For the benefit of Trish (and you, if you must)

The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (also called The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and The Greatest American Heist Movie Ever Made) is the greatest American heist movie ever made.*

* I seem to remember Jules Dassin's Rififi being pretty great, too, which prevents The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 from being called "the greatest heist movie ever made regardless of country of origin."

Because you read my blog, it's safe to assume you are intelligent and have good taste. Working under the assumption that you are intelligent and have good taste, it's further safe to assume that you would love The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 if you haven't seen it. And if you haven't seen it, shit, son, go out and buy the dvd. Don't even rent it, because if you rent it you'll love it so much you'll end up buying it, meaning you wasted money on that rental. Then again, that rental motivated you to buy the movie, and I don't know what price you put on causality, so ... nevermind.

As fantastic as Taxi Driver is, I don't think it captures the "1970's New York City is a shithole" vibe as well as The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3. (Taxi Driver captures the vibe, to be sure, but Pelham *is* the vibe, you know what I mean?) That shithole vibe is part of the charm of the movie, which means the 1998 remake could only suffer in comparison, filmed as it was in Toronto. (According to Wikipedia, fans of the original call the remake "The Taking of Bloor-Danforth 1-2-3.")

Another great thing about the original is that it was made in a different era. Just take a look at the casting: Forgive the skewed chronology, but that best way to describe it is "Walter Matthau is in the Bruce Willis role." In those days, the only on-screen action hero was Billy Jack; the usual good guy protagonists were working men who didn't defy the laws of physics to bring down the bad guys, which is how we got Walter Matthau to be the last believable hero in American cinema. Oh, that'll be "improved" upon, don't you worry; yet another remake is in the works, this time starring Denzel Washington. Will he play it as a gumshoe or as an action hero? And does anybody care?

No, because the original is unassailable. Just listen to the music. (Here's where the "for the benefit of Trish" part comes in.) Here's the main theme. It announces: This is a movie where guys get shit done. And here's the end theme. It announces: Remember those guys who got shit done? Well, this is like their make-out music.

Enjoy.

[Note to my readers with whom I have made out: I heard this music in my head when we were making out. And I imagined I was Walter Matthau in the Dave Bushnell role. That's why I kept calling you "a knock-out broad with a dynamite rack." Thanks for being understanding.]