The Italian Job

Rating:
Summary: Another Legendary 1969 film
Review: What a magical time! Sometimes I watch these late Sixties movies and think how great it would have been to lived in those times. Then I remember, wait, I DID live through that! I was a 14 year old film buff and Huge Michael Caine fan since I saw him in "Zulu" on something like Sunday Night at the Movies on our black and white TV. The Italian Job looked like a great vehicle for the suave anti-hero Caine, so I dug up a $1.50 (evening show) and was absolutely blown away. Curse you, Marky Mark for defiling this wonderful show! The gifted and perfect cast (blimey! it's Noel Coward..and wouldja lookit that-it's Benny Hill!), the music (mega-ditto blimey, it's Quincy Jones!), the breezy plot (tailor-made for dear Mr. Caine), the locations (the Alps, Rome, London), and the perfect time (the climax of the Swinging Sixties, baby!) make this a classic that no cg animation-enhanced 21st century film can touch. Can you even imagine a big budget movie today having the guts to pull off that crazy ending? I've been trying to figure out what Charlie was going to try next for decades. Good to see it's finally making it to DVD. Raise your glasses gents, for this "self-preservation society!"

Rating:
Summary: Some Invention and Ingenuity, Some Lackluster Moments
Review: "The Italian Job" is another movie that begins with a lot of promise and dwindles as the clock rolls on-fortunately capped at 90 minutes or so. The opening sequence, as the credits roll, is a memorable scene that caught me completely off guard. I enjoyed the young Michael Caine's acting. His charm and personality definitely help carry the film throughout its length. The quirky setup of the film is quite inventive, including a job that is not planned from the ground up, but rather inherited after the death of its mastermind. The film itself does not focus upon the heist; rather, it chooses to direct its attention to the getaway. This makes up the extended action sequence of the film, starring the little minis. The chase sequence is quite enjoyable to watch and I waited the entire movie to see it. I particularly liked the inventive end to the chase sequence and the comedy that is woven into the driving.

"The Italian Job" does not take itself seriously, and neither do I. The ending, as the documentary implies, is the ultimate cliffhanger. I wasn't sure what to make of it-or whether or not I enjoyed it. I can say that I appreciated its originality and I'm glad the film did not descend into a classic heist ending with everyone patting each other on the back. You'll have to watch it for yourself to decide.

As far as comparing it to the remake, you just simply cannot do it. The films are miles apart and have very little in common. I believe that comparing them would be pointless and unfair. See them both-just don't expect a true remake.

Rating:
Summary: take it as a mood piece and a cult classic
Review: I gave the remake of this movie a much higher rating, and the main reason is that it simply has a better plot. Michael Cain is wonderful in the original, and some of the other outrageous characters as well as the pretty original plotline together should be the ingredients for an unforgettable film, yet this one leaves you really unsatisfied, maybe because it really never decides what it wants to be: satire, comedy, serious heist movie or thriller, so it ends up being unsatisfying on all accounts. See it for the brilliant chase scene with the mini coopers, and view it also as a sensitive mood piece of 60ies swank.

Rating:
Summary: Better Acting Than Some "Chase" films"...
Review: 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...

Rating:
Summary: Self Preservation Society!
Review: This is the movie that defined the word, 'Classic'.

Michael Caine plays Charlie who's just been released from prison. Rather than trying to keep on the straight and narrow, he immediately embarks on trying to steal gold bullion from the Italian's. He gets the backing of Mr. Bridger, London's head of crime, who's in prison himself.

To help him carry out the plan, he gathers together an array of colourful people including Benny Hill as the clever professor who has a penchant for big women.

Add to the mix three Mini Cooper's as the unlikely get away cars and you're in for a fun filled, action packed film that sees Charlie and his gang trying to outrun both the police and the Mafia.

The build up to the heist is interesting and funny but the unique get away at the end is the scene stealer. Through underground sewers and subways, down church steps, through rivers and up to the very rooftops, it's gripping and highly entertaining. I think anyone that watches the film will just yearn to have a Mini Cooper afterwards.

Of course, the cliff hanger of an ending just fits so perfectly too.

To add; I also think the soundtrack is great and the film produced one of the most, if not THE, memorable quote of all time from Michael Caine when he sees the truck explode into thousands of pieces during a practice run and then turns to the unfortunate explosives 'expert' and says, "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off."

Mr. Caine has said that he still has people come up to him in the street and say that to him, even now!

To conlcude, The Italian Job is very patriotic, even the cars are red, white and blue, and I think it's the masterpiece for all British classic's.

So, "get your skates on, mate" and buy it now - your collection is lacking if this film isn't a part of it.

Rating:
Summary: REMEMBER STYLE ?
Review: The original ITALIAN JOB is one of those "little" movies that won't go away as it continues to reap the dividends of having been done with panache and style.
Michael Cane's Charlie character is an artist working effortlessly in aloof charm. He's the kind confident character you'll admire like Murphy in CUCKOO'S NEST in spite of the obvious reasons not to. There is seductive music and beautiful scenery and plenty of restrained continental humor.
I have no interest in cars, but even I admitt the classic models of the time featured here are beautiful and add to the ambiance of elegance infusing the scenes .
The chase is more clever than thrilling although the site of four cars performing on the top of a tall rounded building still makes me shake my head when I see it thinking they must have been mad. Remember, no remote control models or studio set ups were used here. That car jumping from roof to roof is real.
Don't come here looking for an action adventure though - it's more adult than that albeit geared for adults of another generation.
Director Collinson's influence makes the movie as good as it could possibly have been. The art direction also contributes strongly throughout. Because this version is so good, I am not tempted to see the remake. Why?
Basically; it must have been pretty impressive then and it's definately fun now. Sometimes all you want is a little fun with a dash of style.

Rating:
Summary: The Italian Job - Michael Caine
Review: A wonderful action movie set during 1969 Italy and England. This movie is actually better than the remake. When I first heard that someone had finished making the remake, I tried to find a copy of the original. I remembered seeing it on TV years ago and that it was a great show. The music in the original is super and true to the era. What makes this movie great is the Minis ofcourse, but also Michael Caine. I bought the original. Too bad they never made the sequel that had orginally been planned.

Rating:
Summary: Better Acting Than Some "Chase" films"...
Review: 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...

Rating:
Summary: The original heist...not on the viewer's mind
Review: Far better in almost every way than the recent re-make.

With this one, there is superb acting, a great story and plenty of action to see you through - WITHOUT ALL THE STRATEGIC PRODUCT PLACEMENTS!

Remember the days when movies were about art and not commercials?

We could go into all the symbolism inherent in a film about heists that features product placements...

Rating:
Summary: A Hilarious, Campy Caper! Great Comedy From Michael Caine!
Review: A double feature was recently offered on cable TV that allowed me to view "The Italian Job" twice - the 1969 version with Michael Caine and the 2003 version. The two films have little in common except a gold bullion robbery, 4 million dollars worth in 1969, and 27 million in 2003, to allow for the decreasing value of the dollar and bigger and better ways to spend it! I enjoyed the 2003 thriller but the older film is really an excellent comedy. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to see it, because I missed it, and lots of laughs, the first time around.

"The Italian Job" (1969) is a campy caper packed with 1960s nostalgia. There are enough gadgets and girls in this film to make even James Bond content, although Bond would never work with the bumbling, quirky characters that Michael Caine, called Charlie Croker here, is forced to deal with. The film opens with a choreographed hit by the Italian Mafia. The choreography could have been done for the June Taylor Dancers. It's a riot! Anyway, Roger Beckerman, a brilliant thief, is murdered because he had masterminded a potential heist to take place in Turin, Italy, involving millions of dollars of Chinese gold bullion. Beckerman leaves a tape for Charlie Croker, who has just been released from a British prison. The video tape, to be viewed in the event of Beckerman's death, explains the entire caper and offers Charlie the opportunity to do the job. Charlie gets the funding for the project from Mr. Bridger, played by a wonderfully comic Noel Coward. Bridger is an inmate of the prison where Charlie had spent the last few years and he rules the UK underworld like a king, from his jail cell, with guards and inmates paying him homage. Croker fights off the advances of gorgeous blondes with one hand while he uses the other to whip into shape his motley crew of screwball bandits.

The dialogue is hilarious at times, especially when the team of thieves, who seem to have a collective IQ of 75, go at each other like recalcitrant adolescent schoolboys. Croker who occasionally is forced to step out of his role as master-thief to play schoolmaster, yells at his men during a particularly delicate operation, "Get yourselves sorted out and shut-up! No one talks anymore except me!" During a meeting with the Mafia leader who threatens to kill Croker and his men if they pull-off the job, Charlie responds, "You will be making a grave error if you kill us. There are one-quarter million Italians in Britain and they will be made to suffer. Every restaurant, cafe, ice cream parlor, gambling den and nightclub in London, Liverpool and Glasgow will be smashed. Mr. Bridger will drive them into the sea!"

This film is pure fun with the mother of all car chases as the grand finale. Not to be missed!
JANA