Les Pirates du métro

I am biased a little with this film to begin with, as I live in NYC and am a big subway fan. So a gritty 70's flick that takes place in a NYC subway sounds good to me! But the truth is, this film is a great film full of extremely talented actors with a dynamite story. Shaw and Matthau are the obvious stars with everyone else putting in a good co-starring role.

The story takes place on the "6" train no less, which happens to be my fave subway line! It was a great surprise when I found the DVD for only ten bucks, I would have paid a normal price. And the quality of the DVD transfer is VERY nice. The film, though a bit brutal sometimes, even has some decent humor, even the ending is kinda funny, but perfect. I recently watched this on TV, just to compare the two versions and see where all the cuts and edits were. You can't go wrong with this film.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is one of those films plundered by movie magpie Quentin Tarantino, the director stealing the whole 'criminals with colours instead of names' idea for his debut Reservoir Dogs. It's easy to see why Pelham would appeal to QT: it's a gritty '70s thriller with a cool cult following, focusing on a group of violent ne'er-do-wells who carry out a daring hijack on a New York subway train. The dialogue is snappy, the cast is excellent, and David Shire's music is big, bold, brassy and badass.

Leading the hijackers is Robert Shaw, whose cold, calculating Mr. Blue is truly chilling; on the side of the law is Transit Police Lt. Zachary Garber, played by Walter Matthau, whose job it is to converse with the criminals whilst trying to figure out who they are and how they plan to make their escape. Much of the movie consists of exchanges of dialogue between the two men, but don't make the mistake of thinking this is a dull blab-fest: the tension runs high throughout, the race to deliver the ransom money against the clock being a particularly exciting highlight. And with one of the hijackers a dangerous loose cannon (Hector Elizondo's Mr. Grey, surely the inspiration for Michael Madsen's Mr. Blonde), the potential for the loss of innocent life is ever present.

A thrilling final act sees the train speeding out of control with the terrified passengers still on board, the gang having disembarked between stations. Meanwhile, Garber and his men tighten the net, and one-by-one the hijackers pay for their crime, with one death proving very shocking indeed. The fun continues right up to the final frame, an amusing ending that is nothing to be sneezed at.

There are many disappointing action pictures out there – this is not one of them. The genius of the film is there is no wasted motion. The picture starts right with the plot – no introduction or character development. The characters are allowed to develop as the plot moves along.

Which brings us to pacing – the pacing in this picture is excellent. It moves right along and never stops, never slows, never goes too fast. This is the strongest element of its success.

Another strength is its economy of motion. Many action pictures bore us with unneeded car chase scenes, shoot-em-ups, explosions and other mayhems that are used as filler when true creativity comes up short. This film needs none of that. Only that which is necessary is shown. Only that which needs speaking is spoken. This film is deftly written and crafted with great economy and this underpins the excellent pacing. It moves right along because there is no wasted motion as there is in most other action pictures.

This does not mean there is no action, there is fabulous action, but only such action as is necessary to move the plot along. There is no action simply to occupy time until the requisite 90 minutes are up.

The directing is equally economical. No fancy shots, shaky cameras, or special effects – just good, straight forward directing.

I doubt this picture could be made today for the above reasons. The script readers would reject it for 'lack of development'; 'not enough action'; 'no romantic interest'; and all the other brainless formulas script readers dole out. The producers would demand 'more action' and 'camera work' from the directors. And, of course, a romantic interest (in some state of undress) would have to be shoe horned in.

Film students should study this picture. From it they will learn that brevity is a virtue and mindless formulas are just that - mindless.

A subway train is hijacked by armed gang, Mr. Blue's the boss, he has an English twang, there's also Grey and Brown and Green, in car one they all convene, uncoupling the rest, that leaves eighteen. A dialogue begins, with those up top, Lt. Garber is a New York transit cop, who's informed by Mr. Blue, of the ransom they pursue, one million dollars is the price for hostage swap.

Still a wonderful piece of filmmaking, Robert Shaw perfectly cast as Mr. Blue, the exchanges between him and Walter Matthau as Garber outstanding, all encompassed in a more than believable story that travels without interruption, all the way to the end of the line.

With all the other plot summaries written here, I won't go into what this film is all about. I just want to say that I don't believe this genre has been done better, either before or since. I first saw "Pelham 1,2,3" when I was 14 at a drive-in theater in Northern CA. It holds a memorable place for me as the first R rated movie I ever saw, as well as the first time I ever heard the "F" word in a movie. But way beyond that, I was so completely sucked into the story even at my young age. Now all these years later, I still am. I own the movie and must see it periodically. I'm so glad, reading all the other user comments, to find that I'm just one of many who absolutely love this film. Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, and the rest of the cast are all brilliant. The comedy in the film is also outstanding and never out of place within the storyline. It simply serves to make the film more realistic. And last but not least, David Shire's score is the coolest. I only wish they had put a soundtrack out for this film. When I watch this movie, the music must be cranked.

Don't bother catching this film on TV. It's always completely hacked up. Rent it or buy the DVD. It will remind you just how much fun movies used to be.