Comments on: Casing ‘The Town’: Our All-Time Favorite Heist Movies

By: Dempsey Sanders

Dempsey Sanders — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 10:04:25 +0000

Brilliant list. Only watched the Town last Saturday and loved it, thought Affleck was amazing, quite a lot of other heist movies in this list I like too.

By: jessicakiang

jessicakiang — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:25:17 +0000

@anon there's a case to be made for The Ladykillers, but it's less about the heist than it is about its aftermath, and since we already had an Ealing comedy here (Lavender Hill Mob) and were trying to make the list more manageable, it got left out. However there's no doubt it will appear on some list sooner or later – it's a great film.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:50:28 +0000

Original "Lady Killers" should make any top heist list!

By: olilyttelton

olilyttelton — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 08:14:16 +0000

Yeah, we had Topkapi originally, and it was another last minute drop: partly for space/time, partly because, while it's good fun, we already had Dassin's Rififi in there, which is infinitely superior.

By: Will Kane

Will Kane — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:02:50 +0000

Another great Audiard/Lautner heist thriller: 'Le Pacha', also notable for it's terrific Gainsbourg-penned score.

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 13:44:47 +0000

We had Topaki on our original list as well. It got cut for some reason, which i assume was: we simply just had too many damn films.

By: Jeffmc2000

Jeffmc2000 — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:21:54 +0000

The problem with The Getaway is the title of the novel is meant ironically, and the movie misses that point entirely. Someday maybe they'll make a version of that book that includes the cannibalism and house made of shit, but I won't hold my breth

By: Will Kane

Will Kane — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 07:23:00 +0000

Other than that, a really great list and a very entertaining read.

I was very pleased to see so many mentions of Lino Ventura, one of my favourite, and one of the most versatile, French actors.
From the Michel Audiard/Georges Lautner gangster comedies such as 'Les Tontons Flingueurs'& 'Ne Nous Fachons Pas' to more serious thrillers like 'Dernier Domicile Connu' (track this film down, even if you have to watch it without subs!).

Great to see 'The Spanish Prisoner' on any list, but never really regarded it as a heist film. Closer to 'House of Games' psychology film (I'm trying not to give away the plot here).

Agree with 'Jeffmc2000'on all his Westlake/Richard Stark tips.

By: Will Kane

Will Kane — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 07:12:53 +0000

**cough** Topkapi **cough**
Whole scenes were lifted for the Cruise/DePalma 'Mission Impossible'.

By: mishupishu

mishupishu — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 05:54:05 +0000

Loved this list. Quite a few movies that I love and a few more that I've never seen but totally want to see now.

Agree 100% with Inside Man. Saw it when it first came out and gave it a very average grade, but I caught it the other night and was mesmerized the entire time. Worked perfectly on commercial television because I could barely wait through each break. Great performances, Spike Lee at his best.

By: Art Thief

Art Thief — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 04:18:45 +0000

Another thoroughly forgotten, yet nonetheless excellent heist film is the Anderson Tapes by Sidney Lumet. Based on a Lawrence Sanders novel, it stars Sean Connery as the ringleader of a gang of thieves who plan to rob an entire apartment building, blissfully unaware that they may have stumbled on the most heavily surveilled building in all of New York. Also features a very young looking Christopher Walken, from before his role in the Deer Hunter would transform him into the Christopher Walken persona that we've come to know so well.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 02:14:57 +0000

awesome list. except for Ocean's 12.
and i don't see how a bad movie can become smart after repeated viewings?
does this mean that Disaster Movie is levels beyond genius?

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 01:39:36 +0000

Ocean's 12 is a gonzo heist movie. It's grand, but yeah, i kinda hated it at first. Then got smart, on other viewings.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 01:18:51 +0000

I agree with Mamet's "The Spanish Prisoner" being on the list instead of "Heist."

Also, I would add Frankenheimer's "Ronin."

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 01:04:26 +0000

"The Getaway, but Thunderbolt is the better heist movie from 1974. "

Absolutely not. Getaway is way better. Not that big of a fan of T&L.

By: StephenM

StephenM — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:34:30 +0000

Great list, except for the awful and instantly outdated Ocean's Twelve, which I am mystified that you put on here.

However, I noticed your still from City on Fire is incorrect. It is actually a shot from John Woo's A Better Tomorrow II.

By: Jeffmc2000

Jeffmc2000 — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 23:11:15 +0000

Good list, and I'm usually pretty picky about these things. Nice to see Grand Slam on it---I saw it again earlier this summer on an outdoor screen in the middle of downtown Toronto and it went over like gangbusters with the just-happy-to-be-watching-a-movie-for-free-outside crowd who usually barely pay attention at these sorts of screenings.

A couple other obscure ones people should check out are Seven Golden Men, and it's sequel Seven Golden Men Strike Again--a pair of Italian heist comedies from the mid-sixties. If Grand Slam is James Bond, Seven Golden Men is Derek Flint, if that makes any sense. Hard to find in english, but worth the search.

Also, if you like Asphalt Jungle, the blaxploitation remake Cool Breeze is worth a look. Restructured a bit to make the Sam Jaffe character the lead, it's almost as good in it's own way. Great cast too, including Pam Grier, Raymond St. Jacques, and the awesome Thalmus Rasulala.

Oh, also--no Thunderbolt And Lightfoot? I like The Getaway, but Thunderbolt is the better heist movie from 1974.

Shit, and The Burglars with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Omar Sharif! Based loosely on a David Goodis novel, Belmondo outdoes himself with his usual crazy stunts, and the opening heist sequence is incredibly fascinating as you watch his expert safecracker character go to work with his high tech bag of tricks.

Oh, and if you like The Hot Rock, check out The Bank Shot, with George C. Scott playing the same character as Redford (re-named, but like The Hot Rock, it's based on one of Donald Westlake's Dortmunder novels, and Scott is basically playing Dortmunder).

And speaking of Westlake, anyone who likes Point Blank should check out The Split and The Outfit--two other movies based on his Richard Stark novels featuring re-named versions of his badass thief, Parker.

By: olilyttelton

olilyttelton — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 22:14:16 +0000

@cirkusfolk We had an excellent piece on Heist ready to go, but it was a negative take on the film (which I agree with, to be honest, although it had its defenders on staff). We ultimately decided to focus on the best heist movies, so it got dropped, unfortunately. We'll reinstate it for the Criterion Collection version of this feature...

@nadioz We love Out of Sight, but there were a few films we felt were maybe over-familiar, and that was one of them.

By: cirkusfolk

cirkusfolk — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:11:31 +0000

Not exactly a heist film per se, but Sexy Beast has a pretty good heist sequence when they flood the bank vault. "Where there's a will,and the is a fucking will...there's a way, and there is a fucking way."

Also you have Mamet's "Spanish Prisoner" but what about his film simply titled "Heist?"

By: nadioz

nadioz — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:12:12 +0000

great list, i'll have to catch the onesi haven't seen.

and what about the great "Out of sight" ?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:45:15 +0000

Your best list yet! I'm gonna go watch all of these, thanks!

By: kingdomofdoom

kingdomofdoom — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:34:32 +0000

My grandfather (William Redfield) played the police captain who thought the station was under attack in The Hot Rock. This has always been a favorite of his films so thanks for giving it a shot out. He was also in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and Fantastic Voyage, amongst others. A fine actor indeed.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:24:06 +0000

Yeah, agree with Darmani. Even the cast and filmmakers of "Ocean's 12" have admitted it sucked.

By: darmani

darmani — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:56:23 +0000

…errr, except Ocean's 12. Not sure what that's doing there. :-/

By: darmani

darmani — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:52:36 +0000

This is a badass list guys! Definitely going to watch the ones I haven't seen.