The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1998 film)

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The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Home video cover art
Genre	Crime Thriller
Based on	The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by Peter Stone The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey
Written by	April Smith
Directed by	Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Starring	Edward James Olmos Vincent D'Onofrio Donnie Wahlberg Richard Schiff Lorraine Bracco
Music by	Stewart Copeland
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	John Watson Richard B. Lewis Pen Densham
Producer	Karen Moore
Cinematography	Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Editor	Robert A. Ferretti
Running time	90 minutes
Production companies	Trilogy Entertainment Group MGM Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	February 1, 1998 (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. 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. 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
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.

Home media

In 2012, TGG Direct released the film on DVD in full frame in a two-pack that also included Runaway Train (1985).

References

^ Gallo, Phil (January 29, 1998). "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three". Variety. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
Hischak, Thomas S. (2015). The Encyclopedia of Film Composers. Rowman & Littlefield pg. 144. ISBN 978-1-4422-4550-1.
Fretts, Bruce (January 30, 1998). "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
Ordoña, Michael (June 7, 2009). "'Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' stars Travolta, Denzel". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 24, 2022.

External links

v t e Films directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Seduced and Betrayed (1995) Fire Down Below (1997) Justice League of America (1997) The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1998) Battlestar Galactica: Razor (2007)

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