betty dalton Subways are subways. Nothing much changed in decades. In this story a New York City subway gets stolen and the passengers are taken hostage only to be released for 1 million dollars in ransom demand. How will they get away with it?This classic hostage flick goes back to the seventies, 1974 to be exact. Sound quality is MONO. Does everybody still even know what that means? One channel sound, when today there are 7 or more. Besides this the photography isnt grandiose either. It really has got that typical cheap early seventies feel to it, the period however Quentin Tarantino was so found of and is now going back to with his new movie. And for good reason, because in this period a lot of classics were born. And "The Taking of Pelham 123" is one of them. Although it certainly is no masterpiece. It is just a good hostage movie with excellent acting by Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw.You can also choose for the modern remake of this movie with Denzel Washington and John Travolta. I tried that myself but got bored with it within minutes. Maybe kids would love the modern version better, but if you are more of a cinephile then the seventies version is the more popular one that gets the highest ratings.Seen it many times now and besides some cheap effects and poor sound quality it is still a movie I go back to every year or so. I just love the New York cussing and complaining in it,I love the dirty New York strreets and subway and I really dig the great seventies soundtrack however bad it technically may sound in MONO lol...

ma-cortes Crafty and tense thriller about a nasty team led by a tough attacker (Robert Shaw) and his underlings (Martin Balsam , Hector Elizondo , Earl Hindman) hijack a subway car holding 17 passengers for 1 million ransom . Then , a Transit Authority Inspector (Walter Matthaw) to be communicated with them . Among the passengers are a slice of the N.Y urban life , as the occupants represent a cross-section of the metropolis : a pimp , a Puerto Rico pregnant woman , a hooker , a mother with his small children , a Wasp , a homosexual , a hippie , an African-American , and an undercover cop . As authorities are determined to pay the money and get thing over . A fast and stylish movie with very fine pacing that keeps things on the edge of your seat . Top-notch action movie , if slightly mechanical in which some passengers are kidnapped with a juicy million dollar ransom in mind . A sincere and well-meaning screenplay , as Peter Stone's snappy script hardly needs to resort to the foul-mouthed language it sometimes uses . The movie retains a fascination and attractive the way others 70's films did . The pace of the thriller aspect is unflagging , as the roles are unerringly drawn from a masterful casting . An all-star-cast lends powerful interpretations to this fascinating movie . Over-the-range Walter Matthaw who chews up the scenery as the railway security chief and saviour of the system ; he harks back his early performance days as a tough man with a Bronx accent . And Robert Shaw is invaluable as the grim heavy as well as two-fisted thief leader . Riveting support cast is frankly excellent , such as James Broderick , Doris Roberts , Julius Harris , Kenneth McMillan , and best of the rest : Dick O'Neill , Jerry Stiller and Tony Roberts as a straight-talking deputy mayor , among others . New cinematic techniques used by the great cameraman Owen Roizman defies shadowy along the dark underground like never before . Thrilling and moving musical score by David Shire in Lalo Schifrin style .This nail-biting and heart-pounding motion picture was compellingly directed by Joseph Sargent , without a doubt one of the best movies of the seventies . Sargent directed as TV as cinema films with enjoyable results . Desperate , swift , nimble realization from Sargent who has made some of television's finest hours , it's been a monster hit in the 70s . Joseph made all kinds of genres , such as Comedy : ¨Coast to coast¨, ¨Tribes¨; Court-room drama : ¨Never forget¨ ; Sports : ¨Golden girl¨ ; Sci-Fi: ¨Colossus the forbidden Project¨ ; Biography : ¨MacArthur¨ , ¨Abraham¨, ¨Manions of America¨, ¨Mandela and Klerk¨ , ¨Arturo Sandoval story¨ , ¨WWII when lions roared¨; Terror : ¨Nightmares¨, ¨Jaws, the revenge¨ ; Drama : ¨The incident¨, ¨A lesson before dying¨ , ¨Passion Flower¨ ; Novels adaptation : ¨Dostoevsky's Crime and punishment¨ ; Western : ¨Streets of Laredo¨ , and action ¨while lightning¨ and this one .

Woodyanders New York City. Four armed men hijack a subway train and hold the passengers hostage for a million dollars ransom. It's up to crusty veteran transit detective Lt. Zachary Garber (a marvelously cantankerous performance by Walter Matthau) to maintain order while pandemonium erupts all around him.Director Joseph Sargent keeps the gripping story racing along at a breathless swift pace, generates plenty of nerve-wracking tension, and offers a pungent evocation of 1970's New York City in all its brash, loud, rude, and seedy glory. Peter Stone's tightly constructed script provides loads of choice cynical humor and has a refreshing dearth of pretense. Robert Shaw as ruthless ringleader Mr. Blue makes for a great coldblooded and calculating villain; he receives sturdy support from Martin Balsam as the antsy Mr. Green, Hector Elizondo as the volatile Mr. Grey, and Earl Hindman as hulking brute Mr. Brown. Moreover, there are sound contributions from Dick O'Neill as huffy desk train master Frank Correll, Lee Wallace as the whiny flu-stricken mayor, Tom Pedi as irascible railroad boss Caz Dolowicz, Jerry Stiller as the laid-back Lt. Rico Patrone, Kenneth McMillan as a no-nonsense borough commander, Tony Roberts as sensible deputy mayor Warren LaSalle, Julius Harris as the hard-nosed Inspector Daniels, and Nathan George as noble patrolman Jones. Further enhanced by Owen Roizman's crisp widescreen cinematography, given an extra kinetic kick by David Shire's driving'n'dynamic score, and topped off by a priceless last image, this honey rates highly as one of the all-time best and most exciting nail-biters from the gloriously gritty 1970's.

Wizard-8 I found an old copy of the original John Godey novel when I was a teenager, and after reading it I immediately sought out the first filmed version of the novel. I remember thinking the movie followed the novel fairly well. Decades later, I found a DVD copy of the movie in my local library, and decided to give it another look. While my memories of the novel have faded, I thought the movie was still a great thriller. There isn't a wasted moment - it gets right to business very quickly, and the rest of the movie unfolds at a brisk (but wisely not TOO fast) speed. The cast is very good, with Robert Shaw finding the right tone to portray a bad guy who is very smart and dangerous. Walter Matthau also does well in a mostly serious role, though he adds some subtle humor to his words on occasion to make sure the movie doesn't get too serious for its own good. Definitely a lot better than the remake with John Travolta, which was too slick and loud for its own good.