AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

JohnHowardReid I was surprised that Paramount issued a DVD (a 10/10 job too!) of The Italian Job (1969). I remember watching this film on its first release. It was a Friday night and I was sitting alone (not counting four usherettes) in a cavernous, 1,514-seats cinema. Box-office-wise, the film was a complete dud in most towns, though it did good business in Liverpool and Manchester. The conclusion gets my nomination as the worst movie cop-out of all time and as for Mr Caine, here repeating his Alfie image in the broadest possible way, the less said the better. True, the car chases were expertly filmed with a certain amount of inventive gusto (but the best sequence was left on the cutting-room floor. Fortunately, it has been rescued from obscurity in the Paramount DVD) but cars do not a movie make. You can see them any day on the street or (if you're dead keen) at an auto show. On the other hand, it was certainly a grand idea to have Noel Coward receive such an overwhelming on-screen ovation in his last film.

FilmBuff1994 The Italian Job is a good movie with a reasonably well developed storyline and a terrific comedic cast. It's a simple film, the story is very basic and easy to follow, the main thing that makes it watchable is the comedy, the great back and fourth between the cast and the chemistry which is a very important part of any movie, even when you're not necessarily laughing out loud there is always a humorous atmosphere in the film which I really liked. The ending of the film annoys me, I know this is probably a controversial statement as it is quite liked by many moviegoers, but I really didn't like it, it's very anti-climatic, after giving us so much build up, we are taken to the place we were waiting for the characters to go and once we see them in the most danger they've ever been in, the movie ends, we have no idea what comes of the main characters or the gold, and this left me unsatisfied. It is a very funny movie and the comedic dialogue works out very well, but I felt like they could have had more dramatic parts, it was the type of story that required it, and with Michael Caine in the lead role it seemed like an easy thing to do, but the movie never wants to take itself any bit seriously. It definitely has several imperfections, but the Italian Job is worth the watch if you ever see it on television and are looking for a good comedy. A group of men plot to create a traffic jam in order to rob a shipment of gold. Best Performance: Michael Caine

SimonJack Having commented on the 2003 remake of this movie, I thought I should also review the original – after watching it again. I noted that the 2003 version is good as well, but it is all crime without the comedy, and it's almost all "high tech." The plot of this original does rely on technology – a switched computer tape that runs the city of Turin's traffic system. But, that's taken care of in a few minutes of the film. The rest is a plot of planning, maneuvering and action with interludes of miscues. This is among the earliest films to use a high-tech device in its plot. Before this time, the most commonly used plots with technical devices were security alarm systems in museums and cameras in banks. Humor is interspersed in all this. It's a British movie filmed in Ireland, England, the city of Turin, Italy, and the Italian Alps. Michael Caine is Charlie Croker, a local bad boy who has just finished two years in the slammer. Noel Coward is Mr. Bridger, the imprisoned king of corruption in Great Britain. Croker has to get Bridger's organization to back the biggest heist of all time -- $4 million in gold. Raf Vallone is Altabani, the Italian mafia leader who's out to stop the British heist. Besides being a very good comedy caper film, "The Italian Job" (1969) is one heck of a satire of the British penal system. Every scene back at the prison with Mr. Bridger is hilarious. This is the funniest and best mockery portrayal of a big time criminal living the life of royalty in a prison. The film has a large cast of men involved in the heist, but the vast bulk of dialog, scene time and humor is with the three main characters. The cinematography is excellent and the filming and scripting of the car chase scenes is among the best of that type of action ever filmed. Mr. Bridger's loyalty to Great Britain and the royal family is the cause of some good laughs a few times. Croker saves the lives of his crew when Altabani and his Mafia men intercept them coming into Italy over the Alps. He tells Altabani that if the Mafia kills him and his men, Bridge's organization would come down on the thousands of Italian restaurants and other businesses in Great Britain.The Mafia is protective of Italy's economy, while Bridger also is interested in bolstering England's lagging economy by causing the hit on Italy's economy through the heist. It's all quite funny. There are some instances of innuendo about Croker and his love life, and a few otherwise clean jokes in places that only the older children are likely to get. So, this is a film that the whole family should enjoy. I think one of the very best scenes is the ending. It's the perfect "unending" to leave an audience to wonder if the old adage is true – that "crime does not pay."

l_rawjalaurence THE Italian JOB is one of those movies that can stand repeated viewings. Its principal virtue is that it doesn't take itself at all seriously: we know that Charlie (Michael Caine) and his gang will probably not get away with the money, but it's worthwhile watching the way in which he completes the heist and then tries to get away through the streets of Turin and subsequently through the mountains. As the Mr. Big behind the whole operation, Noel Coward plays himself; by the late Sixties, he had acquired quasi-cult status, reveling in his reputation. This is precisely the kind of character he plays in the film. In historical terms, Peter Collinson's film is an advertisement for the Swinging Sixties, with Britain at the center of new movements in fashion and/or coolness. The iconic Minis - used by the gang to complete their escape - are frequently shown in close-up escaping from the more cumbersome Italian police vehicles. On the soundtrack, the famous theme celebrating "The Self Preservation Society" attests to the virtues of capitalism and individual effort. Anyone can achieve their dreams if they are prepared to work for them. At just over ninety minutes in length, THE Italian JOB has a helter-skelter plot that can be enjoyed for what it's worth.