>>10 Best Heist Movies, Ever
Raise your hands (in the air) and keep them held up for 10 of the greatest heist movies of all time. By Robin Fuller.
10 - The Pink Panther (1963)
Former goon and 'Ladykiller', Peter Sellers stole the show from fellow Brit David Niven in Blake Edwards' heist farce, with his comical characterisation of an inept French detective on the trail of the elusive jewel thief, The Phantom.
With his Raymond Chandler styled Burberry mack, absurdly manicured moustache and exaggerated accent, Sellers' Inspector Clouseau was a screen marvel to behold. Movie fans had nothing to do but hold their sides in as Sellers' weapon of mass destruction relentlessly pursues the Phantom across a number of 'chocolate box' countries in a bid to thwart the masked robber's attempts to steal the Pink Panther diamond. Such is the stupidity of Inspector Jacques Clouseau that he fails to realise his wife is partnered in crime to Sir Charles, aka the Phantom. It is only at the hilarious climax, involving an elaborately staged attempted robbery during a fancy dress party, that Sellers' character realises. The Pink Panther spawned several inferior sequels, but ultimately failed to keep the joke from wearing thin.
9 - The Getaway (1973)
Never one to sway from overloading his audience with buckets of on-screen blood and carnage, the filmmaking legend that was Sam Peckinpah continued to do just that with brutal heist film cum fugitives-on-the-run movie, The Getaway. The on-screen Bonnie and Clyde styled partnership between Steve McQueen's robber on the run Doc McCoy and Ali MacGraw's devoted Mrs.McCoy made for addictive viewing. McQueen's Doc McCoy is a dislikeable character: a misogynist, wife beater and cold-hearted killer who breaks free from prison after his wife makes a supreme 'sacrifice' on his behalf. They then unite to pull off one last heist before 'retiring' to Mexico, but are betrayed by their own team and become shotgun-toting fugitives on the run from the police and gangsters. Brutal, ruthless but directed with stonehearted panache by Sam Peckinpah.
8 - Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
The combination of growing disenchantment amongst young Americans over the Vietnam war and their progressive desire to rebel against a right wing government through drugs, sex and rock and roll as a result, made Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde an instant hit with the counterculture.
The true story of two young social misfits, played by Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, who embark on a series of bank heists and murderous rampages across the southern American states ignited the box office and infuriated the censors. The young Americans applauded. Though the film is often in danger of romanticizing the exploits of the two would-be gangsters to the point of absurdity, the film's finale where Bonnie and Clyde are torn to shreds by a hail of bullets in slow motion, deglamourises their murderous occupations with a brutal thud. The film spawned a number of killer couple imitations such as Badlands, Thelma and Louise and Natural Born Killers. Keep an eye out for a very young Gene Wilder before he entered the chocolate confectionery business with a bunch of orange-faced, green-haired midgets.
7 - The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Still recovering from the devastation of the Second World War and yearning for the positive and the light-hearted, the British public lapped up the cuddly Ealing comedies of the 50s. Comical caper, The Lavender Hill Mob was no exception and Ealing favourite Alec Guinness provided an impressive performance as Henry Holland. Guinness plays a shy and retiring bank employee dreaming of becoming rich and living the good life, a nod to the British social sentiment of the time. Henry Holland plots to steal from his own bank with the help of Stanley Holloway's Pendlebury and smuggle the loot out of the country in the form of cheap looking Eiffel Tower souvenirs. In an era of the friendly whistle-blowing 'bobby' on the beat, The Lavender Hill Mob is harmless slapstick at its best. The only gripe is that Scotland Yard catches Guinness's Henry Holland at the end in a South American paradise: a sop to the censors who supported the 'Crime doesn't pay' slogans of the time.
6 - Reservoir Dogs (1992)
A benchmark in 90's cinema, Quentin Tarantino's impressive debut launched the helmer into the stratosphere following its glowing critical reception. True to the experimental tendencies of the independent filmmaker, Tarantino broke all the narrative conventions of the heist movie in Reservoir Dogs. Starting at the point when a heist has failed and blood has been shed, the story is told in a series of flashbacks that steer towards a violent conclusion in an abandoned warehouse; and none of the suited robbers know each other. Scorsese's protégé Harvey Keitel is Mr White and cop under cover Tim Roth is referred to as Mr Orange. Amid its gruesome content, (turn away as Michael Madsen 're-sculptures' a captured cop to look like Van Gogh) Reservoir Dogs is a master class in combining tension with humour. In one scene Steve Buscemi objects to being referred to as 'Mr Pink': in his eyes a very un-masculine colour. Accept no imitations.
5 - The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
The producers of the recent Thomas Crown Affair remake starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo should have adhered to that old adage, 'If it ain't broke don't fix it' because Norman Jewison's 1968 original can never be bettered. The simmering sexual chemistry between the two original leads, Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, was the real focus of this ingenious heist thriller. No other film in the history of Hollywood features a chess game that would make Gary Kasparov blush. And the film really is a game of chess as Steve McQueen's Thomas Crown, millionaire businessman, adrenalin seeker and part-time thief, manipulates all those in his path like pieces on a chequered board. What makes McQueen's thief infinitely more interesting than others is that he is not interested in robbery for financial profit, rather he revels in the planning and execution of the crime for kicks. A clever heist thriller where the thief ultimately has the last laugh.
4 - Heat (1995)
Directed by Michael Mann, whose former credits included original Hannibal Lecter movie Manhunter, this heist actioner is an epic tale of obsession spanning nearly three hours. Prior to the release of Heat, film fans were positively slobbering at the mouth at the prospect of the two movie icons Al Pacino and Robert De Niro sharing screen time together. Al Pacino plays obsessive cop Vincent Hanna on the hunt for De Niro's armed robber Neil McCauley. But more than anything, the movie is about male fear of emotional commitment, as De Niro's McCauley explains, "Never have anything in your life you can't walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you spot the heat around the corner". The climactic heist gone wrong in 'Heat' is brutal, bullet-ridden and anything but glamorous, as the robbery spills out onto the street and innocents are gunned down in the process. Supported by impressive performances from Val Kilmer and screen veteran John Voight, Mann's actioner makes for sobering viewing. Outstanding.
3 - Ocean's 11 (2001)
If there is feverish anticipation for the forthcoming Ocean's 12, it is all thanks to Steven Soderbergh's ace card in his directorial pack, the remarkable Ocean's 11. With a swaggering ratpack for a new generation cast that reads like the who's who and who's the coolest of Hollywood, including eternally golden boy Brad Pitt, reliable Matt Damon and ER export George Clooney, this immensely enjoyable heist movie never falters. Everything about Ocean's 11 is cool and meticulously executed with clockwork precision. From the vibrant and classy Vegas setting, the backdrop for a casino heist of epic proportions, to its pumping soundtrack courtesy of David Holmes, it was the landmark heist movie for the new millennium. A successful sum of its parts, Ocean's 11 fits together like a jigsaw puzzle, and none of the pieces are left idle.
2 - Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Pipped at the post but a close running second, Sidney Lumet's masterpiece works on all levels as heist potboiler, social commentary and even family melodrama. It was 1975, Nixon was out of office and troops were withdrawing from America's second biggest military mistake, Vietnam, and attempting to assimilate themselves back into a country whose populous wanted to forget about 'the war'. True story Dog Day Afternoon starred Al Pacino in arguably his greatest role as homosexual Vietnam war veteran and one-time thief, Sonny. The entire film centres on social misfit Sonny's botched heist of the Brooklyn's First Savings Bank, which turns into a media fiasco. Al Pacino portrays one of the last of the anti-establishment, garnering support from both the baying crowd outside and the hostages within the bank as he tries to negotiate his escape. And why does he want the bank's money? To pay for his boyfriend's sex change. Dog Day Afternoon is undoubtedly unique.
1 - And the winner is…The Italian Job (1969)
Riding on a cheeky wave of renewed patriotism and self-preservation following, among other things, England's defeat of Germany in the 1966 World Cup, director Peter Collinson couldn't resist flying the flag on the big screen with this self-assured celebration of 'Rule Britannia'and its more colourful roguish elements.
60's Hackney lad (and original Alfie) Michael Caine stars in this jovial heist about a group of loveable cockney rebels who attempt to steal a stash of gold bullion from the grid-locked city of Turin, on the day of an England v Italy football match, right under the noses of the Italian Mafia and under the watchful eye of Noel Coward's banged up criminal mastermind and monarchy obessive Mr Bridger. Featuring arguably the most impressive manipulation and handling of the smallest yet coolest getaway cars ever to motor onto the big screen, the unforgettable Mini-Cooper played an invaluable role in maintaining the pace of this old-fashioned caper, right through to its famous cliff hanging ending. Keep an eye out for Benny Hill as a computer expert and certified 'chubby chaser', not to mention a very young Robert Powell before he took the messiah's path in Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth. A British racing green classic.