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Reviews (9)
Jun 01, 2008
Interesting crime drama in 1974 New York City
1 of 1 found this helpful Set (and filmed) in New York City around 1974, this very good-to-excellent crime/hostage drama involves a group of men hijacking a New York City subway train, and holding a carload of hostages for ransom. Walter Mattau stars as the Transit Authority Police Lieutenant who, with his classic dry humour and sharp wit must battle the politics, red-tape, and rivalry between all the agencies involved, while all the time negotiating by radio with Robert Shaw, cast perfectly as the coldly deranged and dangerous leader of the hijackers.
This movie is filled with comedy moments, too, such as the early scene where a group of Japanese transit execs are begrudgingly (and rudely!) given a tour by Matthau. Also, the New York stereotypes, from the constantly worrying Mayor (an Ed Koch look-alike), to the very politically incorrect, coarse police captain, to the cross-section of characters being held hostage, all give some laughs along the way. In the final seconds of the movie, Matthau's face provides one of the cleverest, non-verbal twists there is on film.
This movie, made before cell phones and when the dollar meant more, will seem a bit dated in a few ways, but the timeless plot of hijacking, the characters played by the sharp-witted and sarcastic Matthau, the cold and menacing Shaw as well as others, and the clever poking fun at political incorrectness and burocracy, make this a very enjoyable movie, even for those not lucky enough be be from the "Big Apple."
Nov 24, 2016
Very Nice
Very Nice coins, as described. Thank you.
Dec 13, 2008
Very nice biography of Severo Ochoa
This 64-page biography by Gregory Garretson is a very nicely bound hard-cover biography of one of the 20th century's leading biochemists, Severo Ochoa. It covers his entire life span, and is well-illustrated with period photos of his life in Spain, Germany, England and the United States, and has both a one-page timeline and one-page index at the back.
It seems, however, to have been written for elementary or middle-school students, so that adult readers may find the style somewhat childlike.
Nevertheless, it details very well the lives of Dr. Ochoa and some of his peers, and gives the reader a thorough, if a little condensed, background of this Nobel Prize winning scientist.