# Recommend Me Some Heist Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336 "2009-03-30T18:19:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/21 "2009-03-30T20:24:10Z")
As disappointing as the Baldwin-Basinger remake of _The Getaway_ was, I was really impressed with the way [Thick as Thieves (1998)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0147599/)came together. It’s almost a comedy, but Andre Braugher and Bruce Greenwood have some really good lines and Baldwin is cool, too. I have watched it at least three times and like it better each time. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/22 "2009-03-30T20:32:18Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > _The Sting_ is not a heist. It’s a con. I don’t know any other way to do this, so here goes: Technically, so is _Heist_, mentioned way above. The heist is buried about two levels deep in cons. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/23 "2009-03-30T20:34:23Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I don’t know any other way to do this, so here goes: > > Technically, so is _Heist_, mentioned way above. The heist is buried about two levels deep in cons. Yeah, but in the Mamet, the con pretends to be a heist. There isn’t even a “fake” heist in _The Sting_ ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/24 "2009-03-30T20:40:16Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Yeah, but in the Mamet, the con pretends to be a heist. There isn’t even a “fake” heist in _The Sting_ Yeah, that’s why I spoiler boxed it. I wanted to say “Spoiler for movie x,” but even saying which movie I was referring to would spoil it, given what I was responding to. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/25 "2009-03-30T21:09:45Z")
Thanks for all the awesome suggestions, everyone. Looks like we’ll have plenty of movie night fodder… at this rate, enough to get us through the summer, at the very least. 🙂 Oh, and as far as recommendations go, please feel free to recommend con jobs as well… the way I see it, the line between heist and con can get a little blurry sometimes, and some of the best heist movies involve an element of con job anyways (especially when there’s a double-cross along the way). **Zsofia** , I happen to like fun fluffy movies, so I really enjoyed Oceans Eleven (and, to a lesser degree, the two sequels)… but The Boy, he prefers his movies a little weightier. Hence the ask for more serious and gritty recommendations. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/26 "2009-03-30T21:14:43Z")
**Topkapi** definitely deserves a mention. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/27 "2009-03-30T21:24:11Z")
I’m unsure if it’s easily available, but you might look for _The Hot Rock_. IIRC, it was an early-70s picture about a jewel heist. It leans toward the comedic in spots, but I recall it as being pretty good. Another from approximately the same time that might be a little more difficult to locate is _They Came To Rob Las Vegas_. I don’t remember much about this one, but I do recall a supposedly-impregnable armored car transporting millions that the gang was trying to … well, heist. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/28 "2009-03-30T21:29:29Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I’m unsure if it’s easily available, but you might look for _The Hot Rock_. IIRC, it was an early-70s picture about a jewel heist. It leans toward the comedic in spots, but I recall it as being pretty good. Indeed, with Robert Redford, George Segal, and Zero Mostel, that film is indeed quite (pardon the pun) a Gem! 😉 And remember: Afghanistan Banana Stand ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/29 "2009-03-30T21:33:06Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > **Topkapi** definitely deserves a mention. Good job someone already did then! I really enjoyed the original (1977) _Fun With Dick and Jane_. I also enjoyed the 1971 _The Heist_. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/30 "2009-03-30T21:33:53Z")
_Going in Style_ and _Quick Change_ are both fun, though the heists are over pretty quick in both, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/31 "2009-03-30T22:34:58Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > Oh, and as far as recommendations go, please feel free to recommend con jobs as well… the way I see it, the line between heist and con can get a little blurry sometimes, and some of the best heist movies involve an element of con job anyways (especially when there’s a double-cross along the way). **Sleuth** (The original, with Michael Caine, not the remake with, uh, Michael Caine.) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/32 "2009-03-30T22:49:09Z")
Missed the con job addendum. Great con flicks not yet mentioned: _House of Games_ and _The Spanish Prisoner_. (Yes, Mamet seems to have gotten quite the bug there for a while, didn’t he?) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/33 "2009-03-30T23:11:08Z")
[Ronin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronin_(film)) is a pretty straightforward heist movie. Plot: bunch of guys try to steal a suitcase. On the lighter side of heist movies, how about [A Fish called Wanda](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fish_Called_Wanda)? Plot: doesn’t really matter. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/34 "2009-03-30T23:15:33Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Good job someone already did then! Rats - I actually thought I’d read the entire thread. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/35 "2009-03-30T23:18:48Z")
Sweet alien Jesus, how did it take 33 posts for someone to mention _Wanda_? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/36 "2009-03-31T00:46:47Z")
_Diggstown_ is an okay heist/con movies (more con) with what may be the most satisfying ending to any movie ever. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/37 "2009-03-31T01:19:26Z")
I’ll second [Nueve Reinas](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247586/) (Nine Queens). Better IMO than the remake ([Criminal](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362526/)). ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/38 "2009-03-31T01:29:42Z")
Bottle Rocket is a great heist gone wrong movie. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/39 "2009-03-31T03:50:33Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve never seen The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3, but hear it’s a standout of its type. I see they have a remake coming out this summer. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336/40 "2009-03-31T04:12:03Z")
[Cops & Robbers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069919/) is an old favorite of mine. (Unfortunately it is only available in FF, not WS AFAIK.) I love the Arkin/Falk movie [The In-Laws](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079336/). I can also second (or third) **Heist** and offer another Mamet flick: [Glengarry Glen Ross](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104348/). Glancing at my DVD shelves: [Dog Day Afternoon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072890/) w/Al Pacino [The Freshman](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099615/) - w/Matthew Broderick, Marlon Brando - not so gritty con movie that will keep you guessing [Three Kings](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120188/) w/George Clooney, Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg - sort of a heist/war movie [Reservoir Dogs](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105236/) w/Chris Penn, Harvey Keitel, etc. - Tarantino film involving a heist [Jackie Brown](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119396/) w/Pam Grier - Tarantino film involving a heist [Trainspotting](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117951/) w/Ewan McGregor - drugs, violence, and multiple heists [Formula 51](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0227984/) w/Samuel L. Jackson - fun caper flick [Lucky Number Slevin](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425210/) w/Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu - fun caper flick 2 of Guy Ritchie’s movies, [Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120735/) and [Snatch](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208092/) are excellent caper movies. And for last I saved [Bowfinger](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131325/) (“The Con Is On”), which is better than you will believe until you see it for yourself and [Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0261392/), which isn’t about a heist, but one does figure into the story very prominently. I saved them for last because they are both (hilarious) comedies, not the gritty rough stuff that the OP asked for. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-heist-movies/491336.md?page=3)