Browse Tag: robert shaw

RECAP: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974): Joseph Sargent

What would New York do if smart hijackers took control of one of the city’s countless subway cars? Would they pay the ransom? Would they send the troops? Would they get angry about it?  Well, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three posits all three as feasible choices.

ONE SENTENCE PLOT SUMMARY: Four professionals hijack a New York City subway car and hold its passengers for ransom for $1 million, and only a transit cop stands between them and success.  Continue Reading

RECAP: From Russia with Love

From Russia with Love (1963): Terence Young

Following the modest success of Dr. No, United Artists gave Eon Productions twice the budget for its sequel. The movie barley made it to theaters in time, but the audiences didn’t care. They embraced the movie with glee.

Everything about From Russia with Love is more than its predecessor. More run time, women with more beauty and more women with beauty, more locations, more characterization, more gadgets, more one-liners, and more explosions. And yet, in nearly every way, the movie supersedes the original Bond installment. That’s a feat in and of itself.

ONE SENTENCE PLOT SUMMARY: Global criminal syndicate SPECTRE, seeking vengeance against James Bond for the death of one of its agents, uses the spy and Britain in a plot to steal a coding machine from the Soviet Union.  Continue Reading