# Best caper films **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115 "2010-08-23T00:25:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/1 "2010-08-23T00:25:30Z")
According to Wiki, a ‘caper film’ is like a [heist film](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heist_film), but with comedic elements. Let’s include both ‘caper films’ and ‘heist films’ here. I’ll start it off with two: [_The Italian Job_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Italian_Job) (1969) [_Sexy Beast_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexy_Beast) Here’s a [list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Heist_films). ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/2 "2010-08-23T00:30:00Z")
“The Sting” isn’t on that list, but I’ve always thought of it as a caper film. From the list, I loved the two Alec Guiness, Ealing Studio ones, “The Ladykillers” and “The Lavendar Hill Mob” ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/3 "2010-08-23T01:41:54Z")
I thought the Muppet Caper was great. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/4 "2010-08-23T01:56:33Z")
I didn’t read the list, but “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” should be in any mention of best caper films of all time. “I’m comin’, mama” ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/5 "2010-08-23T02:02:31Z")
_Inception_ was very much a heist/caper film. Ocean’s Eleven on peyote. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/6 "2010-08-23T02:10:55Z")
I’ve always liked **The Anderson Tapes.** There’s also **Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels**. **[The Great Train Robbery](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079240/)**: “Find me a dead cat.” ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/7 "2010-08-23T02:12:03Z")
Quick Change ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/8 "2010-08-23T02:14:50Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > According to Wiki, a ‘caper film’ is like a [heist film](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heist_film), but with comedic elements. Let’s include both ‘caper films’ and ‘heist films’ here. > > I’ll start it off with two: > > [_The Italian Job_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Italian_Job) (1969) > [_Sexy Beast_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexy_Beast) > > Here’s a [list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Heist_films). I don’t think of Sexy Beast as either a heist film (by my recollection, the heist at the end was a very small part of the movie), or having comedic elements (it seemed more like a psychological thriller thanks to Ben Kingsley’s tremendous performance). [QUOTE=Bricker] Quick Change [/QUOTE] And here I thought I was the only one who remembered this movie! I thought the trick they used was a pretty good one. Here’s another heist film: The Inside Man. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/9 "2010-08-23T02:20:33Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > I don’t think of Sexy Beast as either a heist film (by my recollection, the heist at the end was a very small part of the movie), or having comedic elements (it seemed more like a psychological thriller thanks to Ben Kingsley’s tremendous performance). Personally, I thought parts of it were hilarious. Especially Kingsley’s character. [Here’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heist_film) Wiki’s description of ‘heist films’. _Sexy Beast_ has the elements of one: One last job, the gathering of conspirators, the planning of the heist, the unravelling of the plot at the end… It didn’t really strike me as a psychological thriller. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/10 "2010-08-23T02:26:29Z")
**The Sting** is the first film that came to my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/11 "2010-08-23T02:57:33Z")
The remake of _The Italian Job_ (Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Donald Sutherland) was great, even if it did amount to a feature-length commercial for the Mini Cooper. And I’ll say it - the modern _Ocean’s Eleven_. Could watch it every day. Perhaps this is more a straight comedy than a caper fim, but a diamond theft is at the heart of _The Pink Panther_ - athough again, it’s less about the theft and more about Clouseau’s foiling of same, so it might not count. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/12 "2010-08-23T02:58:00Z")
I liked The Maiden Heist, quirky but fun. Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman and William H. Macy and Walken’s character is the sanest. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/13 "2010-08-23T03:00:38Z")
[The Wrong Trousers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108598/) - won an Academy Award, and also has one of the best chase scenes in cinema, IMNSHO. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/14 "2010-08-23T03:01:43Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > The remake of _The Italian Job_ (Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Donald Sutherland) was great, even if it did amount to a feature-length commercial for the Mini Cooper. I have the original and the remake on DVD. I’ve only watch the remake once. Not that I didn’t like it, but the original is so much better. (But then, I’m a sucker for '50s & '60s films of certain genres.) ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/15 "2010-08-23T03:12:17Z")
_[The Hot Rock](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068718/)_ ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/16 "2010-08-23T03:19:37Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > [The Wrong Trousers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108598/) - won an Academy Award, and also has one of the best chase scenes in cinema, IMNSHO. Bravo. :D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/17 "2010-08-23T04:06:31Z")
[How To Steal A Million](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060522/) is one of my favorites - Peter O’Toole at his most beautiful, Audrey Hepburn at her most bony, and some wonderful character actors (Hugh Griffith, Jacques Marin, Moustache). Entertaining and funny, with a moral. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/18 "2010-08-23T06:50:42Z")
I love [The In-Laws](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079336/). _“Serpentine Shelly. Serpentine!”_ ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/19 "2010-08-23T07:25:40Z")
Rat Race ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115/20 "2010-08-23T08:39:39Z")
From that list, some stand outs for me are A Fish Called Wanda, Inception, and Snatch… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-caper-films/551115.md?page=2)