The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1998 film)

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 ["Shaky"]
 * 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).