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| The Taking Of Pelham 123 [1974] | ![The Taking Of Pelham 123 [1974]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518TD6RQY9L._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Joseph Sargent
Actors: Walter Matthau, Lee Wallace, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo
Studio: MGM Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £12.99
Buy New: £4.98
You Save: £8.01 (62%)
New (8) from £4.30
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 4716
Format: Dubbed, Pal
Languages: Danish (Subtitled), Dutch (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), German (Subtitled), Italian (Subtitled), Norwegian (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Swedish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Dubbed), German (Dubbed), Italian (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Running Time: 100 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5050070007909
ASIN: B000063BMF
Theatrical Release Date: 1974
Release Date: April 29, 2002
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 The Best of 74 November 21, 2008
This is without question one of the best thrillers of the decade. Unique I feel in the genre for its mix of comedy and violence. Similar but superior to Arthur Hillers much underrated Silver Streak.The combination of the world weary Walter Mattau and Roberts Shaws ice cold crook is I feel the balance that makes the film work so well. The supporting cast are all excellent including Ben Stillers dad Jerry. Any completists reading this you have to buy this DVD and give it pride of place in your thriller collection.
 Great 1970s Hijack film August 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The hijack story was prevalent in the 1970s but it was of course always planes. we now know that hi jacking planes can be a deadly activity with 9/11.
The imagination of writers is a thing to behold. The films starts with the incredulity of the train operators who laugh at the idea of someone trying to hijack a subway train.
As one characters say " Let them keep it we have plenty of them". The hijacking was easy enough and the story builds as it centres not on the hostages who we do not get to know as individuals.
No one was worked out how after they have got the money how they are going to escape. they are trapped in a tunnel and their every move is being monitored from above.
It is all about how the authorities react to the crisis.The gang themselves are all dressed in the same disguise and use the code names of colours as used by Tarantino in Reservoir Dogs.
The Walter Matthau character says the main hijack has a " Heavy British accent and must be a fruitcake". I am not sure the two are connected by Robert Shaw makes a menacing hijacker who you really believe will kill all the hostages if he does to get what he wants.
Usually with these thrillers you run out of interest as to how it is to get resolved but this one keeps up the tension . Your interest transfers as to how the hijackers are going to get away rather than how the hostages are going to survive.
The tension and unfolding plot keeps you riveted and you really want to know how it ends and the plot keeps going right up to the last second.
A great film and worthy of many viewings. It is up there with Day of the Jackal and Capricorn one. Highly recommended. They have a remake in production. It will be interesting to see even with today's filming skills they can make it better.
It is just a well written story with good characters and does not need special effects or CGI.
There is plenty of underlying humour and when one of the hijackers offers a quarter of a million dollar bribe Walter Matthau say" I am sorry my accountant say I should not accept any more receipts this fiscal quarter." Very funny.
Top Class Thriller May 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I watched this movie again recently after a number of years and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Everything about the movie shines- the settings, script, performances and music. It rattles along at a fast pace. A lot happens in the less than 2 hours running time. Nowadays every "serious" film has to be at least 2 hours for some reason. To sell more popcorn perhaps?
Matthau is excellent as the deadpan Subway police chief who tries to make the best of a nightmare situation. Shaw excels as the ruthless mercneary who came up wih the plan. Supporting performances from Balsam etc are also top notch.
I think a native New Yorker would appreciate the film even more as it is full of typical NY dry wit. The scenes with the the panic stricken mayor are brilliantly funny and examples of the brilliant humour that run through the film.
Undoubtedly an underrated classic from the seventies opening theme music to the brilliant ending.
A real must-see thriller! May 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you've not seen it, this is a film to take you by surprise, a true thriller - taut and simple. Taken from the novel of the previous year, it packs a punch where many in a similar vein (not least the remake) fail miserably.
Shaw's gang have a plan, the first component of which is to hijack a subway train, catching transport police unawares and leaving grizzled veteran Walter Matthau to do the spadework, guess the motives and anticipate what will happen next.
This is chessgame of a thriller, not unlike French Connection and Day of the Jackal in concept. You know, or at least suspect, that the baddies won't get away with their prize, but the suspense is ratcheted up gradually so every claustrophobic move in the game is totally riveting and played to a T by all members of the cast.
If in hindsight it looks a bit dated, we are talking about a film now 34 years old, but don't let that put you off. This is a must-see!
Udderrated Thriller with a Class Cast May 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Taking of Pelham 123 is a standout 1970s thriller for several reasons: It was well acted, had a taut and funny script, and it was welL directed with a music score that was enjoyable in its own right like so many of the better pictures made in that era. If I have any complaint, it was that the opening sequence lacks a little pace and the hijackers seem lacksadaisical as they actually apprehend the train. But then that was the whole point. Pelham 1-2-3 isn't so much hijacked as "taken", much in fact as you would take candy from a baby, and only possible because no one saw it coming. After all, as the train master himself remarks, "What the hell would anyone want to hijack a godamn subway train for?" So total is everyone's disbelief that a station supervisor, in a fit of pique, marches petulantly down the track in a misguided attempt to resolve the matter. "Why don't you go grab a goddamn aeroplane like everybody else?" he demands to know as he reaches the scene of the crime. And that's where the action really takes off.
The lack of gimmicks and whizz bang special is a relief in this feature. You really don't miss them, the director having clearly opted for down to earth realism over cheap minute by minute thrills in a ticker tape profile depiction of fast-paced New York City life in the 70s that is at once credible, endearing and highly entertaining.
Pelham 123 is a perfect example of what a highly polished director and a highly competent cast can do to a very good script in an otherwise average story with low level special effects. Kudos to the director and to Matthau, Shaw and Balsam among several others who put in excellent acting performances.
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