Deborah Ross

Calling a halt

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3<br /> 15, Nationwide

issue 01 August 2009

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
15, Nationwide

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is a remake of the 1974 film which starred Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw — remember the ending; the sneeze and the gesundheit? — and I don’t know how this remake got off the ground exactly, but I’m imagining the initial meeting went something like this:

Film Executive #1: ‘Let’s remake The Taking of Pelham One Two Three but do it dumber.’

Film Executive #2: ‘How much dumber?’

Film Executive #1: ‘Much, much dumber. And we’ll finish with an armed face-off instead of a sneeze. You can’t get less clever than that.’

Film Executive #2: ‘Great! I love it!’

Honestly, I sometimes think even I could cut it as a Hollywood player and, to this end, have even mooted a new version of Gone with the Wind, which also ends in an armed face-off.

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