"I think it's hard to generalize," says actor Denzel Washington about movie remakes. He and John Travolta — as the villain — costar in a remake of the 1974 "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," which starred Walter Matthau and was much noted for its powerful score by David Shire. Comparisons between the two versions are invariably being made, generally in favor of the original, which also had an impressive supporting cast.
"You gotta remember that remakes go back to movies and the beginning," says Washington of the film industry's history. "They'd make a movie in the 1930s and then do a remake in the 1940s. If you read some of the movie books, you'll find out they didn't wait near as long as we do now to remake a movie. With this one, what? . . . 20 years, 30 years? (actually, it's 35 years). So it wasn't for greed or just to shock people 'cause Johnny's playing nasty this time out," he chuckles, referring to Travolta in bad-guy role.
"Pelham" has become a hot topic of conversation in New York City, where the story is set. In 1974 the movie didn't create a big stir because it seemed too implausible — but that was before 9/11. The plot concerns the hijacking of a subway train, whose passengers are held for ransom. Manhattan and its infrastructure, political and mechanical, are scrutinized, and some critics have said it's too stressful a film for New York to handle in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Others say it could give bad guys, including terrorists, ideas (ideas that ostensibly it didn't give anyone in the 1970s, '80s or '90s).