The Taking of Pelham 123 (Joseph Sargent, 1974)

A group of robbers hijack a New York subway car and demand the city pay them a ransom or else they will kill the passengers.

It falls to veteran subway cop Lt. Garber (Walter Matthau) to outwit the hostage-takers before they carry out their threat...

Ending on Walter Matthau’s deadpan face, The Taking of Pelham 123 is a rare movie that does not put a hair wrong.

I have wanted to see this movie for years, and it upsets me that it took this long.

Funny, tense and immersive in its world-building, it is a movie that you want to marinate in. You feel like you are taking a trip into a functioning, tangible world.

New York was heading toward the images of ‘Fear City’ that came to define it in the seventies, and that image is pervasive in Pelham. There is a grimy, lived-in quality to the settings - amplified by the use of real locations - and a great cast of character actors reinforce that sense of specificity.

While the movie builds tension like a well-oiled machine, that sense of suspense is matched by its sense of humour.

The jokes are great - Matthau realising his commanding officer is black; the payoff when Matthau finally meets the undercover cop on the train. They are a great relief from the tension and further serve to illustrate character and a sense of place.

The performances are all terrific. Matthau's world-weary, whip-smart detective is matched Robert Shaw, as the lead hijacker, who is all smug, simmering menace. While he is not likeable, the movie manages the trick of aligning the viewer with both protagonist and antagonist as they try to outmanoeuvre each other.

The movie it reminded me of the most was Die Hard, down to the smug, professional Euro-villain. 

Backed by a swaggering, off-kilter score by David Shire, The Taking of Pelham 123 is solid gold entertainment. Accept no remakes.