It’s DIE HARD on the New York subway! This week we welcome back special guest Jason Bailey (who completes his hat trick of appearances) to discuss THE TAKING OF PELHAM123 (2009)!

When a ruthless thief who calls himself Ryder (John Travolta) takes over a New York city subway train and demands a $10 million ransom for the hostages, disgraced MTA official Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) finds himself in the middle of the crisis. Garber must now somehow attempt to negotiate his way through this high stakes situation, which soon becomes even more perilous and political when a suspicious NYPD hostage negotiator (John Turturro) and the slippery Mayor of New York (James Gandolfini) both get personally involved. As the body count rises and tensions increase, Garber finds himself drawn into a strange, almost symbiotic relationship with the unhinged hijacker…and ultimately has to go into the lion’s den to confront him personally.

While the bulk of this episode is focused on the 2009 Tony Scott remake, inevitably the guys talk extensively about the 1974 original (and even the 1998 TV movie version). Things are starting to come full circle now, as a seventies film that influenced the original 1988 Die Hard is then remade for a post 9/11 landscape…with new Die Hard DNA inevitably added to the mix. The chaps talk about the story’s themes (particularly the astute and incisive examination of big city politics), the inherent challenges of remakes, and the excellent, layered acting performances. As always the guys hand out ‘Die Hard Oscars’ and wrap things up with a challenging edition of the ‘Double Jeopardy’ trivia quiz.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8TtjRlX_3E

At the time of release, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 is streaming on Philo and is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV/iTunes, Fandango and all the usual platforms! Both versions of the film are also available on physical media!

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