Un colpo all'italiana

The picture narrates how a con Charlie (Michael Caine) has just left prison, and now wants to carry out a 'big job' , as he has plans to rob 4 million dollars worth of gold and being financed by Mr Bridger (Noel Coward) ,a Mafia-type boss, who is in jail . The job is to steal a lot of gold arriving in Italy from China but he needs to get a band together first. The motley thieves gang (formed by Benny Hill, Robert Powell, Tony Beckley, among others) whose mastermind is gathering specialists to pull off and execute a caper in Turin attempting to rob gold's bullion . In Italy, a clever plan is used to distract the authorities, while the raiders make their getaway in their Minis. They escape in their Mini Coopers, which are small enough to drive on sidewalks so they can make a clean get away before the traffic jam clears . This leads an excellent and unforgettable car chase sequence . Contains the legendary Mini Cooper pursuit images through Italian streets, and other dangerous ways as buildings, rivers, and sewers. After Charlie and his crew pull off a perfect heist of millions of dollars , worth of gold , occur several surprises.

This is a very amusing film dealing with a group of robbers, led by career criminal Charlie Croker stunningly performed by Michael Caine , as they create the largest traffic jam in Turin history, giving them time to pull off a theft of gold bullion. The film blends tension ,action packed ,comedy, emotion, suspense , plot twists and being pretty entertaining and bemusing . There are wild chases galore with impressive velocity car pursuits , making varied and spectacular caper s , with bounds by the streets , undergrounds , canals, highways and rooftops which lasts for several minutes . Furthermore , there's a clever ending twist as happen generally in those flicks . Actors' interpretation is nice and enjoyable . Michael Caine is cool, Margaret Blye 's delightful performance , plus enticing and attractive . Special mention the veterans Raf Vallone as Italian gangster and Noel Coward as typical British mobster .

Very good and colorful cinematography by excellent cameraman Douglas Slocombe . Catching and jolly musical score by Quincy Jones, including emotive song at the beginning by the usual Matt Monro . This moving film was well directed by Peter Collinson. Collinson's royal directorial treatment provides it with action, humor and majestic sweep . He was an expert on thriller (Sell out, Target on assassin), suspense (Spiral staircase, Ten little Indians, Open season), terror (Straight on till morning) , Warlike-adventure(You can't win ém all) , his biggest hit was this ¨The Italian job¨ , until his early death by cancer at 41 . The film will appeal to Michael Caine fans and hold-up genre enthusiasts. Rating: Highly recommended. It's remade by Italian Job (2003) directed by F. Gary Gray , while the original movie was in most part developed in Italy (Turin) in this remake the setting is in Venice and US (L.A.) , here the masterminds (Donald Sutherland and Mark Wahlberg) are gathering specialists (Seth Green ,Mos Def, Jason Statham ,Edward Norton) to pull off and execute a caper in Venice and again with the famous and legendary -for vehicle buffs at least- cars copied from previous movie . Worthwhile seeing . Better than average .

So who can NOT like The Italian Job? Well, I can't speak for those who are not Anglophiles, but I suspect everybody who has ever called themselves British will love it. Sure, it has holes the size of Matron's stockings in it's plot and there are any number of errors apparant in the script and screenplay (Well, we all know that Mini's don't have a rear differential) and the true fanatics (such as myself) are all too aware of the continuity on-screen (that was a heavily disguised Lancia Flaminia that went off the cliff- Well, did you really think it was a REAL Aston DB4? See "Hammer House" for where that turned up). I could go on, as I usually do, about inconsitencies and so forth, but, by God, I have seen the Italian Job in just about every format it was ever shown and I love it all the same. There are no slow parts, every bit is important to the plot, the soundtrack is legendary (only available now after many, many years on CD. Got it before it was on CD and cost a lot; typical!) and is so quotable ("You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!") as to haunt Michael Caine forever more. You'll love it, wherever you come from!

I enjoyed The Italian Job in general, I don't revere it as a classic but it is entertaining with a great cast, fabulous locations and a brilliant soundtrack. The secondary characters could have been developed much more though, and the direction was a little too flashy. That said, a vast majority of the dialogue is above decent, there are occasions where it could have been better, but it is good enough. It is well paced though, and the cinematography, scenery, set pieces and costumes are fabulous, Turin looks glamorous and the interiors from Twickenham Studios are stunning. Quincy Jones's soundtrack is brilliant, and the cast is first rate, with Michael Caine suave and charismatic, Noel Coward marvellous and Benny Hill great value. Overall, not a classic by all means but very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

At the behest of Mr Bridger, Charlie Croker puts together a crew to pull of a massive job. The job is to rob an armoured car on the streets of Turin and then get away clean. The plan involves explosives a traffic jam, a football match and a load of mini coopers.

I watched this recently on TV – it was shown the night before England played Argentina in World Cup 2002 (1-0, Argentina then dropped put in the first round!). The reason it was shown was simply that it's strength is that it's a good caper movie where the Brits go over there and put one over on the Italians! It may smack of zenophobia but that's what it is!

The criminals even go so far as to use Mini's for the job – in the most famous scene of the film, making them cool for decades! The reason it was shown before the game was just to feed on the fact that national pride was high. Even if you ignore the British element (the song `self preservation society' is now even a football anthem) then it's still quite fun to watch. The build up to the job is breezy and funny with good lines, while the job itself is fanciful but great fun.

The ending must be known to everyone – but it's still good no matter how many times you see it! The cast are all good – with a range of British TV faces in there bringing a distinct British comedy. Caine is great, as are Coward and Hill but the real stars are the Mini's and the daring comedic race across Turin.

Overall this is not a great film – but it is a classic caper movie. It's made even better by the fact that it makes you proud to be British in a weird way! Say it with me my friends – `hang on lads, I've got an idea……..'

This thing starts moving and doesn't let go of you until the end, at which point you wish you were still on the ride going. We were surprised that we'd never herd of this before, especially since so many scenes are in video games these days (and times past).

This isn't one of those movies you spend your time thinking about, just sit down, watch, and let the movie unfold before you. If you're looking for good entertainment, this is it. If you are looking for meaning and some sort of significance, look elsewhere.

Good fast fun! 8/10