Analysis of Taking of Pelham 123

Taking of Pelham 123 is an action thriller. It is about the train, Pelham 123, being hijacked by four armed men requesting money. The film is about one man, the protagonist, saving the people as hostages and getting the money to Ryder in time.

Camerwork
At the beginning there is a establishing shot of New York city high rise panning around the tallest buildings. It then moves to a high angle looking down on different streets of New York, with taxis and crowds f people, moving to a close up of the subway sign, showing the location of the movie.
They use lots of fast zooms and quick, stiff movements for side to side. This makes the scene disorientating and confusing.
There are many long shots and mid shots then a sudden close up on the faces of the hence men, showing their importance in the film and making them stand out to us.
When the location moves to the office they use a slow pan mid long shot to show the new location. Then over the shoulder shots during the conversation.
They use some hand held when in the crowds of people to make it seem that we are really there in the crowd ourself.
Then there is a close up of the gun then a high angle long shot of the subway.
At the end of the opening it goes back to the high angle of New York high rise.

Sound
At the beginning there is only the sound of a train moving and then a long beep. This then suddenly changes to ambient sound with quiet train sounds in the background. When the film goes to the crowds of people the soundtrack suddenly starts. it has heavy base sounds and fast tempo with some rapping, there are still sounds of trains moving. The music stops just as suddenly as it started when it changes to the office where a quiet ambient sounds starts with office noises e.g. talking, papers moving and quiet beeps. There is a loud guitar sound when change of location then it all stops with a sound of a loud train beep.

Editing
There are lots of different editing techniques used in this thriller which is one of reasons I find this such a great film. At first the production titles come on screen it seems to grow in size. The picture starts as a small square in the middle of the screen and slowly moves forward, drawing as in. During the establishing shot titles come on to the screen with a sliding black bar. The black bar covers part of the shot, below the bar the shot of the city flickers and the city turns dark. The titles them self flicker is well and change colour from whit to light blue then back to white. When changing from the city high rise to closer shots of the city two footages of the same piece of city, one bright and one dark, are merged together in a flicker then cuts to the next scene. The scenes  change quickly with cut transactions however when there is a close up on Ryder's face the footage is slowed down, making our attention focus on him. A black screen slides on from the right with the film name. Behind the name small blue bars slide past that look like train windows zooming past. In the office the main transaction used is a cut however after the establishing shot of the office a wipe is used which follows a man walking past the camera, this creates a very good effect. The main transaction used in the subway is a fade mixed with a zoom. The black bar is used again here for the names of actors. Another name appeared on to the screen by a slide and it looked as if it were being pulled on by the passing train, and another is sliding forward through a tunnel, this also looks like a train.
When there is a change in location there is a very fast montage of images that blur together before settling on the office. All of this is in parallel editing. To end they have a simple black screen with block white writing say the time '1.58 pm'
Lots of the editing is done to link or fit with trains, they do this to show the importance of the trains and to show what the basis of the film in based on.

Mise-en-scene
Pace - The pace of the opening sequence is very fast when in the streets and subway, this builds up tension and confusion on location and the people. In the office location the the pace is slower showing the normality in everyday working life for these people.
Costume - The hence men are wearing similar clothing. Ryder is the lead man therefore looks the worst. He is wearing a black hat, long black coat and sunglasses, therefore hiding most of his face. He is also holding a black bag which we do not know the content. The other hence men are also wearing the same type of costume however theyare not n black showing that Ryder is the most important out of the 'bad guys'
In the office everyone is wearing normal work clothing, shirt with ties and smart trouser or skirt. This shows the normality in this situtation.
Props - The whole opening is centered around a train, with things linking to them and images of the train itself. Also the bag that the hence men have makes it mysterious.
Colour - In the office the lightng is lighter with a blue tint to it, making it seem calm and technical. The subway is dark, grey and slightly dingy. This shows the difference between the two locations.
Body Language - The Hence men are all standing very still waiting for the train, showing that they are waiting in anticipation however they look as if they are calm and know what is about to happen. The people in the office seem very relaxed as they are in a comfortable location and everyday work, not knowing anything strange is going to happen.
Location - There are two location in the opening which are the main and nearly only locations used in the film. There is the office and the subway train.