The Taking of Pelham One Two Three- Mise-en-scene (Lighting, Costume and Props)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three- Mise-en-scene

The beginning of the film, the build-up to the train heist is what i will be looking at. It begins showing a man heading down the stairs of a subway, in the setting the lighting is dull. This gives off the 'everyday' subway feel to it, there are tired looking people in office wear waiting for their train. This makes the setting look normal and does not come across as unusual.
The characters' costumes were all alike to each other, this was to establish the antagonist group members. They seem to have set a dress code consisting of casual work clothes; a shirt and tie, this was to fit in with the commuters travelling to work, a long jacket which conceals most of their body and a hat, moustache and glasses which keep their faces well covered, a common classic get up for those who wish to appear inconspicuous. The colours worn were khaki, grey and beige-brown, light colours. The rest of the passengers were wearing khaki and beige coloured clothing, this helps them to fit in. They hardly show any skin making them seem more formidable. This shows their intent as well as the planning that went into the upcoming train heist. Their clothing also very clearly dates the film as this would have been more appropriate attire for older men at the time. Its possible they could be younger than they're letting on so they could be playing up their age to seem less threatening therefore less suspicious. All of the men wore gloves, this would protect them from fingerprints if something were to go wrong and authorities were called.
The props used for the costume were a fake moustache, glasses, a hat and a briefcase. The moustache could have been perceived as real until we saw the first man sneeze and affix it, from this point we know it is not real and the audience would wonder why he is wearing it, is it for a good reason or bad? This begins suspicions for the man. Glasses are seen as a stereotype for a intellectual person instead of a violent person, this ties in with the whole look of being unobtrusive as you wouldn't expect someone dressed in office clothes to hijack a train. By wearing a hat and carrying a briefcase, it makes them look well dressed and professional, thereby giving the impression that they are just like everybody else. The train operators wear a light blue/off white shirt along with a navy tie, blazer and hat. The protagonist and antogonists both wear uniforms of a sort, for example they both wear a shirt and tie, this is standard working attire. A difference between them is the coat, the train operators wear a thick blazer instead of a coat, which is more of a professional thing to wear on top of clothes. By wearing a blazer it shows formal-wear and from this we can see that they would be the good guys in the situation, as they are both fighting for control. Another difference is the hats. The antagonists wear trilby/fedora/flat caps which seemed to be popular for the time whereas the train operators wore grease top hats with a logo which shows them to be in a more proper uniform and is highly recognisable for someone in control of the train.