Batutta
Major Contributor
This used to be a Netflix thread, but I decided to start it over to broaden it, as there are more online viewing options these days. Finally got around to seeing the 1974 Taking of Pelham 123 on iTunes. I liked it from the first note of music. This is one of those movies that is the prototype for every other movie in its genre, which is 'terrorists take a location over and demand a ransom'. It's an entertaining, tightly plotted thriller about terrorists who hold a subway train hostage, its impact only undercut by the sheer amount of subsequent movies that have ripped it off. Tarantino lifted the color coded names of the terrorists for Reservoir Dogs, as well as some of the character dynamics (namely the sadistic hothead who screws everything up). Die Hard copied the cool, intelligent foreign mastermind who's plotted everything down to the second and is always ten steps ahead of the heroes, as well as the blue collar underdog hero who saves the day. Speed lifted the hostages in an out of control vehicle. Robert Shaw is great as the mastermind. Walter Matthau is surprisingly effective as the beleaguered Transit Enforcement chief, who is borderline incompetent at times, mildly racist, and never once seems on top of things until the end. The supporting cast is also great, including an amusing Jerry Stiller, a creepy portrayal by Hector Elizondo, and the hostages who aren't just anonymous faces. The directing is slick, the editing perfectly paced. The anamorphic cinematography by Owen Roizman has verve and energy, and makes 70's New York look like the grimy hell hole that it was. The dialogue is snappy, and the score by David Shire is fantastic. I can't get the main theme out of my head, it's pure, dick swinging aggression and danger. Recommended viewing. The biggest criticism is that if you've seen a lot of action movies, the tropes this movie created might seem like old hat.