The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1998 film)

{{Short description|1998 American television crime thriller film}}

{{Infobox television

| image = The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 1998.jpg

| image_alt =

| caption = Home video cover art

| based_on = {{ubl|{{basedon|The Taking of Pelham One Two Three|Peter Stone}}|{{basedon|The Taking of Pelham One Two Three|John Godey}}}}

| writer = April Smith{{cite news |last=Gallo |first=Phil |url= https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/the-taking-of-pelham-one-two-three-2-1200452439/ |title=The Taking of Pelham One Two Three |work=Variety |date=January 29, 1998 |access-date=April 24, 2022}}

| director = Félix Enríquez Alcalá

| starring = {{ubl|Edward James Olmos|Vincent D'Onofrio|Donnie Wahlberg|Richard Schiff|Lorraine Bracco}}

| music = Stewart Copeland{{cite book |last=Hischak |first=Thomas S. |title=The Encyclopedia of Film Composers |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield pg. 144 |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4422-4550-1}}

| country = United States

| language = English

| executive_producer = {{ubl|John Watson|Richard B. Lewis|Pen Densham}}

| producer = Karen Moore

| editor = Robert A. Ferretti

| cinematography = Félix Enríquez Alcalá

| runtime = 90 minutes

| company = {{ubl|Trilogy Entertainment Group|MGM Television}}

| budget =

| network = ABC

| released = {{Start date|1998|02|01}}

}}

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a 1998 American television crime thriller film directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá and starring Edward James Olmos.{{cite magazine |last=Fretts |first=Bruce |url= https://ew.com/article/1998/01/30/taking-pelham-one-two-three/ |title=The Taking of Pelham One Two Three |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=January 30, 1998 |access-date=April 24, 2022}} It is a television adaptation of the novel of the same name by Morton Freedgood (writing under the pseudonym John Godey), and is a remake of the 1974 film adaptation. It was followed by a 2009 remake.

Premise

Edward James Olmos plays Detective Anthony Piscotti, a New York City police officer.{{cite news |last=Ordoña |first=Michael |url= https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/taking-of-pelham-1-2-3-stars-travolta-denzel-3228679.php |title='Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' stars Travolta, Denzel |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=June 7, 2009 |access-date=April 24, 2022}} He is trying to crack the hijacking of a New York City Subway train where the antagonists are holding the passengers for ransom.

Cast

Edward James Olmos as Detective Anthony Piscotti
Vincent D'Onofrio as Mr. Blue
Richard Schiff as Mr. Green
Donnie Wahlberg as Mr. Grey
Tara Rosling as Mr. Brown
Lisa Vidal as Barbara 'Babs' Cardoza
Kenneth Welsh as Caz Hollowitz
Lorraine Bracco as Detective Ray
Ben Cook as Older Boy on Subway
Bobby Boriello as Younger Boy on Subway
Bobby O'Neill as Homeboy on Subway (as Black Katt)
Ingrid Veninger as Graduate Student on Subway
Alisa Wiegers as Office Worker ["Shaky"]
Peter Boretski as Old Man on Subway
Stuart Clow as Jogger
Michael A. Miranda as Denny Alcala
Sandi Ross as Mrs. Jenkins
Louis Del Grande as Frank Stonehouse
Gary Reineke as Deputy Mayor
Richard Fitzpatrick as Borough Commander
Roy Lewis as Officer Artis Washington
Philip Akin as ESU Lieutenant
Judah Katz as TV Reporter
Catherine Blythe as Video Camerawoman

Production details

The film is a remake, with Edward James Olmos in the Walter Matthau role and Vincent D'Onofrio replacing Robert Shaw as the lead hijacker. Although not particularly well received by critics or viewers, this version was reportedly more faithful to the book, specifically in the rigging of the hijacked train for the getaway.

The film was shot in Toronto's TTC subway system, mainly using the system's Bay, St. Andrew and Museum stations, and two of a class of older cars being retired by the TTC. The two cars were shipped by road to the scrapyard the day after filming ended, still disguised as New York cars.

The Toronto subway cars used for filming cannot operate singly, so a two-car set was used. A phony cab was built on the other end of H-1 car 5482 to simulate single car operation. The single car supposedly detached from the front of the train can be seen on several occasions to be part of a train of at least two cars. The most obvious cases are when rounding curves: once when first moving forward after being detached, and later when Anthony has just figured out the hijackers' plan.

= Differences from the novel =

Since the film was produced much later than the original, there are also additions to the film that did not exist in the original. For example, one of the characters sets up an IBM ThinkPad laptop computer, connected wirelessly to a motion detector that he places on the track. Later in the film, another character views the screen to see an approaching person, whom he confronts in the tunnel. The ransom demand in the remake was $5 million as opposed to $1 million in the original film and the novel.