The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Walter Matthau may lead the transit police response, but Robert Shaw's colour-coded gang turns timetable management into an art form. The entire scheme hinges on subway signal intervals, braking curves and precision timing down to the individual second. In the cutting room, the cross-cutting between the hijacked carriage and the frantic command centre plays like a metronome ticking down an impossible deadline.