The "heist" movie makes another appearance on the big screen, as "Takers" opens today. This latest big-money robbery movie stars Matt Dillon, Paul Walker and Idris Elba.
Certainly, the heist movie is nothing new. One could argue that it is, along with the Western, the oldest genre of American film. In 1903, Edwin Porter directed the 12-minute "The Great Train Robbery." It is considered to be the first American "movie," a narrative that was more than a collection of moving images.
But what makes for a good caper movie? Basically, It requires a plan and pressure. Viewers want complexity - a computer alarm system that must be over-ridden, a tunnel that must be dug, a safe that must be cracked. A really good caper movie features blueprints. The pressure makes it all tick. The best heist movies have the dangerous element of being discovered mid-heist.
Some movies that fail in these areas are "After the Sunset" with Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek, and the original "Ocean's Eleven" with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and the Rat Pack.
Finally, I thought David Mamet's "Heist" fell victim to Mamet, whose repetitive dialogue and constant plot twists - highly effective in con-artist films like "House of Games" and "The Spanish Prisoner" - went overboard.
Some honorable mentions: "The Anderson Tapes"; "To Catch a Thief"; "The Good Thief"; "The Hot Rock"; "The Lavender Hill Mob"; "Rififi"; "Sexy Beast", "Snatch", "Topkapi, " and "The Thomas Crown Affair" (both versions).
Anyway, time to break the bank:
10. Inside Man (2006): Spike Lee's best joint since "Do the Right Thing." Clive Owen leads a gang of bank robbers who break into a Manhattan bank to steal some very specific items and take the customers and employees hostage. Cop Denzel Washington tries to negotiate a settlement.
9. Reservoir Dogs (1992): You know it, you love it, you can't listen to "Stuck in the Middle With You" without thinking about it. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen and writer-director Quentin Tarantino play a gang of guys trying to pull off a diamond heist. Things go horribly wrong, then they go terribly bloody.
8. Ocean's Eleven (2001): Steven Soderbergh, who has made some excellent crime dramas ("Out of Sight", "Traffic"), gets the elements right in this remake. Along with technical geegaws and detailed planning, Soderbergh gets pitch-perfect performances from George Clooney and Brad Pitt, who combine humor and criminal intent.
7. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974): Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges star in this buddy-action heist film about a professional robber and a young guy pitching in to rob a bank. George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis are menacing as Clint's old robber buddies, and a red Cadillac convertible almost steals the show.
6. Topkapi (1964): A small-time crook gets mixed up with international jewel thieves who are planning to steal a bejeweled dagger from a museum, starring Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell and Melina Mercouri. I watched this again after leaving it off a "heist" list years ago and got scolded for it. They were right, I was wrong, this is a darn good movie.
5. Heat (1995): You get your money's worth simply from the Al Pacino (cop)-Robert De Niro (robber) dialogue in a coffee shop. Michael Mann directed this tough, stylish look at a gang of bank robbers and assembled a great cast that includes Jon Voight, Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Natalie Portman, Tom Sizemore and Dennis Haysbert.
4. The Score (2001): Robert De Niro and Edward Norton are excellent as older and younger thieves who must work together, even though they don't trust each other, to steal a priceless royal scepter from a Canadian museum. The planning aspect is as good as any caper film, and Marlon Brando gives his last great performance.
3. The Ladykillers (1951): The basis for the Coen Brothers/Tom Hanks movie released a few years ago, the original stars Alec Guinness as the leader of a gang that rents a house from an old woman so they can rob a nearby bank and then kill the woman. Peter Sellers makes one of his first appearances as a gang member.
2. The Killing (1956): Stanley Kubrick's first major feature stars Sterling Hayden as the leader of a gang that plans to rob a racetrack. Brilliantly photographed, as Kubrick's movies always are, and very edgy for its time, with hints of suppressed homosexuality. But for all its artistic merit, the plot is wonderfully straight on.
1. The Asphalt Jungle (1950): A fabulous film noir directed by John Huston, this is a tight, dark look at an ex-con trying to set up one more big job -- a jewelry-store heist -- after getting out of prison. Sterling Hayden is excellent in the lead, with great support from James Whitmore and Sam Jaffe. Marilyn Monroe has a small role.
To watch the trailer for "The Asphalt Jungle", click here.
And the trailer for Kubrick's "The Killing" can be seen by clicking here.
Finally, here is the ending scene from 'The Score." Click here. But be warned. this is a GIANT SPOILER.
