Movie and Book of the Week: THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE.

For various reasons I’m watching THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE tonight; there’s also a book. The 1974 Matthau flick reminds me vividly of the NYC of my childhood; which is to say, remarkably [expletive deleted] up*. And this is a personal recollection, too. My dad was on the Staten Island railroad for decades, and we moved out of Brooklyn when I was eight, so while I don’t remember the details about living in the City back then I still vividly remember the feel. This movie captures the feel.

*I know I’m supposed to be romanticizing the past and everything. But seriously, 1970s NYC < 1980s NYC < 1990s NYC > 2000s and later NYC. Forget ‘character.’ What I enjoyed was the ability to walk through Times Square without being solicited for various criminal activities.