Search - The Italian Job on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 2/6/2021...

This was a real bust. The DVD menu and beginning were really good but then it went downhill with 120X FF and a quick eject. Don't waste your time on this unless you are a fan of Michael Caine.

3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Beth P. (dvdswapee)
Reviewed on 1/6/2012...

I guess I'm extremely conservative or something. As far as I'm concerned this movie should have been rated R. I didn't watch the entire movie. The first 20 minutes were bad enough.

1 of 6 member(s) found this review helpful.

Wow, what a ride!

John Dynan | Elwood, Vic Australia | 05/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are few genres as enduring in the movie biz as the heist and they don't come any more entertaining than this one. Michael Caine is at his best as a fresh-out-of-jail, small-time crook who decides to pull the job of the century. To achieve this, he sets about finding someone to bankroll the enterprise, in the person of Noel Coward. Coward, a big time syndicate boss is still running his business from jail and after some persuasion, agrees.Caine then sets about assembling a cast of idiosyncratic no-hopers to carry out his bold plan, among them Benny Hill, an electronics wizard with a fondness for fat women. After much practicing, three teams in Mini Coopers (driven by "chinless wonders") set off for Italy with a bus-full or two of supporters all dressed as soccer fans. The arrival on the scene of the Mafia does little to dampen their enthusiasm and the fun really starts.The climax of this action/farce is the car chase through the streets, sewers and even the skyline of Turin. Plenty of action, plenty of laughs and all very well paced. If anything, it's probably too short (though I don't mean the ending...) but I guess that just makes you appreciate it that much more. An old favorite which is hard to beat. Know wot I mean, Guv?"

Self Preservation Society!

K. Anderson | UK | 12/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the movie that defined the word, 'Classic'.Michael Caine plays Charlie who's just been released from prison. Rather than trying to keep on the straight and narrow, he immediately embarks on trying to steal gold bullion from the Italian's. He gets the backing of Mr. Bridger, London's head of crime, who's in prison himself. To help him carry out the plan, he gathers together an array of colourful people including Benny Hill as the clever professor who has a penchant for big women.Add to the mix three Mini Cooper's as the unlikely get away cars and you're in for a fun filled, action packed film that sees Charlie and his gang trying to outrun both the police and the Mafia.The build up to the heist is interesting and funny but the unique get away at the end is the scene stealer. Through underground sewers and subways, down church steps, through rivers and up to the very rooftops, it's gripping and highly entertaining. I think anyone that watches the film will just yearn to have a Mini Cooper afterwards.Of course, the cliff hanger of an ending just fits so perfectly too.To add; I also think the soundtrack is great and the film produced one of the most, if not THE, memorable quote of all time from Michael Caine when he sees the truck explode into thousands of pieces during a practice run and then turns to the unfortunate explosives 'expert' and says, "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off."Mr. Caine has said that he still has people come up to him in the street and say that to him, even now!To conlcude, The Italian Job is very patriotic, even the cars are red, white and blue, and I think it's the masterpiece for all British classic's.So, "get your skates on, mate" and buy it now - your collection is lacking if this film isn't a part of it."

A Hilarious, Campy Caper! Great Comedy From Michael Caine!

Jana L. Perskie | New York, NY USA | 12/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A double feature was recently offered on cable TV that allowed me to view "The Italian Job" twice - the 1969 version with Michael Caine and the 2003 version. The two films have little in common except a gold bullion robbery, 4 million dollars worth in 1969, and 27 million in 2003, to allow for the decreasing value of the dollar and bigger and better ways to spend it! I enjoyed the 2003 thriller but the older film is really an excellent comedy. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to see it, because I missed it, and lots of laughs, the first time around."The Italian Job" (1969) is a campy caper packed with 1960s nostalgia. There are enough gadgets and girls in this film to make even James Bond content, although Bond would never work with the bumbling, quirky characters that Michael Caine, called Charlie Croker here, is forced to deal with. The film opens with a choreographed hit by the Italian Mafia. The choreography could have been done for the June Taylor Dancers. It's a riot! Anyway, Roger Beckerman, a brilliant thief, is murdered because he had masterminded a potential heist to take place in Turin, Italy, involving millions of dollars of Chinese gold bullion. Beckerman leaves a tape for Charlie Croker, who has just been released from a British prison. The video tape, to be viewed in the event of Beckerman's death, explains the entire caper and offers Charlie the opportunity to do the job. Charlie gets the funding for the project from Mr. Bridger, played by a wonderfully comic Noel Coward. Bridger is an inmate of the prison where Charlie had spent the last few years and he rules the UK underworld like a king, from his jail cell, with guards and inmates paying him homage. Croker fights off the advances of gorgeous blondes with one hand while he uses the other to whip into shape his motley crew of screwball bandits.The dialogue is hilarious at times, especially when the team of thieves, who seem to have a collective IQ of 75, go at each other like recalcitrant adolescent schoolboys. Croker who occasionally is forced to step out of his role as master-thief to play schoolmaster, yells at his men during a particularly delicate operation, "Get yourselves sorted out and shut-up! No one talks anymore except me!" During a meeting with the Mafia leader who threatens to kill Croker and his men if they pull-off the job, Charlie responds, "You will be making a grave error if you kill us. There are one-quarter million Italians in Britain and they will be made to suffer. Every restaurant, cafe, ice cream parlor, gambling den and nightclub in London, Liverpool and Glasgow will be smashed. Mr. Bridger will drive them into the sea!" This film is pure fun with the mother of all car chases as the grand finale. Not to be missed!
JANA"