819. The Italian Job (1969)

Starring: Michael Caine, Noel Coward, Benny Hill

Director: Peter Collinson

Running Time: 100 mins

The Italian Job is a British film about a plan to steal a stash of gold in the middle of Turin, however interventions from the Italian mafia and the Carabinieri soon cause complications in the heist.

This film is so much fun. It’s an absolute classic comedy caper, full of smart wit, great performances, an entertaining story, now-iconic sequences, a brilliant soundtrack and some absolutely beautiful cars, which all come together to make this hugely enjoyable crime story that feels a lot more like a boys’ holiday than it does a heist plan.

The thing that I’ve got to say I loved about this film the most, although it’s really superficial, was the cars. This is a great boys’ club movie, and nothing says that more than the plethora of classically cool cars on display. There are Jaguar E-Types, an Aston Martin DB4, a Lamborghini Miura and, of course, those iconic Minis. Basically, even if you’re not into this film from the off, you can still love it by drooling over some of the most beautiful cars in history (although it’s seriously painful to watch them all get trashed).

Anyway, now onto the proper stuff, starting with the story. This is a very comedic and at times farcical caper, however what it does so well is that its light-hearted atmosphere doesn’t get in the way of making it an exciting story. The stakes in this film are always high, there are external threats from all sorts of unexpected parties (and thankfully, it’s a 60s movie with no Soviets), and, right up until the bitter end, you can never tell what’s going to happen, which is just so much fun.

The comedy in this film is not to be outdone, however. Basically, along with the slapstick humour that you get in some of the action sequences, this film is just full of playful, witty banter. It’s a real joy to watch this ensemble cast (with great chemistry) play off of each other with such ease, and it really makes it such an easy and a funny film.

Finally, the one thing that I didn’t expect to be so blown away by in this film was the soundtrack. Whether it’s the beautiful ‘Days Like These’ being played in the middle of the Alps, weird, but really cool concoctions of ‘Rule Britannia’ and ‘God Save The Queen’, or that epic song ‘The Self Preservation Society’, this film sounds so cool, and could be easily enjoyed as well with your eyes closed.

Overall, this gets a 7.9, because of its great plot, cool cars, fantastic soundtrack, fun banter and a really good light-hearted feel.