The Taking of Pelham
One Two Three (Soundtrack)
Sound: B+
Music: B+
Director Joseph Sargent was a one of the most accomplished
telefilm directors of all time, directing episodes of Gunsmoke, It
Takes A Thief, The Invaders pilot, the short lived and grossly
underseen The Immortal (1969 telefilm), the Kojak pilot (entitled
The Marcus-Nelson Murders), and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,
including a few shows edited together for theatrical release. His Vietnam telefilm Tribes (1970)
even got a theatrical release, among many others. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) was made
especially for theatrical release and is his greatest commercial hit, as well
as one of his biggest critical successes, and hugely influential on filmmakers
like Quentin Tarantino.
It is one of the great urban crime thrillers and one of
the reasons for this is the intense score by the amazing David Shire. Shire has done some of the most exciting and
smart film music of his time, including scores for Francis Coppola’s masterwork
The Conversation (1974), the Neo-Film Noir Farewell My Lovely,
Robert Wise’s The Hindenberg (both 1975), and All The President’s Men
(1976) at the time. More recently, his Monkey
Shines for George Romero’s overlooked 1988 opus is an intense stunner for a
deceptively deep film psychologically.
Even after the events of 9/11/01, the film is a great
thriller that has great claustrophobic intensity, while now seeming like
nostalgia from an innocent time! It is
exceptionally cast with some of the best actors at the time Walter Matthau,
Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, Julius W. Harris,
Sal Viscuso), plus a couple (Jerry Stiller & Doris Roberts) who became
known for their comedic talents later.
Add the incredible Peter Stone screenplay, the man who scripted Stanley
Donen’s great thrillers Charade (1963) and Arabesque (1966), and
this extremely high quality of work behind and in front of the camera can only
inspire a music artist like Shire to deliver a highly spectacular score as he
does here.
Some of the feel and style of the film and its music can
be contributed to the influence of William Friedkin’s The French Connection
(1971), but this film is an original on its own, a true classic of early 1970s
cinema. The same can be said for its
score, which is offered here for the first time ever on this Retrograde Records
CD of the soundtrack from Shire’s own tapes, as the masters were unacceptably
destroyed. It is therefore amazing that
this sounds as good as it does.
The PCM CD sound offers both stereo and monophonic tracks,
but the clarity is exceptional for music recorded in this period. It has a presence and warmth we do not
encounter enough in recordings from this era, plus a character most music today
lacks. This also includes some ingenious
composition by Shire not used in the final film. The tapes have no “wow” or warping either, so the eclectic mixes
of drums, rhythm, trumpets, strings, and even electronic music comes through
very nicely.
The MGM DVD version was issued in 2000 and is shockingly
monophonic only. The liner notes
express the concern Shire had at the time that his music would not be heard
over the sound effects of the train, among other chaos. That DVD is available on the cheap, and
worth getting, especially if you have not seen the film. However, MGM really ought to consider a 5.1
remix of the film, especially with such a great surviving score like the one on
this CD. Add a new high-definition
transfer and that would be a hit, especially as a special edition. In the meantime, this CD has been out for
about as long, though it holds up much better, and is strongly recommended for
all serious soundtrack libraries. You
can order yours through www.filmscoremonthly.com
before it goes out of print.
- Nicholas Sheffo
