The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

The Taking of Pelham: One Two Three
Director: Joseph Sargent


I chose to view The Taking of Pelham: One Two Three because I wanted to see if it compared to the remake which was done in 2010. There were so many difference with the two films, although they shared the same title. That itself was different in my opinion because in the original, the numbers are actually spelled out versus numerically written in the remake. We are familiar with the actor Denzel Washington who was featured in the remake of the 1974 classic and who was the main person in charge of speaking to the kidnappers of the train. His job duty in the film was a chief transportation officer but in the original, the star of the film and negotiator, Walter Matthau,  was an actual transist police officer.

One of the other changes I found within the two movies was in the original, all except one of the hijackers were killed and the one who lived managed to escape and almost get away with the crime. Matthau's character found the suspect, questioned him and realized he was one of the hijackers after remembering the constant sneezing he did over the radio. From a filming perspective, this was a very good movie and I think they used all the rescources available during that time to bring this picture to life. Since this movie was made only 9 to 11 years after the Civil Rights Movement, the use of the word Nigger was used a great deal when referring to the African American character on the hijacked train.

Overall I would highly recommend this movie and encourage others to compare it to the remake. The plot was great and the actors were whom we consider historical A List actors. I would definitely watch this movie again because it was just that good!