ROTTEN TOMATOES: Denzel, Tony Scott to Take Pelham One Two Three

Denzel, Tony Scott to Take Pelham One Two Three

Gesundheit.

by Jeff Giles | September 24, 2007

Pelham is about to be taken again -- and Denzel Washington and Tony Scott are doing the taking.

Variety reports that Washington and Scott -- who previously teamed up for Crimson Tide, Man on Fire, and Deja Vu -- will collaborate on a remake of 1974's The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. The Joseph Sargent-directed original, which starred Walter Matthau as a grumpy New York City cop working to foil a subway hijacking led by Robert Shaw, is considered a '70s action classic -- it boasts a 100 percent Tomatometer rating -- but its status as what James Rocchi refers to as a "little-known gem" could make it easier for a new version to make inroads with filmgoers.

Washington -- who can be seen this fall in American Gangster, directed by Tony Scott's brother, Ridley -- will take over for Matthau in the remake, which is expected to begin production early next year; David Koepp wrote the script.

Source: Variety

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(1-6 of 6 posts) | Reply

lostharvestmovie writes:
on Sep 24 2007 06:40 AM

I used to ride the philly subways to phillies games and just being inside those rickety circa 1930s subway cars in those dark & dirty urban caverns was scary enough without the hostage takers; I think it was during "JAWS" long first run when I watched the trailer for "The Taking of...." and, man, that trailer was just great. It was so good that I was afraid to watch the flick.... it all seemed pretty possible to me and not in a nice way like "Ocean's 11", etc.... I got around to watching "The Taking of..." on its initial network showing and it is a great movie.... great performances, fairly plausible storyline and who could ever forget that ending? Achoooo! I'm there and for those of you who haven't watched the original, it's got a hell of performance by Robert Shaw.

www.lostharvest.com == free multimedia fiction and we are getting close to shotting time!

(Reply to this)

postgray writes:
on Sep 24 2007 10:09 AM

Pelham is one of the best representations of New Yorkers onscreen. Hijackers take over the subways and the passengers generally regard the situation with more annoyance than fear. Hilarious. In fact EVERYONE but the hijackers is a crank in the movie and the tone is pitch-perfect for injecting some crass NYC humor into the heist genre. All of it is anchored by Walter Matthau's hounddog face as he slogs through the inconvenience that the hijacking is causing his city. That being said I can't think of a more inappropriate and boring choice than Denzel Washington in that role. The guy is humorless and if you've seen him deal with one group of robbers (Inside Man), you can imagine he'll play it the same way. Denzel's great at the limited range he works in but he's rather dimensionless and Pelham will just be a standard dull cops-and-robbers chase with him in that role. Let him be a hijacker!

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OAKTREELIVE writes:
on Sep 24 2007 11:36 AM

I love Denzel, but come on, no more cop roles.

(Reply to this)

Daniel Aaron writes:
on Sep 24 2007 07:14 PM

i havent seen the original or mabey i did but didnt know it (i was three at the time and might have been asleep in the backseat of the sationwagon..Im refering to the Drive In theater to those born of late) those were great days thats were familys went cuz you paid by the car load ( I usta think walk ins were for mom and dad or rich people:) anyhoot if this one has stood the test of time sounds interesting and if Scott and Washington are hip to it it might be good. Crimson Tide was a great film so was Man on Fire .
post gray (i just read your comment) you bring up some good pionts Denzel is more no nonsense but ha has range if it was like you say i dont think you can replace Matthau's hounddog face him slogging thru it probubly wasnt an act J/j he is funny how they deal with the passangers sound like the key i have to watch it it didnt sound like much but since you said the passangers seemed more annioned then anything i have to see it that sound like americans..shoot i remeber when i was younger some guy held up freeway and surface traffic bottled up half the town becuase he positioned himself on the freeway over pass and failed to jump. People were more angry then anything eles i think they booed when the police finally talked him down im not sure i was lucky enough not to be caught in it all but i sure heard all about it....i think he probubly had to move to NY after that stunt:)

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unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Sep 25 2007 09:14 PM

I've never seen the original but it sounds good. And another Scott, Denzel movie sounds sweet to me.

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paskunia writes:
on Oct 17 2007 01:04 PM

Any younger TV viewers who want to see Ben Stiller's dad, Jerry, on the big screen should check out the original TOP123. Dad could teach his son a thing or three about movie acting 'cos, frankly, Ben is a ZERO. Anne Meara- his mom- also out-acted him, as the job agent in "Night at the Museum," and she was only on screen for a minute.

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