70s, the best gritty "cops and robbers" films took place in New York, with the Big Apple at the height of its tough and dangerous reputation. While by no means glamorizing the city, Serpico, The French Connection, and Dog Day Afternoon were powerful films that helped boost a failing economy through filming permits under Mayor John Lindsey's administration (the "I Love New York" campaign had yet to make the scene).

1974's The Taking of Pelham One Two Three hasn't achieved the iconic status of those pictures (despite a rabid cult following), probably because of its relatively low-key action and unconventional cast. But make no mistake: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three contains a smart and efficient script, effective tension and drama, and colorful performances by a strong ensemble of character actors. Yes, the movie is dated with racial and gender epithets, hopelessly inefficient communications equipment, and horribly wide ties, but all of that is tangent to the main focus of the film: a gripping showdown of nerves and wits between two intelligent actors – stoic and calculating Robert Shaw against laconic and sarcastic Walter Matthau – surrounded by the staggering bureaucracy and profane charm only New York could offer.

The DVD release of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three was fairly low key – I doubt anyone who wasn't already a fan was even aware the film was released in the Spring of 2001 (or that it wasn't available before then). MGM is offering this catalog cult favorite in a no-nonsense DVD presentation, with a non-anamorphic widescreen transfer and no special extras beyond a theatrical trailer – is the DVD worth its budget-conscious price?

Look & Listen:

I've never seen The Taking of Pelham One Two Three in a pan and scan format, but I can only imagine how much atmosphere would be lost, and just how claustrophobic the viewing experience would be given that so much of it takes place either in the subway car, in the tunnels, or in the Transit Authority communications center. Preserving the Panavision 2.35:1 widescreen original aspect ratio allows the proper balance and scope of the cinematography, and is reason enough to upgrade from VHS.

Unfortunately, MGM does not present the film in an anamorphic transfer. This is a shame, as an anamorphic transfer would have increased the detail and clarity on 16:9 televisions, but keep in mind that this is a gritty '70s crime drama, and much of the drab look is intentional. Colors were intentionally desaturated and muted (primarily drawing from a spectrum of grays, browns and pale institutional greens – all except for Matthau's blazing yellow tie). Despite the toned-down colors, there is adequate contrast in the picture. There is some grain present, particularly in the plentiful dark tunnel scenes, but it is not excessive or distracting. An anamorphic transfer would have been nice (as Fox's "Five-Star" treatment of The French Connection demonstrates), but the lack thereof doesn't detract from the acceptable presentation.

Flesh tones are very natural looking, and in keeping with the practical fluorescent and subway emergency lighting. Blacks are frequently deep, but not perfect. The documentary-influenced look of the film (as you'd expect with some of the tunnel shots, the foreground is dark and the actors in these scenes are often backlit, appropriately obscuring detail) is part of what creates the kinetic tension, as there is often very little action taking place in the frame.

Dirt and scratches in the source print appear far less than one might expect, and are not distracting. Digitally, MGM has done a good job in presenting a solid transfer – there isn’t any evidence of macroblocking or noise, just minor flaws in the source material. Softening (to reduce grain) and edge-enhancement (to restore crispness to a softened picture) seems minimal, if used at all.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is supported effectively by Dolby 2.0 mono audio, with clear dialogue (important for a talky movie) and a surprisingly satisfying dynamic range in the score. David Shire's ultra-funky twelve-tone compositions are a favorite among soundtrack collectors, and there is ample bass response to support the pounding percussion and growling low brass. The score could have benefited spatially from a stereo mix, but it's largely incidental and mood setting, and never gets in the way of the actors (a release of the complete soundtrack on Retrograde Records notes that the original session tapes are presumed lost, though Shire managed to save scratch reels, some in stereo). It's possible some of the film's atmosphere (ambience in the Transit Authority office, chaos on the subway car, trains panning across the stereo field) could have been enhanced by a two or even five-channel mix, but as some argue early Beatles recordings sound better in their original mono, an overly-active mix isn't really necessary, and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three works just fine as is.

Extras & Highlights:

Well... keep in mind that there are some films we should just be happy to have on DVD (it's the end of 2001 and Serpico is still unavailable, for instance). For supplements, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three DVD contains a worn and faded (but very exciting) 2:35:1 theatrical trailer, as well as mono French and Spanish language tracks and captions (no English captions or subtitles are offered). There is a superficially informative booklet that speaks largely to the production logistics, and that's it. Hardly the "Five-Star" treatment The French Connection received, but hey, I'm still thankful it made MGM's release schedule.

Menus & Interface:

Bare-bones features or not, MGM has created nice static menus consisting of monochrome stills from the film and bold color graphics. A nice but tantalizing touch is a stereo mix of Shire's main theme looped under the main menu (listening to the main menu, particularly with headphones, demonstrates how this great music could have been better). The chapter selection and language screens utilize similarly-themed graphics, but are silent. The film is divided into thirty-two chapters, each featuring a still from the corresponding scene on the chapter selection menus.

Storyline & Syllabus:

Four armed men, the commanding Mr. Blue, the sneezing Mr. Green, the violent Mr. Gray and the stuttering Mr. Brown (Tarantino fans, take note of the naming convention), dressed in similar and nondescript disguises, board a New York City IRT subway train (the train that departed from Pelham station in the Bronx at 1:23pm). They quickly and efficiently hijack the first car and its passengers, releasing the remaining cars and riders. The situation gradually reveals itself to the incredulous subway authorities and transit police, and the cold and professional Mr. Blue states his demands: The city is to deliver one million dollars within one hour. The hijackers will execute one hostage for each minute the money is late. As Lt. Garber of the Transit Authority begins the negotiations and battle of wits with Mr. Blue, will the Mayor's office agree to pay? And if so, will the money get there on time? Is there possibly an undercover cop on board? And just how do the hijackers plan to escape?

Cast & Crew:

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three features a strong ensemble of character actors, most known (or to be known) for other roles, including Walter Matthau (The Odd Couple), Dick O'Neill (numerous TV and film appearances – you'll recognize him), and Jerry Stiller (Seinfeld) as the good guys, and Robert Shaw (Jaws), Martin Balsam (Psycho), Hector Elizondo (Pretty Woman), and Earl Hindman (Home Improvement) as the bad guys.

The film was directed by Joseph Sargent, based on the best-selling novel by John Godey, and features David Shire's funkalicious score.

Conclusions & Afterthoughts:

Action movie fans unfamiliar with The Taking of Pelham One Two Three would do well to try it out – there is an appealing realism that is missing from action thrillers today. The hero cop doesn't have a child or ex-wife on the train to motivate him; he's just doing his job (the most action Matthau sees in this film is a little collar-grabbing and snarling to convince his colleague that the situation is serious). The bad guy has no diabolical grand plan or mad lust to bring the world to its knees; he just wants the cash (a quaint million, split four ways). There are no eye-candy explosions, gratuitous shoot-outs (there's a little gunplay, but it furthers the plot) or final grappling showdown on the roof of the speeding train, just a bad guy with a plan, and a cop who uses his head to try to figure it out.

I'll put it another way: Die Hard + (Speed x Money Train) + Reservior Dogs – Rambo (or any Steven Segal movie) = The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.

For all of the DVD's missed possibilities (an anamorphic transfer, a more meticulous clean-up of the film elements, a 5.1 or at least stereo remix, more robust and informative extras…how about a commentary track from Hector Elizondo and Jerry Stiller?), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a must-have disc for fans of '70s crime dramas and New York films. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three stands up well with its better-known contemporaries, and MGM's widescreen presentation is completely acceptable. Perhaps MGM will revisit the film in the future with some of these enhancements, perhaps not. In the meantime, this is a solid (but not flashy) DVD of a great flick. If you're a fan of the film, you shouldn't pass on this disc.

 

[Harry-N]

Thanks for the review. Perhaps this one will be on my "to buy" list even with its shortcomings. I suppose it will at least be a small upgrade from the LaserDisc.

Harry

 

[Dave Mack]

Great "old school" NYC flick. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Poll: How soon til' the inevitable remake??

d

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I love this film, and if there is ever to be another version of it on DVD, that'll be another double dip for me, I'm afraid...

 

[walter o]

They already remade it for TV couple of years ago.

 

[R. Kay]

Edward James Olmos was in a TV remake a few years ago.

Not bad, but no comparison to the Matthau original.

 

[Francois Caron]

I had the Laserdisc version years ago and the DVD version appears to be a port of the Laserdisc transfer; I don't know if a decent print of the movie still exists today that the studio can use to make a proper anamorphic widescreen transfer. But if you can find the existing DVD edition at a bargain price, it's worth purchasing just to watch a really great movie.

 

[Dave Mack]

Wow. Didn't even hear of the remake...

 

[Joe Karlosi]

There's a reason you never heard of the remake - it was horrid through and through.

 

[Vincent_P]

Presumably, the widescreen laserdisc was mastered from a 35mm interpositive or some other pre-print element, so why wouldn't they be able to remaster it in anamorphic? Why would you assume the elements are lost?

Vincent

 

[Harry-N]

I've decided to go ahead and get the existing DVD while it's still around. At least the DVD should be reasonably free of any analog 'noise' present in the LaserDisc picture.

Harry

 

[walter o]

Francois,

I compared it with my LD, and they are both diffrent transfers For some odd reason, the LD has a small bit of "over matting" at the bottom despite being a widescreen 2:35 OAR, while the DVD fixed this problem, as it has more images at the bottom. I then compared it with my old Fox video tape, and you get a small amount of image on bottom over the LD, while again, the DVD you get the bottom. Odd......

 

[Francois Caron]

Is it possible a master was made with no matting, and all the video releases added different matting in their respective versions? If your system is properly calibrated for both Laserdisc and DVD playback, aside from the matting do both transfers appear similar in color and contrast?

 

[walter o]

Francois, I do not have a widescreen tv or anything,but in terms of image quality, only difference is the Ld has that "fleshy" color tone that many MGM LD has, while the DVD is much more sharper, more colors.

 

[Damin J Toell]

Of course, it can only happen to other films if they, too, had rare alternate 70mm roadshow versions. I think The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 is safe from that particular problem. Indeed, the vast majority of modern films don't suffer any sort of problem along those line at all. Odds are heavily in favor of there being pristine early-generation elements available for Taking. Just because we don't have a new anamorphic transfer of a film on DVD, it's a bit much to wonder if the film is lost.

DJ

 

[Micah Cohen]

Wow again. Look at all the people who even know about this great, secret love of mine, PELHAM 123...


Shhhhhh. Quiet. Tim Burton or Steven Soderberg or some other copycat may hear you and do a big budget, updated remake. Which would inevitably SUCK, since Robert Shaw is pretty much dead and unavailable to reprise his role.

Except that if they make a stupid big budget remake we might get a special edition DVD of the original.

MC

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

The Japanese DVD listed at CD Japan states that a "commentary" - what's that all about?!



Can any of our Japanese members translate what the red sticker says?

The German and French editions are listed as anamorphic/16:9. I cannot locate reviews for them; does anyone here have either of them? I'll post on the Regional DVD Forum, also.