Since I have been here, we have discussed the best horror films (at least twice), the best Westerns (it seems like ever six months), the best “chick flick”, the best movie musical and the best “slasher” film to name a few, but I’m not certain I remember us discussing the best “heist” film.
Ocean’s Eleven, ala Sinatra and ala Clooney both come to mind but for me both lack something. Although I did enjoy the ending in the Sinatra version as they sat in the funeral home.
Swordfish doesn’t even qualify for me. Too much flash and not enough substance.
Kelly’s Heros? I don’t know, no subtlety. Same could be said for that Clooney thing Three Kings.
Topkapi with Peter Ustinov is the one that comes to mind as the best for me. Delightful planning, tolerable errors, good rehearsals. And a fun ending. It worked for me.
Heist, written and directed by David Mamet, was great because all of the characters were reasonably intelligent, the plot was just convoluted enough, and there was some great dialog. Two of his other movies, The Spanish Prisoner and House of Games were good too, but they were more about con games than heists.
My vote here has to go to The Killing. Kubrick’s 1956 masterpiece about a robbery at a race track is a must see, especially for any fan of Resevoir Dogs - specifically for the exploration of different plot threads occuring simultaneously.
Thief - By Michael Mann, Starring James Caan, Jim Belushi, Tuesday Weld, and Willie Nelson. (!!)
It’s a great film. And incredibly accurate. They hired some ex-con safecrackers as technical consultants, and the shots of the safes being cracked in the movie are real, with real tools.
I had forgotten so many of the ones mentioned. SmackFu, you are, of course, referring to the original film? Yeah, Manda JO, I tend to agree that it is not exactly a heist film in the accepted sense, but a great “con” film none the less.
Biggirl, three great selections although my favorite scene in Take the Money and Run relating to a heist has to be “directing a film as a ruse for the the escape when another gang of robbers get in on the bank robbing part.”
Some excellent suggestions people, and stupidly enough I totally forgot Heist.
How about John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle? Even if it wasn’t the first “heist” movie, it was certainly influential in establishing the template for most subsequent “heist” movies.
“Sexy Beast” although it is more about Ben Kingsley (absolutely brilliant, one of the best acting jobs I have ever seen) getting another character in the film to participate in a heist.
