By ERIC RED
SEE
RED’S IMDb PROFILE HERE
TAKING OF PELHAM 123
(1974)
Director: Joseph Sargent.
Writer: Peter Stone. .
Based
on the novel by John Godey.
Cast: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo.
For nonstop excitement and relentless edge of the seat
suspense, this no bullshit 70’s urban crime thriller delivers the goods.
Four dangerous heavily armed gunmen hijack a New York City subway train
filled with passengers, demanding a million dollars ransom delivered in exactly
one hour or they will execute a hostage for every minute the money is late.
A compassionate and pressurized transit cop (Walter Matthau)
desperately struggles to negotiate with the cold blooded and ruthless leader
(Robert Shaw) of the gang to secure the ransom against an impossible deadline.
As the police fight bureaucratic red tape in a race against time to meet
the criminals’ demands, the question is how the four hoods plan to make their
getaway from an underground subway tunnel. Atmospherically shot entirely on
location in the transit system of Manhattan, this fast-paced film remains a
textbook example of a clean, taut, efficient thriller.
I won’t really give away any spoilers to ruin the story for
you, but memorable scenes of the film include the hijackers’ suspenseful
taking of the train in which the audience shares the passengers’ escalating
terror….A startling police car chase through lower Manhattan as the cops rush
to deliver the money to the hijackers with seconds to spare that ends in a
shocking surprise…A fatal showdown involving an electrified third rail…The
terrifying sequence with passengers trapped in a subway train with no driver,
plunging through the tunnels at impossible speed, unable to stop…Plus the
greatest movie sneeze ever and one of those fantastic ‘70’s abrupt final
second freeze frame endings!
Joseph Sargent directs with dynamic realism, loading the film
with exciting detail and getting great performances from the top cast.
Walter Matthau departs from comedy to play a believable tough cop here,
but brings a refreshing dose of humor to the character.
Robert Shaw (“JAWS”) steals the film as the menacing and methodical
leader of the hijackers, a pitiless criminal mastermind without an ounce of
humanity, whose every move is executed with chilling clockwork precision (this
quintessentially New York film got a lot of mileage by making the main bad guy
British). The tense war of wits
over the subway radio between the Shaw’s icy ex-mercenary soldier and
Matthau’s hassled, gregarious and humane transit cop is the film’s dramatic
highlight.
Equally well-developed are the conflicts between the
hijackers themselves. Shaw’s confrontation with one of his gang, a rebellious
psychotic hot head (Hector Elizondo), threatens to explode in violence at any
moment and mess everything up. And there’s the subway motorman hijacker
(Martin Balsam) with the problematic cold, who is having second thoughts about
killing the hostages as the grim deadline looms.
All the hijackers strike iconic figures, clad in identical overcoats,
hats, false mustaches and glasses, packing sub machine guns.
They go by the names Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey and Mr.
Brown, an idea “rimaged” (my word for rip off/homage) in “RESEVOIR
DOGS.” The hostages are an
entertainingly clichéd cross section of New York types, including an Hooker, an
Old Jewish Man, a Pimp, a Hippie (remember those?) a Latino woman and her little
kids, and a homeless woman who sleeps through the whole thing.
One of the hostages we learn is an undercover cop packing heat, but who?
“THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123” is brilliant technically, containing some of the
best camerawork I’ve ever seen. The
widescreen cinematography by DP Owen Roizman (“THE EXORCIST” and “THE
FRENCH CONNECTION”) is sensationally realistic, fluid and dynamic.
The look of this film was years ahead of its time with its use of mobile
anamorphic framing and long lenses, which years later became the signature look
of action films like “DIE HARD.”
“PELHAM” makes great use of “source lighting,” where
the actual “practical” ambient lighting units like fluorescents in the
subway tunnels and train cars are partially used to light the film, providing
tremendous visual verisimilitude for the audience.
It looks real, because it is. The
long focal length lenses with their characteristics of low depth of field and
selective focus bring moody dimension to the images that pull the audience
inside the frame. Best of all, the
anamorphic scope format here utilizes the brute powerful effects of flares and
backlight that other widescreen formats like Super 35 don’t provide. (Seriously, anyone who thinks HD or DV cinematography can
hold a foot-candle to shooting on film emulsion needs to see this picture to
understand the clear image superiority of shooting on film).
Movies don’t get better shot than this.
The music kicks ass. David
Shire’s unique hard-hitting urban jazz/rock instrumental score propel the film
forwards with its jaunty, pounding brass and percussion beat.
It’s one of most exciting and distinctive film scores I’ve ever
heard, as good as Isaac Hayes’ famous theme for “SHAFT.”
Of course, the film’s got a terrific script.
This was a rare case of the movie being better than the book.
Peter Stone’s screenplay stripped down and reengineered John Godey’s
mediocre crime novel into a model of an efficient, no frills procedural
thriller. The script wastes no time
with back-story and takes place in real time, like the TV series “24.”
It presents the situation as it is going down, step by step, and
character comes out of action.
“THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123” has its flaws. There’s an
idiotic subplot involving the wimpy indecisive Mayor played for cheap laughs
unworthy of the picture. This
section is redeemed only by Tony Roberts’ charismatic and funny performance as
the bullying, beleaguered deputy mayor who is really running the city.
Plus, the film is somewhat dated with its wardrobe and attitudes.
And the secondary characters are sometimes too broad as “New Yawk”
stereotypes. But honestly, who
gives a shit?
Among its many virtues, this film is a prime example of the
power of location filming. You
can’t beat shooting on location for realism, color and production value.
“THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123” is one the great supremely exciting
1970’s New York genre films that included “THE FRENCH CONNECTION” and
“THE WARRIORS,” and they shot ‘em on the streets.
If you don’t like this movie, take the bus.
See ya next month, gang.