Luc Besson is a prolific film director who is credited with re-booting the action genre. Subway (1985) was his breakout feature…it begins with a high-speed car chase that reminds us of French Connection, and also the high-speed short, C’etait un rendezvous (1976). Nowadays, Subway seems quite slow.
Back in the day, Besson had been directing music videos. He was an early adopter of digital filming and was one of the main protagonists in the evolution of le cinema du look…with an art-direction devolving from the saturated colour of luxury brand advertising (fashion, perfume etc and Grace Jones music videos).
The film is remarkable for being almost entirely filmed underground in the Paris Metro. From a formal point of view this is quite an interesting challenge, and almost as good as the space-ship science-fiction film. The underground lighting and the reflective white tiles of the corridors produce a discombobulating combination of illuminated precision and spatial confusion…
The film also features a number of actors at early-stages in their careers – Christopher Lambert, Isabelle Adjani etc.
It’s no surprise that, later, Besson was producer for Taxi (1998).
