The Italian Job (1969)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Pretty Good

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

A classic British comedy of errors which has, if anything, become even cooler over the years than when it was first released, what with its swinging sixties setting and definitive performance from Michael Caine, which is both deadpan and at the same time hilarious. Indeed, this is the film that gave us one of his classic quotes ("You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!") and for the most part its Caine's film - without him, I don't believe it would work half as well. Made back in a time when the perfect popcorn film was lively, entertaining, well-acted, and immaculately made (like the early Bond films with Sean Connery) instead of the modern vacuous special effects outings we see in cinemas, this is a breath of fresh air and a film impossible to dislike.The comedy comes from the misfortune our unusual leading characters find themselves in, as they attempt to carry out an elaborate robbery and find something going wrong at every turn. Despite this, they still manage to triumph through perseverance and plain luck, which makes their characters admirable despite being thieves. Our classic anti-heroes are made to look good through the intervention of the real bad guys of the film, i.e. the Italian Mafia, who think nothing of murder and destruction to keep the gold in their country. The film perfectly blends thrills with comedy and I was surprised how well it was shot and photographed all the way through; director Peter Collinson deserves recommendation.The finale, which involves literally hundreds of motor vehicles involved in city-wide traffic jams and some classic chases involving three minis (red, white and blue, naturally) and the Italian police, is riveting stuff. The film also boasts the talents of noted British comedians Benny Hill, Irene Handl, and John Le Mesurier, all of whom have rather small roles, as well as Noel Coward in a scene-stealing part late in his career as Mr. Bridger, the big-time gangster who could wipe the floor with any of the would-be hard men of LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS. The actual robbery itself is tense, suspenseful and imaginatively staged. The Italian Job is a patriotic pleasure from a more innocent age long since gone.

I don't know where to begin with this movie. It's full of flaws and weaknesses. I can only barely give it a 6 because Michael Caine is cool, Benny Hill was funny (but pointlessly underused) and the heist and car chase were generally creative and exciting. It was vaguely amusing (and sometimes very funny) the way Caine kept shouting at his team, who really were like a bunch of kids, so immature and selfish. Caine's character's general attitude is so care-free, he has no doubts about who he is or what he does. It's just his thing: attractive women, stealing cars or money and getting into trouble.But then we're left with the countless weaknesses. Some of the editing was very tacky. One bit with a woman complaining was sped up. It didn't work. Most of the comedy misses. Maybe you have to be British. Or live in the 60s. But then I've enjoyed comedy from all over the world, new and old, so it must just be weak. Caine was funnier in Golmember. Just before Caine's famous line about "the bloody doors", which was very funny for the 5 seconds of screen-time it took, the camera keeps zooming in as he counts down. It's completely unnecessary and very typical for the time. The music was also very dated. Actually pretty unpleasant to listen to, it adds nothing, almost anything else would have been better. The point is, it's not timeless or appropriate but is instead strongly attached to the time and place it was made. It was the latest fashion, a fad which now shows decades of age. This applies to multiple aspects of this film and many others.One of the worst mistakes in chase scenes is where they have the camera moving in the opposite direction to the action, as if to create more speed or velocity. It's a terrible idea. It's been used in Transformers, Big Hero 6 and countless other movies. It always looks awful. The best way to capture speed or action is a smooth, loose, long shot that stays with the moving vehicles. You feel the air, the road, everything moving past. Or you hold the camera still and let them whiz past. No sudden movements. No rapid cuts. The camera should always be roughly from someone's point of view. Trust me. Movies which have far better chase scenes include: Nolan's Batman trilogy, the Indiana Jones trilogy, Bullitt, the Star Wars movies (yes, all of them), the first two Terminator movies, most James Bond movies and most Pixar movies. The list goes on. This isn't an exaggeration.The chase here is fun but only mildly so. We don't see the natural flow from one place to another, there's no meaningful sequence, no build- up in tension, no anticipation or exhilaration. Just a random series of stunts. It could be shown in any order and make the same amount of sense. They seem to be getting followed by only one police car at a time. Their tricks are gimmicky and predictable and nothing more than gags. There is sense of danger or risk. Plus, they're dicks. They cause so much destruction and they don't deserve the money. They're not underdogs, just idiots.The cliff hanger ending is cringe-worthy. It's frustrating, not funny. This movie has no morals, no heart. That would be fine if it was hilarious and action-packed. But it is neither. It's tepid. It's like a soft drink that's gone flat. The characters are stupid and arbitrarily succeed or fail based on what the script decides.The Italian Job glorifies theft. These guys are jerks. They're not likable. Ocean's Eleven (2001) was also overrated. It had mild comedy and a convenient heist made possible through the magic of movies, not logic. It placed all its bets on its coolness, of which it had very little. A classic flaw in circular logic - "being cool" doesn't make you cool. This movie is very similar, overly confident and cocky but with little work or detail or depth put into it.They discuss their plans seemingly in public, in front of so many other people. There are no twists or betrayals. This seems highly unrealistic. With that many people, how does the information not leak? The mafia seem completely unnecessary in the movie. Many parts of the movie were difficult to follow. One character gets cheered in jail. So they knew he was behind the crime? Why do they care? Is it a rebellious act against rich people who we all apparently hate? When they get the minis into the bus, why do they keep the bus moving? Stopping would get them all on in seconds after which they can drive as fast as they want.If you watch this movie, have low expectations. This is not a clever crime thriller. Think of it as a silly, immature movie that's trying to be funny which has some nice stunt and chase parts. Maybe it'll help if you're drunk or haven't seen a good movie before.

Look you have to judge this movie in context. Of course none of it is believable. So what we have is a formula car chase heist from the 60s.. Britishness humor lifted from Bond movies...in this case the M is an underworld king pin in jail in Britain. You have Michael Caine fresh out of Alfie....doing a bit of tale chasing and leading the pack of cons. The car chases have a couple of fun episodes when they race onto a concrete roof and disappear for a minute.Does it lag or is it too stupid a bit....but the sequel is worse by far... taken in context of 1969 it is decent; not the gem people talk about that is for sure but a good solid 7. The mafia stuff was the stupidest part although I suppose it added tension and the ending is unique.RECOMMEND

It's probably not a good idea to see a remake first, but in the case of The Italian Job I did see the Mark Wahlberg/Ed Norton/Donald Sutherland version first. That was an interesting enough film with the action on revenge. But this original with Michael Caine playing the ringleader of a daring bullion hijack has a sense of style all its own. And why wouldn't it with Noel Coward giving his farewell screen performance.Caine is the ringleader of a team of crack hijackers who've been given a plan by the late Rossano Brazzi and it's Caine's job to flesh it out and make it all happen. He's given the plan by Brazzi's less than grieving widow Margaret Blye and he takes it to master criminal Noel Coward.Watching Coward running things from his prison cell put me in mind of Goodfellas where the wise guys are all living the good life via bribes of guards, etc. He might be in jail, but no one is going crimp in any way Noel Coward's sense of refinement. Caine has to sell himself and the job to Coward.But once he does the robbery goes off like clockwork. The caper itself is where this version and the Mark Wahlberg version are at the most similar. Who would have thought that Seth Green would be playing a role originated by Benny Hill as a computer mastermind. Of course computers have changed some in the over 30 years between the two films.Only Ocean's 11 (the Sinatra version) has the same sense of irony in its conclusion as The Italian Job has. Talk about unresolved endings.......