walter matthau Tagged Articles at Cinematical

"How the hell can you run a goddamn railroad without swearing?"
-The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

"I got 99 problems, and a bitch ain't one."
-The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

About as loud as Joseph Sargent's original was lean, Tony Scott's take on The Taking of Pelham 123 is more indebted to his name than its own, all restless shots and relentless cuts, ticking clocks and roving maps, a stream of shouting and shooting and speed-ramping and slow-motion and all that jazz. The conversations are cranked up, and the confrontations are amped up, but to what end? Scott whips out the familiar frame-blurring techniques that have ostensibly served him well in the past, but his flair tends to instead rob a crackerjack crime thriller of an inherent momentum that has served it quite well over the span of almost four decades.

It's not far to assume that all remakes will disappoint by default. I've come to learn that we get one Dawn of the Dead '04 for every ten of Prom Night '08, but more importantly, I've learned to be a bit more grateful for those that do work, because they are no less ours to enjoy. However, judging by the new trailer over at Yahoo! Movies for Tony Scott's take on The Taking of Pelham 123, that approach cannot eliminate skepticism entirely, which is what this trailer filled me with, entirely.

Hiring the more spastic Scott sibling to helm a movie that mostly takes place on a subway car held hostage doesn't seem right, which is why this piece is filled with roaming cameras as a truck crashes into a car, Denzel Washington clashes with John Travolta, a motorcycle crashes into a car, Denzel's facial hair clashes with Travolta's facial hair, so on, so forth...

And the original (Walter Matthau vs. Robert Shaw! And that theme!) and its dry wit appear to have instead been reduced to that one line about milk and a climax likely more comparable to Speed than Pelham '74. But hey, I can't say for sure until I actually see more than two minutes of the thing, and having been surprised by how much I enjoyed Scott and Washington's Deja Vu after sitting through its trailers, I'll try and bite my tongue until June 12th.

(On the flip side: if you have 105 minutes to spare, I may be able to help you see things my way...)

When putting together a remake, the powers that be usually find similar actors to fill the roles once immortalized by someone else. But sometimes, we get people entirely different. As we have heard, there's a remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three coming our way, titled The Taking of Pelham 123. Instead of Walter Matthau, we're getting a whole different type of actor -- Denzel Washington, and now Just Jared is sharing a peek at the man in action.

123 focuses on some armed, color-named gang members who hijack a subway car in New York City and take the train hostage in hopes of collecting a sweet ransom. Lt. Zachary Garber (Washington) has to make it all happen. Methinks things aren't going too well for Z in this scene.

I like Denzel and all, and I'm sure that he'll be great, but this isn't exactly new territory for him, and seeing this, I just want me some Walter Matthau. If you're feeling the same way, head through the jump.

The trailer for The Taking of Pelham One Two Three looked really cool way back in 1974: all barked dialogue, subways slamming down rails, and a distinct New York disdain, as I recall. It was so cool it motivated me to borrow a copy of the book it was based on from the public library. (I was too young to sneak into R-rated movies back then.) John Godey's novel was a rocking good read; it seemed like the smell of the subway emanated from its pages. Of course, that could have been from the previous reader, but the salient point is this: when I finally saw the film, I was more than impressed by the solid craftsmanship displayed by screenwriter Peter Stone and director Joseph Sargent. They effectively translated the insane idea at the heart of the story -- How do you hijack a subway train in the middle of New York City and expect to get away with it? -- and delivered a nail-biting mystery thriller.

Last month, Jessica Barnes told us of a report that Denzel Washington and Tony Scott would be reuniting for a remake of Pelham, with Washington stepping into the scuffed shoes of the jaded Transit Police lieutenant originally played memorably by Walter Matthau. Now Variety is reporting that John Travolta is in negotiations to play the leader of the gang that hijacks a subway train and threatens to kill the passengers unless a ransom is paid. In the original, that role was played by the menacing Robert Shaw.

Travolta was brutish and cool as the lead villain in John Woo's Broken Arrow, so he could do a good job with the part. The script for the remake was written by David Koepp, which is another mark in its favor. But will Tony Scott be able to capture the authentic flavors of New York that helped make the original so distinctive? And will he be smart enough to cast people who actually look and sound like New Yorkers? Here's hoping he can cast the modern-day equivalent of original cast members Dick O'Neill, Kenneth McMillan, James Broderick, Julius Harris and Jerry Stiller (all on the side of the law) and Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo and Earl Hindman (the other members of the gang, all referred to by colors, which may sound familiar). Production starts early next year.

For those who were confused, irritated or just plain disappointed with the ridiculous Yahoo Serious comedy Young Einstein, you'll be happy to know that everyone's favorite physicist is getting a legitimate early-years biopic soon. According to Variety, Lionsgate has purchased the worldwide life rights to Albert Einstein, which kinda sounds like they now own the guy and could make a clone army (that probably wouldn't be so bad). Lionsgate has also bought the rights to Walter Isaacson's book Einstein: His Life and Universe, which was the first biography to dip into the genius' private archives. Isaacson will also serve as a consultant on the film, which also gained access to Einstein's correspondence and papers, which are currently owned by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The story will focus on Einstein's life from about 20 to 40, at which age he won the Nobel Prize in Physics. The film will apparently show the man as a rebel who challenged existing scientific theories but will also deal with personal and romantic plots.

All I can say is, it's about time. But this is me, a total geek who wears Einstein t-shirts. Of course, this is also me, the guy who is really bad at science and has never really read much on Einstein's actual work. I'm mostly interested in his personality, which is why I'm excited to see him get a decent biopic. As far as I can tell or remember, there hasn't ever been a good Einstein movie -- even if you have a guilty spot for Yahoo Serious, his movie was by no means about the real genius. Aside from Serious, we've seen Walter Matthau play the guy in I.Q. and Michael Emil sorta play him in Insignificance. According to the IMDb, there are at least three Einstein biopics in the works, one of which is probably Lionsgate's. One of them is about the friendship between Einstein and Paul Robeson, played by (last we heard) Ben Kingsley and Danny Glover, respectively, and another is being directed by Liliana Cavani with Vincenzo Amato (The Golden Door) playing the lead (I guess Giovanni Ribisi jumped the gun when he said he was cast in that film). There's also a British TV-movie in the works with Andy Serkis as Einstein.

It seems that director Tony Scott can't get enough of remakes -- and Denzel Washington, for that matter. Sources for Entertainment Weekly are reporting that Washington and Scott are in negotiations to re-team for the remake of the 1974 action thriller, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. The original film starred Walter Matthau and Jerry Stiller, and was based on the novel by Morton Freedgood (under the pseudonym John Godey). The story centered on a grizzled New York Transit cop sent to stop a group of terrorists who have hijacked a subway car for a million dollar ransom. Washington would reportedly play Matthau's role of the cop. This would be the second attempt at a remake for the film; the first was a made-for-TV movie in 1998 with Edward James Olmos and Vincent D'Onofrio.

So far, Sony has stayed quiet on the rumored Pelham negotiations. But, Washington and Scott have made three previous films (Crimson Tide, Man on Fire, and Deja Vu), so they must enjoy working with one another. Scott still has his other 70's remake reportedly in production; Walter Hill's, The Warriors. Although, it has been a while since anyone has heard a peep out of that project. Washington, on the other hand, has American Gangster (directed by Tony's big-brother, Ridley) headed for theaters on November 2, followed by the family-friendly drama The Great Debaters on Christmas Day. So providing everyone can coordinate their schedules, I wouldn't be surprised if Pelham joins the growing slate of productions headed for the fast-track before the dreaded "Hollywood Strike" begins.