:Subway (film)

The story opens with Fred speeding through the streets of Paris in his car, being chased by several gangsters, all dressed in black tie; it is later explained that he has stolen documents from the gangsters’ boss at his wife Héléna's birthday party. When the gangsters close in on him, Fred jumps down on to a metro track and escapes into the labyrinthine world of the Paris Métro. Over the next several days he half-heartedly attempts to blackmail Héléna for the documents, although he is clearly less interested in the money than in winning her affection.

Meanwhile, the gangsters and the police continue searching for Fred, as well as his new friend "The Skater" (who has been living off minor theft and avoiding the police for many months). Héléna struggles with her feelings about Fred and her dissatisfaction as her (somewhat older) husband's arm candy. Gradually, Fred meets musicians and persuades them to join a band he claims to be forming (although he himself cannot sing). The full cast of characters is large; most of their lives and personalities are developed only implicitly from their context and mannerisms.

{{div col|colwidth=30}}

• Isabelle Adjani as Héléna Kerman
• Christopher Lambert as Fred
• Richard Bohringer as The Florist
• Michel Galabru as Commissioner Gesberg
• Jean-Hugues Anglade as The Roller
• Jean Bouise as The Station Master
• Jean-Pierre Bacri as Inspector Batman
• Jean-Claude Lecas as Robin
• Pierre-Ange Le Pogam as Jean
• Jean Reno as The Drummer
• Éric Serra as Enrico (bassist)
• Arthur Simms as Paul (singer)
• Isabelle Sadoyan as The prefect's wife

{{div col end}}

Subway was filmed partially on location in the Paris Métro and Paris RER, and partially on sets that were designed by Alexandre Trauner.{{cite book|last=Konstantarakos|first=Myrto|date=1 January 2000|title=Spaces in European Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XefIrfRuzkC&pg=PA14|publisher=Intellect Ltd|page=14|isbn=978-1841500041}} The opening car chase scene is said to pay homage to the 1971 film The French Connection, and the film's ending is based loosely on the ending of the 1960 film Breathless.{{sfn|Austin|2008|page=151}}

Éric Serra's score and other musical pieces from the soundtrack, such as Fred's band's song, "It's Only Mystery" (also written by Serra), were released on vinyl and cassette in 1985. The soundtrack sold over 100,000 copies in France.{{sfn|Hayward|Powrie|2009|page=43}} The soundtrack was released on CD in 1996.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/subway-original-soundtrack-mw0000869680/releases|title=Subway [Original Soundtrack]|work=AllMusic|access-date=21 January 2021}}

Subway was the third-most popular French film in France in 1986, after Trois Hommes et un Couffin and Les Specialistes. It attracted 2,920,588 cinemagoers.{{cite web|url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=6390|title=Subway|work=JP's Box-Office|access-date=11 December 2014}}French Cinema - Powrie & Reader The film grossed $390,659 at the box office in the United States.{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=subway.htm|title=Subway|work=Box Office Mojo|access-date=21 January 2021}}

The film holds an 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on nine reviews.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/subway/|title=Subway (1985)|work=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango Media|access-date=21 January 2021}} Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised the film's "highly energetic visual style" and "the sheer fun of staging domestic scenes, musical interludes and roller-skate chases in the underground" but added that "[the] characters and situations [are] so thin that they might as well be afterthoughts".{{cite news|title=Subway (1985)|last1=Maslin|first1=Janet|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/06/movies/the-screen-subway.html|date=6 November 1985|work=The New York Times|page=23}}

According to film reviewer John Cribbs, "[Much] of Subway is meditative but largely plotless, like a dream being described to you by someone who's still trying to figure out the symbolism of it [themself] ... The film and its characters are actually anti-movement: it opens with three philosophical quotes about existence: Socrates, "To be is to do," Sartre, "To do is to be," and Sinatra, "Do be do be do." The message is clear: [director] Besson thinks it's a crazy world up there on the surface what with folks insisting on constantly "doing" things. To him the subway is someplace no square bozo would ever think about not moving swiftly through without a thought, therefore it's the ideal environment for outsiders who seek an eden of in-action; a stasis salvation .. The theme ... in Subway ... is about freedom from social responsibility."{{cite web |last=Cribbs |first=John |title=Christopher Lambert - Lambertathon: Subway [1985] |url=https://thepinksmoke.com/lambertathon3page1.htm |date=2010 |work=ThePinkSmoke.com |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231218010630/https://thepinksmoke.com/lambertathon3page1.htm |archivedate=18 December 2023}}

Subway was nominated for the Foreign Language Film award at the 39th British Academy Film Awards.{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1986/film/foreign-language-film|title=Foreign Language Film in 1986|work=British Academy of Film and Television Arts|access-date=21 January 2021}} The film was nominated for 13 César Awards in 1986, winning 3: Best Actor (Christopher Lambert), Best Production Design (Alexander Trauner) and Best Sound.{{cite web|url=http://www.academie-cinema.org/en/ceremony/awards.html|title=Palmares 2014 - 39th Cesar Award Ceremony|work=César Award|access-date=11 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208121641/http://www.academie-cinema.org/en/ceremony/awards.html|archive-date=8 December 2014|url-status=dead}} Note: Choose '1986' from the drop-down box.

The film was released on DVD in the United States in November 2001. The DVD presents the film in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and contains both an English-dubbed version as well as the original French version with English subtitles. Aaron Beierle of DVD Talk gave the DVD 3 out of 5 stars for video quality, and 2½ stars for audio quality.{{cite web |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/2945/subway/|title=Subway|last1=Beierle|first1=Aaron|date=9 November 2001|work=DVD Talk|access-date=21 January 2021}} Jason Bovberg of DVD Talk gave the film 3 stars for both video and audio quality. Both reviewers gave the film only a ½ star for its extra features, noting only cast and crew biographies plus trailers for three of Besson's other films were included on the disc.{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/2970/subway/|title=Subway|last1=Bovberg|first1=Jason|date=18 November 2001|work=DVD Talk|access-date=21 January 2021}} As well as having no special features, standard versions of the DVD only contain the English-dubbed version; this has significant dialogue differences from the French original, though both Lambert and Adjani performed their own English.

Both the UK{{cite web|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Subway-Blu-ray/5788/|title=Subway Blu-ray|work=Blu-Ray.com|access-date=21 January 2021}} and French versions{{cite web|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Subway-Blu-ray/7195/|title=Subway Blu-ray|work=Blu-Ray.com|access-date=21 January 2021}} of the Blu-ray were released in September 2009. Both only contained the film in its original French audio, though with optional English subtitles. Blu-ray.com awarded both 3½ out of 5 stars for both audio and video quality.

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Austin|first=Guy|year=2008|title=Contemporary French Cinema: An Introduction|edition=2nd|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=9780719078293}}
• {{cite book|last1=Hayward|first1=Susan|last2=Powrie|first2=Phil|year=2009|title=The Films of Luc Besson: Master of Spectacle|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=9780719070297}}
• {{cite book|last=Spicer|first=Andrew|year=2010|title=Historical Dictionary of Film Noir|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810873780}}

• {{IMDb title|0090095}}
• {{Mojo title|subway}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes|subway}}

{{Luc Besson}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subway}}

Category:1985 films

Category:1980s French films

Category:1985 thriller films

Category:Films directed by Luc Besson

Category:Films featuring a Best Actor César Award–winning performance

Category:Films produced by Luc Besson

Category:Films scored by Éric Serra

Category:Films set in Paris

Category:Films shot in Paris

Category:Films with screenplays by Luc Besson

Category:French thriller films

Category:Gaumont (company) films

Category:Rail transport films