the year 2015

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, also known as The Taking of Pelham 123, is a heist film released in 1974, starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Jerry Stiller, and Martin Balsam. It was directed by Joseph Sargent, produced by Edgar J. Scherick, and was based on the novel of the same title by John Godey. Peter Stone wrote the screenplay, which takes its basics from the novel but is highly different in approach, embracing a kind of New York City cynicism. In 1998, the film was remade as a television movie with the same title, with Edward James Olmos in the Matthau role and Vincent D'Onofrio replacing Shaw as the senior hijacker. Although not particularly well received by critics or viewers, this version was reportedly more faithful to the book, though it updated the setting with new technologies. It was also devoid of the quirky humor that made the original so memorable. Another remake, directed by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta, will be released in 2009. (i doubt it will be anywhere near as good as the original) The hijackers' system of referring to each other as colors, such as "Mr. Blue", was later used by Quentin Tarantino in his film Reservoir Dogs, and a group of other productions most notably the TV series The Unit, in this case to hide the operators military ranks and real names.