The Italian Job
Directed by Peter Collinson
Written by Troy Kennedy Martin
1969/UK
IMDb link
First viewing/Criterion Channel
[box] Charlie Croker: It’s a very difficult job and the only way to get through it is we all work together as a team. And that means you do everything I say.[/box]
This was a very fun caper flick, absolutely perfect for Lock Down.
Charismatic Cockney criminal Charlie Coker (Michael Caine) is released from prison. He is immediately on the hunt for next new job. The mob murdered one of his cronies but his widow was left with an elaborate plan for robbing the Fiat payroll in Turin, Italy. Coker breaks back into prison to get the backing of Mr. Bridger (Noel Coward), a gang leader that lives in palatial luxury there. Bridger refuses, then changes his mind when he learns the Chinese are sending a large amount in gold to invest in a new plant.
This is not one of those movies where you get the planning stage or successful version before witnessing the flawed execution. Instead, we get all of it as it happens. The mob does not get any fonder of the revised edition. The movie concludes with a spectacular chase scene in which all and sundry pursue red, white, and blue Mini Coopers through Turin and the Italian countryside. With Benny Hill as a mad computer expert with an unquenchable lust for “big women”.
This has Caine at his most gorgeous and charismatic and showing his talent for comedy. It also contains beautiful scenery, good jokes, and that exciting car chase. It’s just a very, solid entertaining picture. Recommended.
