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Friday, July 1, 2011

BD impressions: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

7:33 PM / BD Impressions / 2 Comments

"Why don't you go grab a goddamn aeroplane like everybody else?"

The film: THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE is one of my favourite films of the 70s - a brilliantly efficient, genuinely tense and incisively witty thriller about a group of armed men, led by the brilliant Robert Shaw, who hijack a subway carriage and demand $1 million for the release of its passengers. Pitted against them is Walter Matthau at his hangdog best, embarking on an understated battle of words with Shaw as he attempts to secure the safety of the hostages.

The phrase "they don't make 'em like this any more" is overused, but it's completely accurate here, not just in terms of its measured, understated approach (you only need to watch the loud, MTV editing-infused Tony Scott remake starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta to see what a 21st century take on the same material would look like) but also how distinctly 70s it feels - the costumes, the attitudes, David Shire's wonderful score... it all adds up to evoke something that doesn't exist any more. The New York of the film is very much a character in its own right - this was, of course, long before the city's Film Production Tax Credit Program was set up to effectively offer incentives in exchange for showing the city in a positive light. In PELHAM, we're shown a grungy, grubby, dangerous, jaded New York in which Matthau's character seems to be the only person around who gives a shit about the hostages. It's tempting to describe the film as a commentary on an increasingly depersonalised and profit-focused society, but I don't think that's the film's intention - at least not its PRIMARY intention. It's simply an excellent, well-made thriller and a perfect example of how films like this should be done. 9/10

Image quality: Taking into account this disc's status as a budget release (and a Best Buy exclusive, though I managed to source a copy from Blu-rays For Everyone), THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE actually looks pretty damn good. It's abundantly clear that Fox didn't push the boat out for this release, but the image looks film-like and unmolested. Detail isn't brilliant, but I feel disinclined to suspect any foul-play in that regard. It's a lot darker than my old non-anamorphic PAL DVD, to the extent that once the lights are cut in the subway carriage it actually becomes pretty difficult to see anything... but then again, that's hardly unrealistic, and in every respect director Joseph Sargent and cinematographer Owen Roizman (of THE FRENCH CONNECTION and THE EXORCIST fame) seem to have been going for grungy realism. Shadow detail is hardly stellar, but again I get the impression that that's to be expected. I have no complaints about the compression, and while there is some visible print damage in the form of specs and scratches, they aren't too distracting and stand as compelling evidence that the film has been left alone. Recommended, but with issues.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
label: 20th Century Fox/MGM; disc country: USA; region code: ABC;
codec: AVC; aspect ratio: 2.35:1

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