The Italian Job (2003)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writers (WGA):

Troy Kennedy-Martin (1969 screenplay)
Donna Powers (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Steal The Day 5.30.03

Plot:

Thieves plan to pull off the heist of their lives by creating Los Angeles' largest ever traffic jam.

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Heist | Traffic Jam | Venice Italy | Italy

Awards:

5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Mark Wahlberg	...	Charlie Croker
Charlize Theron	...	Stella Bridger
Donald Sutherland	...	John Bridger
Jason Statham	...	Handsome Rob
Seth Green	...	Lyle
Mos Def	...	Left Ear
Edward Norton	...	Steve
Fausto Callegarini	...	Italian Guard
Stefano Petronelli	...	Garbageman / Thug
Fabio Scarpa	...	Garbageman / Thug
Cristiano Bonora	...	Garbageman / Thug
Tiberio Greco	...	Garbageman / Thug
Jimmy Shubert	...	First Detective
Tammi Cubilette	...	Second Detective
Mary Portser	...	Stella's Receptionist

Also Known As:

Braquage à l'italienne (France)
The italian Job - Jagd auf Millionen (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Ограбление по-итальянски (Russia) [ru]
Az olasz meló (Hungary) [hu]
Dobar posao u Italiji (Croatia) [hr]
Italijanski posao (Serbia) [sr]
Italyan Isi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
La estafa maestra (Argentina) [es]
Listeia ala italika (Greece) [el]
Mini mini daisakusen (Japan) [ja]
The Italian Job (Spain) [es]
Uma Saída de Mestre (Brazil) [pt]
Un boulot à l'italienne (Canada: French title) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and some language.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA | France | UK

Language:

English | Russian | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:10 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Malaysia:18PL | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A (cut) | UK:12 (video rating) (cut) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39929)

Filming Locations:

Bunker Hill, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Screen writers Donna Powers and Wayne Powers say in an interview featured in the DVD that they hadn't watched the 1969 original movie before agreeing to write the script. After that, they only watched it once. This was on purpose because they didn't want to copy the movie, they wanted to make their own movie inspired by the original one.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Charlie is shooting hoops in the garage and is going over the heist on Steve, he is holding the basketball, but in the very next shot Lyle passes him the ball that Charlie should be holding.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Stella: [on the phone] Hello.
John Bridger: [on the phone] Hello, sweetie.
Stella: [on the phone] Daddy, it's early.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Super (2005)

Soundtrack:

The Jump Off

Great film despite a few fallbacks

Over the last few months, I have seen a lot of reviews for The Italian Job, many of them negative. The gist of almost all of these pessimistic criticisms is that, for all its modernistic bravado and high-budget technology, the film doesn't have much substance where it counts. Look, people, it's just a fun movie. This is the type of picture where you're supposed to sit back, relax, and just enjoy the steady-moving pace of the film. Like Ocean's Eleven (2001), you can concentrate on the characters and the plot at the same time without having to do much thinking (lucky for some of us). Granted, "Ocean" is a better movie, but who cares? The plot may have some holes (there's a huge one about 3/4 of the way through), the action may not be as gratifyingly gratuitous as the trailers made it out to be, and some of the dialogue may seem pointless and cheesy, but again, who really cares? Cool characters, Mini Coopers, big explosions, Charlize Theron. What more do you want? I think it's time to drop the fake Roger Ebert meets Gene Shalit act and enjoy yourself for once! Oh, and another thing, whatever you do, don't compare it to the original because, to reiterate what F. Gary Gray has told the press a million times, THIS IS NOT A REMAKE!! My advice- if you're interested in nit-picking your way through a good-humored, fun flick, don't even bother seeing The Italian Job. But, if you don't have a severe inferiority complex and/or want to see Ed Norton get jacked by a bunch of Ukranians, go ahead. The Bottom Line, my fellow moviegoers, is: Lighten Up and Have Fun, Dammit.