Saturday Night at the Movies
Unmarked bills: Top 5 Hostage Movies
Unmarked bills: Top 5 Hostage Movies
By Dennis Hartley
Since everybody seems to have “hostage drama” on the brain lately, what with Captain Phillips at the multiplexes (my review) and the government shutdown debacle in D.C., I thought this might be a good a time as any to break out the duct tape, ransom notes, and the popcorn. Here are my picks for the top five “hostage movies”, in alphabetical order…
Dog Day Afternoon
Fargo
– “There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Dontcha know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well, I just don’t understand it.” That’s a sample of the folksy wisdom imparted by Brainerd, Minnesota’s head sheriff Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) throughout the Coen Brothers’ 1996 “heartland noir” masterpiece. In an act of pure desperation, a financially strapped car salesman (William H. Macy), frustrated at his well-to-do father-in-law’s stalwart refusal to help seed any of his hare-brained business schemes, hires a pair of low-rent thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his own wife and hold her for ransom. Everything goes horribly awry. The very pregnant Marge (“I think I’m gonna barf. No, that’s passed.”) slowly uncovers the whole sordid, twisted affair, with Zen-like patience and old-school detective work. Purportedly based on a true story…but one must be wary of such claims when the Coens are involved! A truly singular pastiche of dark noir and upbeat “Minnesota nice”. Acting, writing and direction is all superb; expect the unexpected, in form and in content.
– “There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Dontcha know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well, I just don’t understand it.” That’s a sample of the folksy wisdom imparted by Brainerd, Minnesota’s head sheriff Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) throughout the Coen Brothers’ 1996 “heartland noir” masterpiece. In an act of pure desperation, a financially strapped car salesman (William H. Macy), frustrated at his well-to-do father-in-law’s stalwart refusal to help seed any of his hare-brained business schemes, hires a pair of low-rent thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his own wife and hold her for ransom. Everything goes horribly awry. The very pregnant Marge (“I think I’m gonna barf. No, that’s passed.”) slowly uncovers the whole sordid, twisted affair, with Zen-like patience and old-school detective work. Purportedly based on a true story…but one must be wary of such claims when the Coens are involved! A truly singular pastiche of dark noir and upbeat “Minnesota nice”. Acting, writing and direction is all superb; expect the unexpected, in form and in content.
High and Low 
– Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film, adapted from Ed McBain’s crime thriller King’s Ransom
, is so multifaceted that it almost boggles the mind. Toshiro Mifune is excellent as a CEO who, at the possible risk of losing controlling shares of his own company takes full responsibility for helping to assure the safe return of his chauffeur’s son, who has been mistaken as his own child by kidnappers. As the film progresses, the backdrop transitions subtly, and literally, from the executive’s comfortable, air conditioned mansion “high” above the city, to the “low”, sweltering back alleys where desperate souls will do anything to survive; a veritable descent into Hell. On the surface, it plays as a fairly straightforward police procedural; and even if one chooses not to delve any further into subtext, it’s a perfectly serviceable and engrossing entertainment on that level. However, upon repeat viewings, it reveals itself to be so much more than a mere genre piece. It’s about class struggle, corporate culture, and the socio-economic complexities of modern society (for a 50 year old film, it still feels quite contemporary).
– Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film, adapted from Ed McBain’s crime thriller King’s Ransom, is so multifaceted that it almost boggles the mind. Toshiro Mifune is excellent as a CEO who, at the possible risk of losing controlling shares of his own company takes full responsibility for helping to assure the safe return of his chauffeur’s son, who has been mistaken as his own child by kidnappers. As the film progresses, the backdrop transitions subtly, and literally, from the executive’s comfortable, air conditioned mansion “high” above the city, to the “low”, sweltering back alleys where desperate souls will do anything to survive; a veritable descent into Hell. On the surface, it plays as a fairly straightforward police procedural; and even if one chooses not to delve any further into subtext, it’s a perfectly serviceable and engrossing entertainment on that level. However, upon repeat viewings, it reveals itself to be so much more than a mere genre piece. It’s about class struggle, corporate culture, and the socio-economic complexities of modern society (for a 50 year old film, it still feels quite contemporary).
The Professionals
-This 1966 western from writer-director Richard Brooks really delivers the goods (it’s what they used to call a “rollicking entertainment”…remember those?). Four “professional” mercenary-adventurers (Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan and Woody Strode), each with his own “special skill”, are hired by a land baron (Ralph Bellamy) to rescue his wife (luscious Claudia Cardinale) from a group of bandits led by an equally skilled and seasoned Mexican ex-revolutionary (Jack Palance). Lancaster and Marvin’s characters are also former revolutionaries (they rode with Pancho Villa back in the day) a factor that lends the narrative interesting depth and provides unexpected twists (in fact, the moral ambiguities make this the missing link between John Ford and a more existential movie western style that would soon flourish under the likes of Peckinpah and Leone). Great acting chemistry amongst the quartet, ace cinematography by Conrad Hall, a rousing score from Maurice Jarre and Brooks’ assured direction all add up to a winner.
-This 1966 western from writer-director Richard Brooks really delivers the goods (it’s what they used to call a “rollicking entertainment”…remember those?). Four “professional” mercenary-adventurers (Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan and Woody Strode), each with his own “special skill”, are hired by a land baron (Ralph Bellamy) to rescue his wife (luscious Claudia Cardinale) from a group of bandits led by an equally skilled and seasoned Mexican ex-revolutionary (Jack Palance). Lancaster and Marvin’s characters are also former revolutionaries (they rode with Pancho Villa back in the day) a factor that lends the narrative interesting depth and provides unexpected twists (in fact, the moral ambiguities make this the missing link between John Ford and a more existential movie western style that would soon flourish under the likes of Peckinpah and Leone). Great acting chemistry amongst the quartet, ace cinematography by Conrad Hall, a rousing score from Maurice Jarre and Brooks’ assured direction all add up to a winner.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
– Joseph Sargent directed this 1974 thriller. Robert Shaw leads a team of bow-tied, mustachioed and bespectacled terrorists who hijack a New York City subway train, seize hostages and demand $1 million in ransom from the city coffers. If the money does not arrive in precisely 1 hour, passengers will be executed at the rate of one per minute. As city officials scramble to scare up the loot, a tense cat-and-mouse dialog is established (via 2-way radio) between Shaw’s single-minded sociopath and the rumpled Walter Matthau as a wry, world weary Transit Police lieutenant. Peter Stone’s screenplay (adapted from the novel by John Godey) is sharply written and rich in characterization; it’s also memorable for being so chock full of New York City “attitude” (every character, from the Mayor and his handlers on down to the subway hostages, is soaking in it). Sargent delivers a gritty, organic and believable urban thriller. It’s the first of its kind, actually; a pre-cursor to the now familiar (although not as believable) Die Hard
formula. It definitely influenced Quentin Tarantino, who lifted one of its signature gimmicks. Shaw’s gang adapts nom de plumes, based on colors (Messrs Blue, Green, Grey and Brown). The men who pull off the heist in Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs
are designated by their ringleader as Messrs. White, Orange, Blonde, Blue, Brown etc.-which prompts the chagrined Steve Buscemi’s memorable lamentation: “Why am I Mr. Pink?!” Tony Scott’s 2009 remake was bigger and slicker…but instantly forgettable (my review).
– Joseph Sargent directed this 1974 thriller. Robert Shaw leads a team of bow-tied, mustachioed and bespectacled terrorists who hijack a New York City subway train, seize hostages and demand $1 million in ransom from the city coffers. If the money does not arrive in precisely 1 hour, passengers will be executed at the rate of one per minute. As city officials scramble to scare up the loot, a tense cat-and-mouse dialog is established (via 2-way radio) between Shaw’s single-minded sociopath and the rumpled Walter Matthau as a wry, world weary Transit Police lieutenant. Peter Stone’s screenplay (adapted from the novel by John Godey) is sharply written and rich in characterization; it’s also memorable for being so chock full of New York City “attitude” (every character, from the Mayor and his handlers on down to the subway hostages, is soaking in it). Sargent delivers a gritty, organic and believable urban thriller. It’s the first of its kind, actually; a pre-cursor to the now familiar (although not as believable) Die Hard formula. It definitely influenced Quentin Tarantino, who lifted one of its signature gimmicks. Shaw’s gang adapts nom de plumes, based on colors (Messrs Blue, Green, Grey and Brown). The men who pull off the heist in Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs are designated by their ringleader as Messrs. White, Orange, Blonde, Blue, Brown etc.-which prompts the chagrined Steve Buscemi’s memorable lamentation: “Why am I Mr. Pink?!” Tony Scott’s 2009 remake was bigger and slicker…but instantly forgettable (my review).