The Italian Job (DVD)

...announced that they were re-making The Italian Job. The Michael Caine classic was distinctly british and never failed to entertain. It’s influence on things such as Britpop and general culture has always been clear to see. The big question was for the re-make was “why bother?”. I was also gritting my teeth when I heard Mark Wahlberg was taking the lead in the film, apart from Boogie Nights, this was an actor who seemed to suck the life out of anything ...
...do with the excellent TV show Boomtown. Anyway it turns out that it was all just a storm in a teacup as you can’t really call this film a re-make. Sure it has some things in common with the sixties version but ultimately it’s a different film. It has the mini’s, it has the gold heist and it has the same title but that’s where the comparisons end. Surprisingly The Italian Job 2003 turns out to a very enjoyable little romp. The film opens in Venice ...

utero 05.07.2004 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

...with a lot of people the Italian Job is one of my favourite films. From the first time I saw the mini’s flying around Turin I knew that it would be a film I’d always love. So imagine my reaction when I heard they were going to remake it. I had visions of Get Carter flashing through my head, Sly Stallone ruining a classic film. But I thought I’d give it a change, I mean it can’t be that bad surely. The short answer is no it wasn’t. Shortly before ...
...be a different film using the ideas and concepts of the original. Yes the characters were the same and yes they were planning to steal a lot of gold but that’s where the similarities really ended. And what your left with is a pretty good heist film that actually exceeded my expectations. The plot is fairly simple, we start in Venice where Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) and his team are pulling off a daring heist using the cities vast waterways. ...

Andy.mack 29.11.2003 (21.04.2004) · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

...out of jail and has the biggest job he will ever come across lined up. $4,000,000 of gold is being transported as payment for Fiats construction of a factory in China. With the help of the patriotic and royalist Mr. Bridger a top criminal Charlie pulls off their big job, nicking a fortune worth of gold under the noses of the police and the Mafia. Two thirds of the Italian Job is taken up with careful planning for the heist and various funny moments. ...
...a line out of the Italian Job I can instantly recall and has became very well-known and famous which you can tell by many of the other opinions on the Italian Job being titled that. The last third of the Italian Job however is taken up with the greatest car-chase in any film. What perhaps makes the car-chase in the Italian Job in my opinion the best is that the cars are not flash Ferraris or Aston Martins but plain and ordinary Minis. Though flash ...

Disillusioned 03.08.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

...be big. In fact, the bigger the better in my book! Believability isn’t really the name of the game. The original version of this film (1968) was good. Fantastic car chases, good humour-filled acting and a decent story made the film into a classic and I for one really hoped that the “remake”, as it was billed, was not going to destroy the fun and magic of the original and that it would achieve, as Ocean’s Eleven did, something more. Boy, am I pleased! ...
...in others provides just what the movie-goer wants. Action, fights, chases, romance (just a touch) and humour gel together to provide a perfect whole. I would not class this as a remake, more of a tribute to the original. It doesn’t have the feel of a new blockbuster, yet neither does it feel dated. In a nutshell, it’s good! *** THE PLOT *** No spoilers here. Suffice to say that this is very much your traditional heist movie. There’s a hint of ...

CareBear 11.09.2003 (12.09.2003) · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

The Sixties ... The Swinging Sixties .... aaah, the nostalgia kick, how lovely! Let's play a game - name ten things you associate with the Sixties. My list would be as follows - Carnaby Street, The Beatles, Julie Andrews, Dr Zhivago, England's World Cup win, London, George Best, Minis, hippies and Michael Caine. What about yours? Oh, what an extraordinary coincidence this is! I've named three things which you'll find in 'The Italian Job' in an ...
...'The Italian Job' is just THE archetypal British film from the Sixties. It's also the archetypal Michael Caine in the archetypal wide boy movie - plus an absolute bleedin' delight, altogether now, "YOU’RE ONLY SUPPOSED TO BLOW THE BLOODY DOORS OFF." Catchphrase a-go-go, not many people know that. It was a wonderful combination of Sixties romanticism - an England football team at the height of their powers used as cover by a bunch of English ...

dave27 03.08.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

Originally released in 1969, the Italian Job has one of the most famous sequences in movie history - the British Mini Coopers escaping from the Italian Fiats. At the end of the day, that was what this film was about, pure unbridled patriarchy. The plot for the film is simple. Charlie Croaker (Michael Caine) has just been released from prison and is going to "do a job" in Italian. To be precise, he's going to lift $4 million right from under the ...
...some supplies, Mini Coopers, dynamite, the usual sort of thing, so off he goes to visit Mr Bridger (Noel Coward), an extremely influential and patriarchal "gang" leader who he had just served time with. After a couple of false starts, Croaker gets Bridger's backing, and the preparations begin. The film itself is split into three main sections: The introduction to Croaker, the preparation for the job in Britain, and the job itself. I was surprised ...

thedeadparrot 07.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

Despite the fact that this film is on nearly every Christmas without fail (except this one sadly) it really is great. Considered the epitome of 60's Brit-cool this is the comedy crime film to end them all - From it's low key start right through to it's twist ending this is a hugely enjoyable slice of cinema and one that shouldn't be missed. Troy Kennedy Martin's story is excellent: A group of crooks attempt to steal a delivery of gold bullion from ...
...but the underlying story is that simple. What is worth a major mention though is the unforgettable car chase scenes as they are flawlessly filmed and executed, and are argueably the most memorable part of the film. Michael Caine was never better as cockney rogue Charlie Croaker (think of Alfie but interested in crime rather than women), and indeed averyone of the cast does a great job - from the main players (Caine, Coward etc.) through to the bit ...

TheNeil 02.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

Having not seen the original, I went into this flick with no expectations. I suspect many people in the UK and around the world who have seen that version will boycott the movie on the grounds that the Americans would cheapen the experience. Well I’d like to try change their (your) minds by recommending this brainless yet fun action movie. I suppose I can tell you the starting ten minutes, because it sets up the rest of the movie. I hesitated because ...
...this will be plastered on the back of DVDs and other reviews anyway, so what the hey. We have a gang of professional thieves in Venice pulling off a ballsy heist of a safe laden with gold. In the group we have Charlie (Mark Wahlberg) their confident leader, mentor and safe-cracker John (Donald Sutherland), computer expert Kyle (Seth Green), getaway driver Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), demolitions expert Left Ear (Mos Def), and all-rounder Steve ...

vikingpimp 29.08.2003 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

...of expert thieves pull of the most daring of jobs in the centre of Venice, they should each have been set up for life, with a share of 35 million dollars worth of gold bars. Unfortunately, one of his team, Steve, betrays them by making off with all the gold, and murdering Croker's mentor, John Bridger. One year on, and Croker has tracked down Steve to his hide out in Los Angeles, where he has been enjoying the pleasures from his betrayal. Croker ...
...daughter, Stella, to steal back the gold. With a cunning plan to create the biggest traffic jam in the History of Los Angeles, they are going to attempt to get back what should have been there's and take revenge on Steve the traitor. So it may share the same title as the 1969 original, along with some of the same character names and the use of the classic mini, but that is where it stops. It is by no means a remake of the original, or really a sequel, ...

christianfilmcritic 23.02.2006 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

So, you've seen the original Italian Job - let's be honest, who isn't at least in some part aware of the classic 60s film featuring Charlie Croker (Michael Caine) and chums pulling off the perfect heist in Italy, before seeming to lose it all, right at the end. And you've heard of this "remake" - and decided to give it a chance. You just might be surprised. The Italian Job (2003) is a slick production, set in Venice and LA, which sees Charlie Croker ...
...Now you may think that the two outlines above sound remarkably similar - and indeed they do. But that's pretty much where the similarities end - and what is interesting is that in the remake version, the above plot summary happens within the first 10 minutes or so of the film. The other 100-odd minutes deal with what happens next... ~~~ Plot ~~~ To be honest, even in the original the plot was fairly hackneyed (at least, it appears so now). I've ...

xalala 19.04.2005 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

I haven’t seen the original, but it is supposed to be a real good film. It’s talked about a lot and seemed to be a pretty big hit. I only watched this film for one reason, and one reason only…Ed Norton. If you have read some of my other reviews you will know I love the guy, he is my favourite actor. Now this might seem a silly reason, seeing as the guy never wanted to make this movie in the first place, he was pretty much roped ...
...was right all along. The movie is said to be a remake of the original but its more of a sequel, the movie starts off by showing the heist, when they get the gold… there is a small boat chase and they get out into the mountains in the middle of nowhere. As they are talking about what they are going to do with their money they realise they have been set up. “Steve” played by Norton has “made a few plans of his own” and ...

WierdAlien 19.11.2003 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

The plan was flawless... the job was executed perfectly... the escape was clean. Or so the hype goes, the only thing they didn’t count on was the half-baked, ‘heist by numbers’ plot letting down what otherwise would have been a very capable cast. Now, although in principle The Sandman is not adverse to remakes of older movies, or rehashes of established ideas or stories, he does ask one simple thing – that it be worthwhile. Too much to ask? Apparently ...
...as such, but it perplexes The Sandman as to why they had to give it the name ‘The Italian Job’. As if to say ‘Well, see it for it’s famous name, enjoy it for what it is.’ A marketing ploy to get bums on seats before quality has to show through. To be honest, this is not a bad film, but I’m jumping the gun, so first I’ll give you the plot. The Plot – Spoiler warning! The Story opens in Venice, with John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) an old school ...

Sandman 24.06.2003 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

...remake was loosely based on the 1969 original. (and when I say loosely I mean loosely) **BRIEF PLOT When in Venice, John Bridger, (played by Donald Sutherland) meets up with his best friend Charlie, (played by mark Wahlberg) and then puts the plan into action. The plan is to rob a large bulk of heavily guarded gold bars from under the noses of the Italian police. As the brilliantly executed plan unfolds we are introduced to the rest of the gang, ...
...be going to plan as the brief chase through the canals of Venice take place until a traitor amongst the gang spoils the partying and the booty is taken from them, leaving the rest of the gang fighting for their lives. Then the movie really begins when it moves to the US with the gang searching for their loot which was taken from them. In Los Angeles, California, the gang discover the whereabouts of the gold bars and decide to take back what they ...

blissman70 10.06.2008 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

The Italian Job has become one of the great British cult films. You can always tell when something has achieved cult status and it usually means people quoting the words in a knowing way. Thus people will sprout in their best imitation cockney You Were Only Supposed To Blow The Bloody Doors Off whenever anyone mentions The Italian Job. The film however is more than one famous line and the film has hardly dated since it was first made in 1969 under ...
...realism probably due to the influence of Troy Kennedy Martin who worked on the script. It was he who first produced BBCs Z Cars, acknowledged as the forerunner of the new generation of realistic police TV series. It was a neat mixture though to blend the gritty British crime film with an exotic location. Not that Turin is Italys most attractive city. The story is about Charlie Croker who on the instructions of an incarcerated Mr Big attempts a huge ...

polydeuces 03.10.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)

...quite old, and as such the special effects are limited. The main effect is the minis jumping from one roof top to another. Yes, they really did it! A little inside knowledge and I can tell you that the french stunt drivers all had a piss against a wall before attempting the jump. This was not some funny french thing, but because if they crashed and their bladders burst they were die immediately. This shows why it was so dangerous. No person had ever ...
...said no to it, but the director would take the blame if anything went wrong, and so the show went on! The film is great and you can watch it over and over again. Now for what I was saying about it living on, well. Every year a group of about 200 minis take on a 3000 mile round trip to gain money for charity. It is all round Europe visiting some top locations. So, read about these people in the newspaper etc and please donate some money. It cost ...

andy5000 19.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Italian Job (DVD)