The Italian Job
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Movie Reviews of The Italian Job
Movie Review: worth the purchase
Summary: 5 Stars
1) movie was great, perfect example of brit movies on the era.
2) seller sent as advertised, and on time
Movie Review: Classic heist movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This should be in everyones DVD collection, great all round movie with lost of stars!Movie Review: Better Acting Than Some "Chase" films"...
Summary: 4 Stars
This isn't *quite* the ultimate "chase" film -- that would be either "Vanishing Point" (for a relatively serious film) or "The Junkman" (for a comedy), but it's one of the better-acted.Michael Caine and Noel Coward anchor the comedy nicely -- Coward's "Mr Bridger", the undisputed head of the British underworld, ruling crime with an iron hand from a comfortable cell in a pirson where the warders and Governor act as his personalk service staff, is a wonderful conceit. Caine's Charlie Croker, very much the smooth fast-talking all-round crook of working-class origins, plays off Bridger wonderfully to get permission to do the job, to the point of appealing to Bridger's obsessive patriotism (God *is* an Englishman) by pointing out that stealing four million dollars in Italy will help the balance of trade.
Roughly half the film or a bit more is devoted to getting the gang together (including hiring a computer expert [played by Benny Hill] who may be the single most over-the-top element in a film that hovers at ot near that metaphorical "top" for most of its unning time.)
A recent poll in Britain voted the line "You were just supposed to blow the bloody *doors* off!" as the best all-time movie line (i prefer the similarly-inspired "Think you used enough dynamite, Butch?", but won't quibble); it's certainly appropriate...
The gang have to do the job in spite of the Mafia (personified by Raf Vallone) -- after, all, this is their home turf and the Brits are invaders -- and this conflict leads to the horrific destruction of some simply lovely Sixties high-performance cars on a mountain road -- the punchline to the opening credit sequence is particularly painful, because so unexpeced.
Use of the original Mini Coopers[1] as the getaway cars is inspired; their small size, excellent handling, good turn of speed and the fact that they were currently being built under license by an Italian firm based in Turin, the setting of the heist, all contribute to the fun of the chase. And the efforts of Remy Julienne and his stunt team certainly don't hurt; the knowledge that all of these stunts were done for real, not by computer imagery, is impressive.
By 1969 the Mini in all its variants was history in the US, and though it continued in production worldwide for thirty years more, the American market diodn' reward the film-makers as well as they might have hoped, and the sort-of-planned sequel in which we see how Charlie and Co get out of the (literal) cliffhanger that ends this film was never made.
Since Amazon is offerenig a two-fer of this DVD and the actually-not-bad (if not great) exercise in BMW product-placement "remake" with Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron, one might do worse than to get both of them and spend an otherwise-unoccupied afternoon comparing them, spoting the little grace-note references to the original inserted into the "remake"'s unrelated plot. (Certainly a more-rewarding afternoon than one would have doing the same with the badly-acted-but-incredible-chase original "Gone in 60 Seconds" and the execrable 2000 "remake"...)
The Bottom Line: The better of the two "Italian Jobs" (not surprisingly).
[1] History: The Cooper and Cooper "S" were high-performance variants of a small car produced by British Motors under the Morris and Ausin names; not all Minis were Coopers. The "S" used a larger, more powerful engine, was banned for emissions rerasons in the US in 1966, the car itself was unable to pass crash-test standards in 1967 and so disappeared from this country.
Production continued in England (and in Italy under license, which leads to a gag in the original film) for many years after that, but was finally discontinued.
The Mini was the first of the "two-box" subcompacts with transverse engine and front-wheel drive, the direct ancestor conceptually of the VW Rabbit, Honda Civic and so on; none of them, however, used anything like its unique "Hydrolastic" suspension, which was completely hydraulic, with no springs or conventional shock absorbers.
It was smaller than those, at somewhere between 1500 and 1800 pounds and using ten-inch wheels.
BMW bought the name, and has recently brought out the car they call a "Mini Cooper", much the same shape, but much bigger and more luxurious -- the BMW "Cooper" weighs almost 3000 pounds and uses wheels as large as fifteen inches.
Those of us who cherish the original Mini in all its variants are not decieved...
Movie Review: A Classic Comedy Heist.
Summary: 4 Stars
A classic film genre that hasn't seen much action in the past few decades is the heist film. The re-imagining of OCEAN'S 11 did a nice job as did the re-imagining of THE ITALIAN JOB. Unfortunately, even those both of those movies had some great elements, neither one was original enough to even come up with their own title.
The original THE ITALIAN JOB, on the other hand, was made during an era when movies still reeked of originality. In the film, Charlie Croker (Michael Caine) is released from prison after having served his time. He receives an interesting message from a close friend of his. His friend was in the process of steeling over 4 million dollars in gold right under the noses of the Italian mafia. Unfortunately, the mafia found out about the gig and had him killed. Before he was killed, he had set a plan in motion so that Charlie could take over the operation.
Charlie agrees to do the job, but he needs some serious financing. So, Charlie breaks into the prison to visit Mr. Bridger (Noel Coward), one of the most wealthy and well-respected crooks in England. At first Bridger dismisses Charlie's request and has some of his goons pay him a visit. Then he finds out exactly how much is at stake and who they will be stealing the money from. He has a change of heart and give Charlie the money he needs. From there it's one misadventure and adventure after another leading from England to Italy, past mafia goons, to the World Cup, and over some mountains involving $4 million dollars in gold bars and three red, white, and blue Mini-Coopers.
The casting and acting in THE ITALIAN JOB is some of the most original in Hollywood history. Michael Caine was not yet a huge star, but had just finished filming ALFIE when he was cast in THE ITALIAN JOB. His role as Charlie Croker made him an international movie sensation. Noel Coward was specially picked by director Peter Collinson because of Coward's generosity to Collinson in his youth. The studio had originally wanted Nicol Williamson, but Collinson swore by Coward. Coward's prescence as the lordly Mr. Bridger added a touch of class to the movie. Then there's Benny Hill, playing the large women loving Professor Simon Peach. The Benny Hill show had yet to be broadcast, but even in the supporting role of Professor Peach, Hill illustrates his connection to bawdiness.
The movie includes a famous song entitled "The Self Preservation Society" which, in large part because of this movie, has become a favorite song played in English football (soccer) matches. Besides that famous song, there's also several great pieces of dialogue including Michael Caine's line, "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" which was voted the most memorable film line of all time in a 2003 movie poll.
The final scene in THE ITALIAN JOB remains as one of the most memorable, yet most frustrating in all of movie history. The film ends without any resolve because the studio had hoped to make a sequel, but the sequel never came. It's a dirty shame, really, because this is one movie that a sequel would have added something to the original.
The DVD includes the famous deleting "walzing Minis" scene, a commentary track, the original trailers, and a documentary. The commentary track is rather interesting to listen along with, but the documentary (chopped into three parts) is incredibly boring!
Movie Review: holding up the British end, the Italian job is an uproarious success . . .
Summary: 4 Stars
Another in a long line of English caper films, The Italian Job (1969), directed by Peter Collinson, is a classic example in the genre. With a mostly British cast, headed by lovable bad boy Michael Caine (The Ipcress File), the film follows the adventures of a criminal gang, engaged in a bold robbery attempt, executed with precision, while gloriously waving the Union Jack in the face of the opposition.
Charlie Croker (Caine) is just out of prison, when he receives information about a robbery scheme, from his friend Roger Beckerman (Rossano Brazzi), who has just been killed in Italy, by the Mafia. Beckerman's plan, involves stealing a delivery of gold en route to the Fiat plant in Turin, Italy. The idea is to utilize the city's traffic control system to create gridlock, to enable the thieves to escape. With most of the plan outlined, Croker needs to work out the details, find a crew, and get financial backing. For the later, he turns to Mr. Bridger (Noel Coward), who although behind bars in one of her Majesty's prisons, is still the man in charge. Although initially resistant, seeing that it would be a huge boost for British morale, Bridger greenlights the Italian Job.
With support of girlfriend Lorna (Margaret Blye), Croker gathers materials, and puts his group together, including math whiz Professor Simon Peach (Benny Hill). The group arrives in Italy, but experiences car damage, and encounter a major roadblock from the Mafia. Undaunted, the Brits continue as planned, infiltrating Milan's traffic control center, and executing their plan to near perfection.
The Italian Job is probably most known for the mad driving of a set of red, white, and blue mini Coopers, used to transport the stolen gold. Maneuvering through the streets, sewers and sidewalks of Milan, the three minis blaze through all manner of alternate routes. With world renowned Remy Julienne, and his driving team behind the wheel, the film features an impressive, and light hearted display of driving skill. As the mission nears completion, Quincy Jones's soundtrack builds and elevates to celebratory levels, with Michael Caine leading the bawdy singing. Making their escape in a bus, collecting the gold, and recklessly tossing the mini's down the side of a mountain, the group's hubris goes a little too far, and the film ends memorably in a literal cliffhanger, for the self-preservation society.
Producer Michael Deeley, came up with the unusual ending, and had a resolution in mind for a sequel, which never came to be. The point of the film was to showcase the brazen execution by Croker's team, and to have ripping good time in the process. In that, The Italian Job was an uproarious success. Caine and his boys exercise some restraint, but they certainly push very hard to hold up the British end. Back in England, those behind bars offer a glorious salute to Mr. Bridger and his boys, for pulling off the outrageous heist.
The enhanced version looks and sound great. The cinematography in Milan and the Italian mountains is often delightful. Extras include a commentary track by producer Michael Deeley, and author Matthew Field. It's a little dry, but is still informative. There are also some well produced making of featurettes, but unfortunately there is no contribution from the iconic Michael Caine.