I have watched the remake of "Riding the Underground" before, and I feel slightly mediocre, so I have not watched the 74-year-old version. A while ago, I accidentally saw the old version of the poster very shocking, so I bought a Blu-ray disk to enjoy, only to learn that Hollywood filmmakers were so fierce before. Although the techniques are different, the shocking power is not inferior to "Life and Death Speed" and "The Highest Crisis"!
Through a subway robbery, it shows the absurdity and pungency of the contemporary city in the context of economic crisis, from officials and policemen to mayors to all kinds of civilians! Thrilling tension and black humor are easily blended, and there is no modern high-tech gunfight and drag racing, but the smooth and rigorous plot is watertight.
From Martin Balsem's character in a cowboy hat and a large trench coat to take the subway, Mr. Blue, Mr. Brown, Mr. Gray, and Mr. Green formed a foursome of bandits, and they planned to take control of the subway. And Robert. Mr. Lan, played by Xiao, is a bandit leader who communicates with the police and shows calmness and wit.
The sheriff led the Japanese to visit the subway center, he originally thought that the other party could not understand English, and even blatantly insulted them, did not expect that the other side spoke English slip, and then caught up with the bandits to hijack the car, quite embarrassing. The whole film depicts the interior of the New York subway in the 70s, which is a messy bureaucratic system, and the irony is very sharp.
In the face of Mr. Lan's $1 million ransom, the sick mayor and the deputy mayor discussed, the former cried out for no money, and the latter let the former empty the Swiss bank account, and finally came to the rescue can pull the vote to go to work. The two bureaucrats don't seem to take the lives of the 19 hostages seriously, which is chilling!
A police officer went to the subway to question the robbers, believing that they should hijack the plane and be shot directly, making the story even more thrilling. And the police officer who got 1 million yuan, one actually said "how is it so light", the other said "one million is enough", like this black humor line is a lot, people can't help but be funny.
Walter Matthew plays a police executive who is a witty, brave and insightful master. In his conversation with the bandits, he complained with dissatisfaction, but his thoughts were circling between. He could instantly guess that there were no bandits in the subway, and he could also use the exclusion method to circle 9 laid-off employees who would drive the subway and check them one by one.
The policeman transporting the money crashed down the street and was later relayed by a motorcycle, making you feel very hi. In the back, there was actually a thrilling unmanned subway scene, the four robbers had jumped off the car, only the passengers were still panicking on the car, turning east and west, at this time the out-of-control subway was racing all the way, and people couldn't help but pinch a cold sweat!
Mr. Green, played by Martin Balsem, is a cautious, sneezing old man, he took the money home to play after the three bandits were shot, just when the police came to interrogate, he easily hid the money, after circling the police, a sneeze seems to let the male protagonist see through something, so he opened the door again, abruptly stopped.
Although it is almost half a century ago, the film's sense of narrative rhythm and sense of crisis suffocation is no less than the high-cost action blockbusters such as "Life and Death Speed" and "The Highest Crisis" that were born later! It shows that Joseph Sargent, director of "Garrison Death Squad", "Star Trek", and "World War II Big Three", has super driving skills!
The multi-line narrative is plain and rigorous, the various baggage and twists are extremely subtle, the satirical politicians are black and humorous enough, the police-bandit confrontation is thrilling, and you can't guess the ending at a glance, and there is a shocking reversal. Why on earth is Hollywood movie so horrible and creative? Stemming from their exquisite treatment of the script and production, the industrialization is strong!