The Remake Of The Taking Of Pelham 123-Starring John Travolta

Oscar nominated John Travolta is staring in the 1974 thriller remake of The Taking of Pelham 123. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Morgan Freegood (writing under the name John Godey),  and is a remake of the original 1974 film,  which was also remade into a TV movie in 1998. Whether John Travolta and the cast of A listers can pull off a remake we will just have to wait and see.

This time,  John Travolta stars as the criminal mastermind, a ruthless leader of a group of rough and tough New York City subway train hijackers who are demanding a ransom for the lives of the passengers. One passenger will die every minute until the ransom is paid. Denzel Washington also stars as the subway's chief detective of security.  And James Gandolfini from The Soprano's fame,  stars in the remake as well.  John Travolta cut his hair super short, grew a handlebar mustache,  and is sporting tough guy tattoo's for his role as the tough mafia boss.

In the book and original film, Ryder is cold-blooded and calculating, but in the 2009 tense thriller remake he is a loose cannon willing to kill innocent people not out of necessity but out of spite.  Also Ryder in the original film and book is portrayed as a normal looking businessman while in the 2009 remake he looks like he has taken on prison life,  wearing very obvious prison-related tattoos and the very laid back biker style persona.

Because of the death of his 16 year old son Jett,  John Travolta decided against being involved with the promotion of the film.  He stated that he still was not ready to be back in the spotlight. John Travolta did however release the following statement.

"Tony, Denzel, Luis, John, James and Sony Pictures stepped up without hesitation to help promote this wonderful film, and their unselfish efforts have allowed my family the additional time to reconcile our loss." "I am very proud of the efforts we have all made in making this movie, and I want each and every one of you to enjoy it," he adds. "So, set your calendars for the weekend of June 12th. I promise you won't be disappointed. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart."

Tony Scott is on board as the director.  Also starring in the 2009 remake are John Turturro, Luis Guzman,  Michael Rispoli,  Frank Wood,  John Benjamin Hickey,  Gary Basaraba,  and Victor Gojcaj.

The film was realeased on July 31 2009.