Taking of Pelham 1-2-3
by Joseph Sargent
Our Price: $9.98
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $1.49 (click here)
Category: VHS Video
See more movie releases
Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Product details
Actor: Earl Hindman, Hector Elizondo, Martin Balsam, Robert Shaw, Walter MatthauDirector: Joseph Sargent
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
Running Time: 104 minutes
Release Date: 1996-07-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
VHS Movie Reviews of Taking of Pelham 1-2-3
Movie Review: Caricatures-not characters
Summary: 1 Stars
The NYCTransit was not like this in 1971. You couldn't have pulled off this caper. Again-a 70's heist that has no thought, no plan, on how to get away clean. A disgruntled TA employee goes back to his house to await capture while rolling in cash. A nutcase gangmember puts everyone at risk from momemt 1. Another laughable 70's nyc movie without the advantage of showing old ny. Caricatures not characters inhabit the` supporting parts. Movie Review: "Strap-Hangin' Good"
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the most tense and exciting movies ever made as a NYC subway train is hijacked and commandeered by a group of criminals. You will go all "white knuckley" hanging on to the arms of your theater seat.
Robert Shaw and Walter Matthau are absolutely fabulous. If you never saw this gem, I highly recommend it. Be prepared to get a bit amused at the retro costuming--so stylish for the era.
Movie Review: Love this movie....
Summary: 5 Stars
It was always a favorite of mine when growing up. Used to watch the repreats on TV in NY. I had a copy that I recorded from TV, but wanted better quality.Movie Review: Hijacked a what?
Summary: 5 Stars
Absolutely one of the most definitive 70's gritty NYC films. I've read how other reviewers have called it "dated". But what does that mean? It captured the time so well? It captured the way people spoke in Manhattan on subway trains? The lead character (Walter Matthau as Zach Garber) isn't PC enough? (Yes, he makes fun of a group of visiting Japanese men as he gives a tour of the subway operations, but he gets it back in the end.) It's not dated at all. It's spot-on.
Taking of Pelham, One, Two, Three is the kind of film, if made today, would be called an independent. It lacks every formulaic moment that goes into a studio picture. It has no big action sequences (with the lone exception of a police car racing through the traffic of New York), it has no forced love interest, and there is no "big twist" ending.
This is currently being remade by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. What does this mean? It means the look of the film will have a mustard-dirt filter that Scott puts into every movie and the editing will be fast cutting, like he does in every movie. Denzel Washington will be smooth-talking, Yale-smart, unlike Matthau who had the weathered look of a beat cop with street smarts. John Travolta will play the maniacal laugh and smile he does all the time when he's the villain, a la 'Broken Arrow' and 'Face-Off', unlike Robert Shaw who played it cool and collected.
In other words, please see the original. It allowed the story and characters to be the entertainment instead of over-the-top fast cutting "stylized" nonsense that distracts rather than entertains. This is a classic!
Movie Review: New York, New York!
Summary: 5 Stars
A great capper movie with a New York attitude! Indeed, what do these riders expect for their lousy 35 cents? The acting and writing are fantastic. The wit-laden stress and frustration expressed by Lt. Garber, mixed with the cool, calculated brutalness of Mr. Blue makes this movie pure fun and completely entertaining. The bizarrness of the two character's figuring the other out and playing off one another has been unmatched since.
Summary of Taking of Pelham 1-2-3
Dog Day Afternoon. Annie Hall. Taxi Driver. In the pantheon of classic New York films, these three take pride of place. But there are, of course, others, some of which have fallen through the cracks over the years, criminally overlooked and unjustly relegated to commercial-riddled Saturday-afternoon TV broadcasts. Joseph Sargent's The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is just such a picture. This taut 1974 thriller about four armed men who highjack a New York City subway train and hold it and its passengers for ransom may be hopelessly dated (it's loaded with ethnic stereotypes, impossibly wide neckties, and bad hairdos--and there are no explosions!), but that's part of the fun. A gruffly sardonic Walter Matthau heads a fine cast that includes Jerry Stiller, Hector Elizondo, Martin Balsam, and a perfectly villainous pre-Jaws Robert Shaw. Think you'll find a better film that depicts a nearly broke city led by an inept mayor forced to deal with armed terrorists? Fuhgeddaboutit! --Steve LandauBlackmail, Murder & Mayhem Video
Video Genres
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Blackmail, Murder & Mayhem Video
The ProfessionalSony Pictures; Release date: 1995-11-07; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Brother Cadfael Series 3 Box Set: The Rose Rent, A Morbid Taste for Bones, and The Raven in the ForegateAcorn Media; Release date: 1999-09-11; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $36.88
Price in other shops:
The Eagle Has LandedLive / Artisan; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $1.94
Price in other shops:
The Dead PoolWarner Home Video; Release date: 2000-08-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $0.53
Price in other shops:
Tomorrow Never DiesMGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 1999-10-19; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops:
Red DawnMGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 1998-01-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $1.65
Price in other shops:
Murder on the Orient ExpressParamount; Release date: 1998-02-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $11.34
Price in other shops:
Speed 2 - Cruise Control20th Century Fox; Release date: 1998-05-26; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops:
The SoldierMGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 1999-04-06; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $19.99
MastermindsSony Pictures; Release date: 1998-07-07; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.75
Price in other shops:
Similar Video, DVDs, Audio CDs
Dog Day Afternoon (Two-Disc Special Edition)Release date: 2006-02-28; DVD
Best price: $7.14
Price in other shops:
The Day of the JackalRelease date: 1998-04-29; DVD
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Hopscotch - Criterion CollectionRelease date: 2002-08-20; DVD
Best price: $19.88
Price in other shops:
Fort Apache, The BronxRelease date: 2001-02-13; DVD
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Marathon ManRelease date: 2001-08-28; DVD
Best price: $4.40
Price in other shops:
The French ConnectionTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2005-02-01; DVD
Best price: $7.09
Price in other shops:
Three Days of the CondorRelease date: 1999-08-17; DVD
Best price: $4.27
Price in other shops:
Charley VarrickRelease date: 2004-12-28; DVD
Best price: $4.54
Price in other shops:
The Seven-UpsTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2006-05-23; DVD
Best price: $4.11
Price in other shops:
The Laughing PolicemanRelease date: 2005-02-01; DVD
Best price: $4.46
Price in other shops: