B-Movie Gazette: THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3 (1974) (TV 1998) (2009) - AND HOPEFULLY NO MORE AS TWO OF THESE WERE UNNECESSARY

B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - LENA'S HOLIDAY (1991)

Felicity Waterman plays Lena, a German girl who, after the wall comes down, decides to move to Hollywood. Upon arrival she is thrown into a comic caper when her bags are switched. The second half of the movie morphs into rom-com as she gets involved with a cab driver (Chris Lemmon.) Waterman is excellent in her first picture as she's in every scene, it's a respectable performance in one of Crown International's last pictures. Lemmon, who looks so much like his dad it freaks me out is good here but lacks his dad's charm and sparkle. We have good ole Michael Sarrazin as a cop. Locations and the soundtrack are awesome and Waterman really does a great job carrying the whole picture. I say, give this one a chance if you can find it. Very rare, VHS about $35 and DVD $200. However, if you really want to see it, putchase the B-Movie Blast set of 50 movies from Millcreek which will set you back about $25 and you'll have a bunch of other movies. Enjoy. 2.75 stars/2.75

Sunday, June 30, 2024

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3 (1974) (TV 1998) (2009) - AND HOPEFULLY NO MORE AS TWO OF THESE WERE UNNECESSARY

Oscar snub? - Dick O'Neill as dispatcher and alter-ego to "Garber" (Walter Matthau)

1974 VERSION

There must be literally a dozen or more great films from the '70's that should have never been remade and this one is a doosie. From the perfectly grimy photography of the subway sequences to the near-perfect editing and of course, performances, the original Pelham is a Bonafide classic through and through. Robert Shaw's performance as the hijacker's ringleader is one of his best and although Walter Matthau is great as the cop, it's his counterpart, Correll (Dick O'Neill) that should get top honors. In the event you've never seen it then don't pass go and don't collect two hundred dollars - just get your butt over to Tubi where it's streaming for free. Easily one of early 70's best films. 4.0 stars/5

TV 1998 VERSION

Produced by MGM for ABC, this television adaption stars Edward James Olmos as the cop and Vincent O'nofrio as the ringleader. They make a couple of politically correct changes such as making one of the four robbers a woman. "Mixed results" I think would be a great term to describe this version. The casting here is really good but the dialog isn't. The editing is hip for the time period but the underground photography leaves a lot to be desired. Lorraine Bracco is here as a cop but it's certainly not the same woman I saw in Goodfellas. As my man Rod Serling used to say, "subject to your approval," you can decide for yourself, use the embed or it's on Tubi, Roku and some others. 2.0 stars/2.75

2009 VERSION

Oh, man. From the dredges of the deep dark comes this absolutely unnecessary version that has one thing and only one thing going for it which was Tony Scott behind the camera. Having said that, it's his worst by a mile. The changes they make to the plot are many (such as making the robbery about a stock trade) and so vast and off the track of the story. It has been known to make fans of the original version puke. For instance, a scene where a boy needs to pee and an adult wants to but can't and Travolta makes a stupid comment, all of it totally unnecessary. (For whatever reason, this scene is also in the 1998 TV version but is not in the original book or movie which means 2009 copied that from the TV version.)

And then there's John Travolta. Miscast isn't the word to use, it's just wrong, doesn't work. Scott should have told him to come back with a different approach to the character. I am calling miscast though on both John Turturro way out of place as a cop and Michael Rispoli who is so much better than this material. Same thing with Denzel who can play anything but this isn't him. It's a car wreck folks, it's up to you whether to look or not. On VOD. 1.25 stars/5