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The Roosevelt Tunnel built under the Waldorf Astoria to which Ryder uses as part of his escape from the subway is actually based on the secret track 61 which is built under the Waldorf Astoria and was commissioned to help President Franklin Roosevelt keep his use of a wheelchair secret.
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John Travolta chose not to promote the film with the rest of the cast, because he was still reeling from the loss of his son, Jett.
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The R-142 and R-142A subway cars portrayed in this film are permanently linked into 5-car sets and cannot operate as single units. R-62A 2079, a single car capable of operating alone, was cosmetically modified to resemble a modern car for this film and restored to its original appearance after filming was completed.
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Garber talks about choosing between purchasing trains from a Japanese company and a Canadian company. Although not mentioned by name, this refers to Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Bombardier Transportation, who have both manufactured subway trains for New York.
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The movie pays homage to
Walter Matthau, who played Lt. Zachary Garber in the 1974 movie by naming '
Denzel Washington's character Walter Garber. Also, while Lt. Zachary Garber wore a plaid shirt and yellow tie, Walter Garber wears a yellow shirt and similar pattern plaid tie.
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John Travolta's character (Ryder) wears a Breitling watch. Travolta is a spokesperson for Breitling.
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Ryder says to Garber, "You live, you die, you either go with the current or you fight it, but you all end up in the same place", to which Garber asks, "Where's that, Jersey". Ryder then says, "Yeah, you watch it, I was born there man."
John Travolta, who plays Ryder, was born in Englewood, New Jersey.
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The production team worked closely with the MTA and was given access to the MTA control room for research.
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In the movie, from the audience's viewpoint, Ryder (
John Travolta) is seen wearing an earring on his right ear while Walter Garber (
Denzel Washington) has one on his left. Also notice that both of them has only a single earring.
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The IND Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn was used in the scene where Garber enters the tunnel to deliver the ransom money.
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Despite the fact that this was filmed in Super 35, "Filmed in Panavision" is listed in the end credits.
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The original film is considered a classic, while the remake is considered better then expected but nothing more than that.
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The title derives from the train's radio call sign. When a New York City subway train leaves to make a run, it's given a call sign based on the time it left and where, in this case Pelham Bay Park Station at 1:23pm.
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Shipped to theaters under the code name "Watch Your Step".
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One of the bad guys was a teamster on the set with an actual criminal past who Tony Scott hired because he felt he played a bad guy convincingly enough.
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In the novel, Ryder doesn't mind talking to others, but in the remake he talks only to Garber. He also converses more with the hostages in the book.
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First blood is a railroad term describing the first time an engineer killed someone on the tracks.
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In the novel we learn more of the hijackers motivations and converse more with the hostages.
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In the novel, Ryder's mother died of cancer and his father was bludgeoned by an ashtray. He entered military service like Vietnam and perhaps this was the case in the original film but doubtful the remake.
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The novel explores more of what the media and the public thinks of the hijacking.
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In the novel, the Mayor has flu but in the remake he says he always gets flu when visiting schools so wants a flu shot on standby. But the Mayor is ill with something that could be life-threatening. His wife is in the novel but they've separated in the remake because of his infidelity.
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In the novel, Ryder's men come from criminal backgrounds that were recommended to him.
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In the novel, the first time we meet the Mayor is at his mansion, having a tryst with a monk, and not on another train like the remake. In the remake, his marriage is in trouble but not for the same reason. The Mayor (Sam in the novel) even considers letting the hijackers keep the train because New York doesn't have a million dollars, which was a lot of money in 1973 when the book was written.
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A scene in the novel omitted from the remake was a 14-year old girl was raped.
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In the novel, Ryder allows for the money to be delivered to the station by 3:13pm, but not the remake.
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In the novel, the Mayor considers going to the train, but not in the remake.
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In the novel, the money comes just on the deadline, but in the remake, they go over the deadline and Ryder kills a hostage.
We see the money being withdrawn and the people doing it in the novel but not in the remake.
In the novel....In the novel...FUCK the novel je n'ai pas lu la novel !!!!!!!!!
