The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Film Discussion

The next film we'll discuss is the 1974 crime thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, by Joseph Sargent .

The film follows a group of criminals who hijack a New York City Subway car and hold the passengers for ransom. The title is derived from the train's radio call sign, which is based on where and when the train began its run; in this case, the train originated at the Pelham Bay Park station in the Bronx at 1:23 p.m.

The film is a gritty representation of 70s New York attitude, complete with dry humour, suspense and melodrama.

"The performances are allowed enough leeway so that we care about the people not the plot mechanics. And what could have been formula trash turns out to be fairly classy trash, after all"

The film is available to stream on Internet Archive...
https://archive.org/details/the-taking-of-pelham-one-two-three.-1974