Infinitely superior to the overly busy and somewhat ridiculous 2009 remake, the 1974 version of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a slick, lean action thriller with quite a few fascinating New York character types and a compelling plot that makes the most of its tension-filled and (at the time) unique structure. The film’s climax is something of a letdown after the momentous build-up it receives, but even with that small anomaly, there are plenty of moments to savor in this gritty thriller that feels and sounds like the real New York of the period.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) (Blu-ray)
Directed by Joseph Sargent
Studio: MGM
Year: 1974
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 104 minutes
Rating: R
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono; Dolby Digital 2.0 mono Spanish, French
Subtitles: SDH, French
Region: A
MSRP: $ 19.99
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Review Date: November 17, 2011
The Film
4/5
Four men armed with machine guns led by the no-nonsense Mr. Blue (Robert Shaw) hijack the Pelham One Two Three subway car and demand a million dollars ransom for the seventeen passengers still on board. The Transit Authority Police is headed by the cool and collected Lt. Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau), but both men have their hands full dealing with underlings. Blue must contend with a psychotic former mob hit man (Hector Elizondo) with his itchy trigger finger while Garber is busy keeping his transit center co-workers in line, trying to get the mayor’s office to make the deal, and finding a way to extend the one hour time limit given to him by the hijackers.
The script by the always terrific Peter Stone (who wrote Charade among other wonderful things) has been adapted from the novel by John Godey, and includes two fascinating hooks that will offer surprising payoffs later in the movie: we find out fairly early that there’s a plain clothes police officer on board as one of the hostages, and the point is made several times that the subway car is underground so even when the crooks get their money, how will they escape with no place to go? We see the outcomes of these queries late in the film (with a final twist that one can see coming now but likely offered a surprise for audiences of the day), but before that occurs, we’re subjected to some excellently directed scenes by Joseph Sargent (who had won an Emmy for the similarly flavored New York crime drama The Marcus-Nelson Murders which led to the Kojak series). He expertly establishes the feisty quality of the New Yorkers on the subway train (at first they laugh in the faces of the hijackers) and stages and films the wild chases through the Big Apple streets with great economy as the deadline clock ticks down. There is a great deal of R-rated language which at the time was likely repellant to some moviegoers, but there is less violence here than one might expect from a thriller from the early-to-mid 1970s (after The Godfather, there didn’t seem to be much restraint with on-screen violence).
Walter Matthau is the real surprise here soft-pedaling the wisecracks and playing his role as a thinking man’s transit cop with admirable restraint. Robert Shaw is likewise more in control as the plan’s mastermind reminiscent of his Doyle Lonnegan in The Sting. Hector Elizondo gets to show off his psychologically darker side as the itching-to-kill mobster. Lee Wallace as the milquetoast mayor provides some fun comic relief (Doris Roberts as his wife clearly pulls many of the strings behind the scenes) while Tony Roberts soberly plays the power behind the throne as the deputy mayor. Martin Balsam as the former motorman who lends his expertise to the hijack plan provides a crucial piece of the puzzle while Kenneth McMillan, Jerry Stiller, and Tom Pedi lend their own New York-flavored wise guy banter to enhance the atmosphere of their tough-talking transit authority figures.
Video Quality
4/5
The film’s Panavision theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in 1080p using the AVC codec. Though there are some occasional soft scenes, much of the image quality is quite sharp and detailed. With all of the tight line structures of the underground tracks, it’s admirable that there isn’t any aliasing on display in the image, and there are only a few stray dust specks. Color is nicely saturated without ever threatening to become overly rich retaining the gritty feel for the New York of that era that one would expect to see. Flesh tones are rendered quite realistically. Black levels, however, are only fair and are the transfer’s weakest element. The film has been divided into 32 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound mix does an excellent job of combining the well recorded dialogue, the sound effects, and David Shire’s dynamic score into a solid entity. There are no age-related artifacts like hiss or crackling to distract from the audio track, and one only wishes sound design of the era had routinely given more attention to the aural resonance that such a thriller might have afforded an audience with more advanced sound design.
Special Features
1/5
The film’s theatrical trailer is presented in 1080p and runs for 2 ½ minutes.
In Conclusion
3.5/5 (not an average)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a wonderful example of a crime thriller of the period and features excellent acting and an intriguing storyline that doles out its surprises carefully and without undue bombast. The disc may lack much in the way of bonus material, but its audio and video are solid encodes that fans of the film will be sure to enjoy.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
