Subway (film)

Subway

Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	1985
Founder	Luc Besson
Products	Thriller film

Subway is a 1985 French thriller film helmed by director Luc Besson, featuring performances by Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert. This movie is regarded as a key example of the cinéma du look style.

Plot

After stealing documents from a crime boss during his wife Héléna's birthday celebration, Fred finds himself chased by gang members and escapes into the Paris Métro system. Over several days, he attempts to leverage Héléna through blackmail, though his deeper motive is to win her love.

At the same time, both law enforcement and criminals are in pursuit of Fred and his companion known as "The Skater," a minor criminal evading capture. Héléna struggles with her emotions toward Fred and her dissatisfaction with being merely her husband's partner. Fred also gathers musicians for a band he claims to be assembling, despite lacking vocal talent himself. The film showcases an extensive ensemble whose backgrounds unfold through their interactions.

Cast

• Isabelle Adjani as Héléna Kerman
• Christopher Lambert as Fred
• Richard Bohringer as The Florist
• Michel Galabru as Commissioner Gesberg
• Jean-Hugues Anglade as The Roller
• Jean Bouise as The Station Master
• Jean-Pierre Bacri as Inspector Batman
• Jean-Claude Lecas as Robin
• Pierre-Ange Le Pogam as Jean
• Jean Reno as The Drummer
• Éric Serra as Enrico (bassist)
• Arthur Simms as Paul (singer)
• Isabelle Sadoyan as The prefect's wife

Production

Filming for Subway took place both on-site within the Paris Métro and the Paris RER, alongside studio sets crafted by designer Alexandre Trauner. The initial car chase sequence pays tribute to the 1971 movie The French Connection, while the conclusion loosely alludes to the 1960 classic Breathless.

Soundtrack

The film’s music was composed by Éric Serra, who also created the track "It's Only Mystery," performed by Fred’s band. The soundtrack was initially released on vinyl and cassette in 1985, achieving sales exceeding 100,000 copies in France, and later saw a CD release in 1996.

Reception

In 1986, Subway ranked as the third highest-grossing French film domestically, trailing behind Trois Hommes et un Couffin and Les Specialistes, drawing an audience of 2,920,588 moviegoers. Its U.S. box office earnings totaled $390,659.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 67% approval rating based on nine critiques. Janet Maslin from The New York Times commended its "vibrantly energetic visual style" and engaging subterranean sequences but remarked that its characters and plotlines were somewhat superficial. Critic John Cribbs described Subway as contemplative and largely lacking in narrative drive, emphasizing director Besson’s exploration of liberation from societal obligations through the depiction of the subway as a haven from relentless activity.

Accolades

At the 39th British Academy Film Awards, Subway earned a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It also garnered 13 nominations at the 1986 César Award, winning three: Best Actor awarded to Christopher Lambert, Best Production Design credited to Alexander Trauner, and Best Sound.

Home media

In November 2001, the movie became available on DVD in the United States, presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen format. This release included both an English-dubbed track and the original French audio accompanied by English subtitles. Critics from DVD Talk awarded the DVD 3 out of 5 stars for its video presentation and approximately 2½ stars for sound quality, but rated the bonus features quite low at only ½ star. These extras consisted of biographies of the cast and crew as well as trailers for other films by Besson. Typically, standard DVD versions offer only the English dub, which varies notably from the French original; however, both Lambert and Adjani provided their own English-language performances.

Blu-ray versions were issued in September 2009 in the United Kingdom and France, featuring the original French soundtrack with optional English subtitles. According to Blu-ray.com, these editions received a rating of 3½ out of 5 stars for both audio fidelity and video quality.