Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The (1974) (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Jan 06, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Joseph SargentRelease Date(s)
1974 (December 10, 2024)Studio(s)
Palomar Pictures/Palladium Productions/United Artists (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)- Film/Program Grade: A
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: B+
- Extras Grade: A-
Review
If the only version of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three you’ve ever seen is the 2009 remake, you’re doing yourself a disservice. The original 1974 classic is one of the best heist thrillers ever put on film, with a tightly-woven plot, great performances, and a fantastic score by David Shire. Based upon the novel by Morton Freedgood (published under the pseudonym of John Godey) and adapted by Peter Stone, the film tells the story of four criminals using the names Mr. Blue, Mr. Grey, Mr. Green, and Mr. Brown (Tarantino fans take note) who hijack a New York City subway train. Once they have its passengers at gunpoint, the group orders the transit authorities via radio to deliver a million dollars in one hour or they’ll begin shooting hostages. Faced with impossible odds, these authorities—led by NYC Transit Police Lieutenant Zack Garber (Walter Matthau)—with the rest of the NYPD go to great lengths to try and foil the criminals’ plans.
Joseph Sargent, who’d directed the Burt Reynolds vehicle White Lightning the year before, helmed the project with a cast of familiar faces and character actors. Robert Shaw (Jaws, Force 10 from Navarone) is absolutely menacing as the leader of the criminal foursome, Mr. Blue. Matthau (The Odd Couple, Grumpy Old Men) gives a memorable performance here, too. At this point in his career, Matthau was on a streak of great crime thrillers that included Charlie Varrick and The Laughing Policemen, both classics in their own right. His performance as the schlubby Lieutenant Garber is the glue that holds Pelham together, with an ironic yet sincere take on the material that keeps the film moving. The rest of the cast includes Hector Elizondo (Chicago Hope), Martin Balsam (Psycho), Earl Hindman (Home Improvement), and Jerry Stiller (Seinfeld).
Pelham doesn’t bother wasting time with pointless backstory. Even the motivations of the four hijackers are never really explored. What it focuses on instead is the plot. Not only is the criminals’ plan and its execution gripping, but the added texture of New York City frankness and humor keeps the film grounded. This includes the mayor (played by Ed Koch lookalike Lee Wallace, Batman (1989), Klute), who’s completely useless as events are set into motion. Pelham is a very funny movie, but that humor never comes at the expense of the pace or the story. It also features a terrific ending, with one of the greatest final shots of any film, period.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three was shot by cinematographer Owen Roizman on 35 mm film using Panavision Panaflex and R-200˚ cameras with Panavision anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.39:1. For Kino’s third home video outing, they’ve elected to re-issue the Blu-ray included with their 2022 4K Ultra HD release. As such, this presentation is sourced from the same 4K 16-Bit scan of the original camera negative, but presented here as an HD master. It’s still a fine disc, minus the extra data and High Dynamic Range that the 4K disc offers. It’s a vast improvement over Kino’s 2016 Blu-ray with added depth in the image and a more even color palette. It’s also a cleaner master, with only mild speckling leftover. Grain levels are pleasing, and the bitrate sits in a comfortable 35 to 40Mbps range for the entirety of the picture. This isn’t a film that could ever appear crystal clear and perfectly sharp under any circumstance, but this is an filmic, organic-looking presentation.
Audio is included in English 5.1 and 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. Regardless of which soundtrack you choose, most of the aural action is relegated to the front, while the 5.1 track spaces out music and occasional ambient moments and atmospherics. Dialogue is king on both tracks, and neither have issues with hiss, distortion, or dropouts.
The 50th Anniversary Blu-ray re-release of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three sits in a blue Amaray case with double-sided artwork featuring the original US theatrical artwork on the front (which is also included on the slipcover) and the UK British quad theatrical poster artwork on the reverse. The extras selection is identical to the previous disc:
- Audio Commentary by Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
- Audio Commentary by Pat Healey and Jim Healey
- The Making of Pelham One Two Three (HD – 6:08)
- Hector Elizondo: 12 Minutes with Mr. Grey (HD – 12:02)
- Gerald Greenberg: Cutting on Action (HD – 9:09)
- David Shire: The Sound of the City (HD – 9:07)
- Trailers from Hell with Josh Olson (HD – 2:40)
- Image and Poster Gallery (HD – 38 in all – 2:20)
- Radio Spots (HD – 2 in all – 1:01)
- TV Spot (HD – :32)
- Theatrical Trailer (HD – 2:33)
- Charley Varrick Trailer (HD – 2:31)
- The Laughing Policeman Trailer (HD – 3:36)
- Force 10 from Navarone Trailer (HD – 1:45)
- White Lightning Trailer (Upscaled SD – 2:26)
- The Train Trailer (SD – 4:35)
- Breakheart Pass Trailer (SD – 3:07)
- Runaway Train Trailer (SD – 1:58)
We’ve covered these extras extensively in previous reviews for the 2016 Blu-ray and 2022 UHD releases, but if you’ve yet to pick up The Taking of Pelham One Two Three on Blu-ray and you bypassed the 4K, you owe it to yourself to pick this release up. It’s a lean, taught crime caper that knows how to add humor in without spoiling anything. No matter which format you choose, both the 4K and the new Blu-ray come highly recommended.
- Tim Salmons
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