You know the type. A bunch of really smart criminals – usually decent people, except for the fact that they steal stuff. Complicated schemes. Usually some cool toys. Examples include Oceans Eleven, Heist, The Score, etc. I don’t generally like older movies, so let’s say nothing before… 1980.
Suggestions?
My favorite heist movie ever is The Thomas Crown Affair remake with Pierce Brosnan.
The Spanish Prisoner is also really good. Although it is more of a complicated scam then a heist, if you want to get technical.
Snatch is quite simply the king. Innovative cinematography, perfect acting (everyone just hit their roles so hard), twisting and turning but never overbearing plot, humor, drama, action, and some of the best dialogue I’ve ever heard, bar none. Only the Big Lebowski has greater quotability.
I second Gadfly’s nomination of Snatch.
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is also a lot of fun, from the writer-director of Snatch (Guy Ritchie), with many of the same actors.
Reservoir Dogs is a great film about the aftermath of a heist that went bad.
The Italian Job sounds right up the OP’s alley, although the late-'60s original with Michael Caine is just as entertaining as the remake.
Matchstick Men is a movie about con men–more about scamming than flat-out stealing–but still pretty good, with a nice twist.
Ladykillers is a heist-comedy, I think. I didn’t see it.
Catch Me if You Can is heist-ish, if you like the cunning plan aspect. It’s a solo job though.
You can’t get any better than with The Sting.
Although the original **Italian Job ** was pretty good.
A bit before 1980, but 1955’s Rififi has my favorite heist scene in any movie.
Trainspotting is sort of a heist movie. Of course you have to leave out the “usually decent”. And the “really smart”. Oh well, it’s a good movie.
The Score, with Ed Norton, Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando: “Lemme ask you something, Jack. When did you first start thinking that you were smarter than me?” One of my favourite quotable lines, with a killer delivery by De Niro.
Ditto for The Thomas Crown affair, a rare example of a remake which is actually better than the original, which hasn’t aged well.
Two from outside the OP’s requested timeframe, but I still contend they should be considered, as they’re both cracking good yarns:
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Charley Varrick
…both starring that noted action hero, Walter Matthau!
Entrapment and Ocean’s Eleven
A 51 post thread from September, started by Emilio Lizardo, with a similar title: Recommend some heist movies.
I second Rififi. And there is Bob Le Flambeur: another French gangster caper movie. Old friends and new are assembled for the big heist.
The heists are prettty interesting.
Le Cercle Rouge (1970) is good too. Makes you realize how influential French films actually were.
IMHO it is awfully limiting to pick only movies after 1980.
However, there is Bandits (2001) with Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Bruce Willis.
Reservoir Dogs is one of my favorite films of all time.
How about Michael Crichton’s 1979 film The Great Train Robbery
Although it’s pre-1980, I recommend the original The Italian Job.
For a newer one, Sexy Beast.
The entire Lupin The 3rd anime franchise is a “heist film” series.
And funny too, like Donald Westlake’s “Dortmunder”.
Isn’t What’s the Worst That Could Happen?, a comedy with Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito, a loose adaptation of one of Westlake’s Dortmunder stories?
Doh! I haven’t posted in a few months, and I guess I got rusty with my etiquette. Sorry guys.
Caprese, the reason I limited it to post-1980 is that I generally like the use of gadgets in heist/caper movies. They don’t make the movie for me, but I feel they’re an ingredient, along with witty dialogue, tension, and the neat-o way the movie actually makes you root for the criminals.
Anyways, some good suggestions so far. Keep 'em coming!
If you can find a copy, definitely check out Thief.