Sorry, this movie sucks

Good concept, poorly executed.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I bought a used VHS tape of this recently, and saw it for the first time in decades (I'd seen it on TV in 1972). I believe it's based on a real incident or incidents that took place in NYC in the mid-sixties. That two punks can hold a subway car hostage is realistic always; people don't want to get involved, and that could include any of us. Nonetheless, that that street crime has become more vicious--and armed--since then does diminishes its power. Then again, a switchblade can be as dangerous as a gun, and Musante's brandishing it would have been scary at any time. A well-acted piece, and interesting to see the late Ed MacMahon in a film. It was also interesting that this was Martin Sheen's first screen role, and as an aggressive punk. In reality, he's one of Hollywood's leading pacifists.

Haven't seen it in many years but it's never been forgotten by me. I'm pretty sure it'd be dated now, probably unappreciated by today's generation. But I've noted in reading these comments just how many NYC residents have declared it's realism. And there's the rub. Those that say they can't understand the paralysis of the individuals in the film are in denial. When a family from Utah was waiting in a NYC subway not many years ago the mother was suddenly affronted by a couple of lowlifes demanding money from her in a profane, threatening manner. Attempting to divert the attackers from her, her son verbally objected to her treatment and was killed for it. I remember the chill I felt when I read a witness comment that he was killed for interfering and that 'people here know you never interfere - you just don't'. I too have lived in the city all my life and have traveled the subways of the sixties and seventies and I can assure any disbelievers that whenever a bad element came on and behaved menacingly, passengers looked at their feetThat's the oft-chronicled syndrome of 'no safety in a crowd' . Going to the defense of a stranger and thereby inviting the violence unto oneself requires more than a little courage. This was possibly even more true in the sixties (the setting of this film) when our society was actually more civilized than it is now (regarding the violence to which people were unaccustomed) and the phenomenon of 'apathy' was noted by sociologists with alarming regularityNow, I can't really see the scenario of this movie occurring in real-life anymore. But in the mid-sixties it was all too authentic. Even punks were more creative in their activities back then. Today's video-drenched, learning-disabled, fast-shooting creepoids are too lazy, dumb and unmotivated to embark on such imaginative torments as the antagonists here. I actually knew a few guys like these two back in the sixties. The type that entertained and empowered themselves through the humiliation of others. Without the multi-channel cable universe in place back then they were too often found in inner-city streetsAs to the movie itself I just have to say that when one stays with you for the rest of your life it's pretty easy to categorize it as great. Much has been written already about the characters in this film so I'll not bother to add much except to say that the part played by Beau Bridges is the part to which I most identify. Not because of his heroism, because of the way he becomes sick to his stomach at his own cowardice. Had Tony Musante not turned his attention to the frightened Ed McMahon and his sleeping daughter the drama may well have had a non-ending. I felt the self-loathing that Bridges felt also and I think it's at that point that I too would have finally reacted. I hope soThey should bury a copy of this movie in a time capsule. It captures a moment in time of American inner-city culture that may be gone now, but you never know. History has a tendency to re-cycle

Poster "Sol1218" wrote that he found it not credible that none of the other passengers on the train tried to interfere with the thugs or help their fellow passengers. But the reality of 1967 was that it was a rare New Yorker who would stick his neck out for a stranger.Just three years earlier, in 1964, a terrible crime occurred in Forest Hills, Queens that made headlines world-wide. A barmaid named Kitty Genovese was attacked and killed on the street while dozens of neighbors in surrounding apartment buildings listened to her screams. During the attack, apparently one person yelled from a window and the attacker backed off for a few moments. But when no further interference took place, the attacker returned and stabbed Miss Genovese to death.None of the neighbors even called the police. They all later said, when interviewed, "I didn't want to get involved." That sentiment reflected the majority of New Yorkers in that era of rampant street crime: mind your own business, don't get involved.The passivity of the passengers in The Incident was perfectly in line with the sensibilities of the time, and the fact that it took a visitor from Oklahoma (Beau Bridges) to step up to the plate, was also very apt.All that being said, this movie is extremely powerful. The first time I ever saw it, on television, I was shaking for hours.

Despite budget limitations, the final product in this Independent Film Classic is outstanding. With a few familiar faces (although everyone looks so incredibly young here), and a relatively confining story line, the viewer becomes acquainted with several very unique characters. Two street thugs on a crime spree decide to continue their night of "fun and games" by accosting the passengers in a subway compartment. Regardless of appearance, ethnicity, age or gender, everyone appears to be free game for the hooligans.Although it may be painful to watch how innocent people are subjected to threats as well as emotional and physical abuse, this film offers much more than simply insight into an all-too-familiar nightmare. Through this "incident", people with their own problems are suddenly compelled to share with the world what they had kept hidden for so long. The outburst by the middle-aged woman, fed up with her small-time life as a school-teacher's wife, shows how emotional exhaustion can lead to an eventual explosion. As able bodied men look on in fear of the violent punks, a less likely hero emerges in defiance.This is a quiet gem of a film, much overlooked at the time of release in 1967. Fans will enjoy a look at the very youthful Martin Sheen, Donna Mills and Beau Bridges. Even Ed McMohann looks like a "kid". I highly recommend this film to enthusiasts of Independent Films. "The Incident" is easily among the very best of them!