Today is the release of the Summer Blockbuster, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 with Denzel Washington and John Travolta. This film holds a special place in my heart for a few reasons– the first being that my dad helped with the taping of the original (1974), with Walter Matthau. My father was a Civil Engineer with the MTA (Transit Authority) here in Brooklyn and since this film is a subway heist film, they needed help from the subway system and my dad, among many others, helped facilitate filming. The second reason is that last year (34 years after the original) they filmed part of the re-make right here in Brooklyn again, at the stop right next to the shop (A,C,G to Hoyt-Schermerhorn) on one of the empty tracks. Although we never saw the “Big Guns”, we did meet many people involved in the making of the movie and got a ton of business from them too! Their make-up and costume trailers were right outside the shop for most of May last spring and this is actually how I first heard about my dad’s part in the original movie. So, my brother had us all over to watch it and it is a GREAT MOVIE- suspenseful, captivating, intense– I LOVED IT.
I hope the newly released version is just as good- but if you need a good rental, put this classic on your Netflix Queue.
While we’re on the subject of movies, I thought I would also mention a few other great movies that we’ve watched together as a family. My father passed away 20 years ago, but he always loved movies, so we have movie night every few months to watch his favorite movies & help keep his memory alive (c0mplete with Popcorn in our fun Popcorn boxes!). Here are a few more we enjoyed–
The Secret of Santa Vittoria. Loved this one too!
The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!
