Great Sound on Great Motion 2 – “The Taking of Pelham 123 (’74)”

While this isn’t an original cut from the ’74 film The Taking of Pelham 123, the tribute footage on YouTube is a sight to behold. The editor’s skill in reviving the coolness of David Shire’s theme song in a modern and creative way while maintaining its original role, significance, and atmosphere in the film is pretty impressive.

As you might know, David Shire is a prolific film composer who is especially famous for his music on ‘Saturday Night Fever.’ His work, along with other composers like Lalo Schifrin, contributed to the rise of ’70s Jazz Funk music in the film industry. This genre might not appear so fresh today, but I believe Shire’s work was one of the first epoch-making attempts to synchronize funky ‘grooves’ with crime/action movies, creating what we now know as the ‘Archetype of Cool’.

Watching this tribute footage, it’s as if the editor is reconstructing and reimagining the past archetype from a present perspective, utilizing the resources we have now. What’s truly fascinating is the editor’s remarkable ability to avoid ‘just another cliche’ and instead engage us in a fresh way that the original trailer didn’t.

I could only devote a little space to the music itself, but if you’re interested in the innovative techniques Mr. Shire adopted in this theme song, I recommend you Google’ 12-tone techniques’ for a deeper understanding of his groundbreaking approach.