Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime.
Director:
Tony Scott
Stars:
Denzel Washington,
John Travolta,
Luis Guzmán
An ambitious reporter gets in way-over-his-head trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the worlds headlines.
Director:
Alan J. Pakula
Stars:
Warren Beatty,
Paula Prentiss,
William Daniels
As a tabloid newspaper editor tries to prevent his top reporter from retiring, an escaped death row convict shows up at the office trying to convey his innocence.
Director:
Billy Wilder
Stars:
Jack Lemmon,
Walter Matthau,
Susan Sarandon
After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him.
Four seemingly-unrelated men board subway train Pelham 1:23 at successive stations. Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, Mr. Grey and Mr. Brown are heavily armed and overpower the motorman and novice conductor to take control of the train. Between stations they separate the front car from the remainder of the train, setting passengers in the back cars and the motorman free. The four demand $1 million ransom within exactly one hour for the remaining eighteen hostages, including the conductor. If their demands are not met in time or their directions are not followed precisely, they will begin to shoot hostages dead, one every minute the money is late. Wisecracking Lt. Zach Garber of the transit police ends up being the primary communicator between the hijackers and the authorities, which includes transit operations, his own police force, the NYPD, and the unpopular and currently flu ridden mayor who will make the ultimate decision of whether to pay the ransom. Unknown to Garber, what may be working on ... Written by
Huggo
The Transit Authority (TA) of New York at first refused to allow the film to be shot on the actual New York subway. They feared it would lead to imitative crime (it didn't, but their position was shown to be reasonable when the later film Money Train (1995) apparently did). Associate producer Stephen F. Kesten was equally adamant that no other city's subway could be credibly used (and he was apparently right: see the goofs entry for the remake The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1998)). The TA finally did cooperate after Mayor John V. Lindsay intervened, but they required United Artists to buy anti-hijacking insurance at a cost of $75,000 in addition to paying $275,000 for the use of the subway. The film's closing credits have a disclaimer that states that the New York Transit Authority neither gave advice nor information for any use in the movie. It reads: "Although many of the scenes in this film were taken on transit property, the New York City Transit Authority is not responsible for the plot, story and characters portrayed. The Authority did not render technical advice and assistance". See more »
Goofs
When Mr. Green first enters 59th street station, an R16 NYC Subway car is seen leaving with the designations of a 6 train (2:16). Seconds later, Green then goes downstairs to catch an R22 train that is also a 6 train (2:45). See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Mr. Mattson:
Okay, kid, out loud now so's I can hear what you're sayin'.
Bud Carmody:
I'm checkin' the passengers gettin' on and off...
Mr. Mattson:
Uh-huh.
Bud Carmody:
Front and back. Shuttin' the doors. Rear section first and the first section. And the doors are closed. Now I'm checking my indicator lights to make sure all the doors are locked. I remove my switch key and back out the window for a distance of three car lengths to make sure no one's being dragged. 51st Street next stop; next stop, 51st Street. How'd I do?
See more »
Crazy Credits
Although many of the scenes in this film were taken on transit property, the New York City Transit Authority is not responsible for plot, story and characters portrayed. The Authority did not render technical advice and assistance. See more »
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.
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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.