The Italian Job (2003)

After being betrayed and left for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker and his team plan an elaborate gold heist against their former ally.

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writers:

Troy Kennedy-Martin, Donna Powers (screenplay)

Stars:

Donald Sutherland, Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton

8 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Wahlberg	...	Charlie Croker
Charlize Theron	...	Stella Bridger
Donald Sutherland	...	John Bridger
Jason Statham	...	Handsome Rob
Seth Green	...	Lyle
Yasiin Bey	...	Left Ear (as Mos Def)
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

Storyline

Led by John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) and Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) a team is assembled for one last heist to steal $35 million in gold bars from a heavily guarded safe in Venice, Italy. After successfully pulling off the heist, a team member, Steve (Edward Norton), driven by greed and jealousy, arranges to take the gold for himself and eliminate the remaining members of the group. Thinking the team dead, he returns to L.A. with the gold. Charlie and the survivors of this betrayal follow Steve L.A. to exact revenge against the traitor. Charlie enlists the help of John Bridger's daughter, Stella (Charlize Theron) - a professional safe cracker, to get revenge. With Stella and the hacking skills of Lyle (Seth Green), the explosives skills of "Left Ear" (Yasiin Bey), and the driving skills of "Handsome" Rob (Jason Statham) this new team plans and executes a daring heist that weaves through the freeways and subways of L.A.

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Plot Keywords:

gold | gold bar | scantily clad female | cleavage | premarital sex | 

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Taglines:

Chiisana YATSU hodo, karei ni kimeru [Japan]

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA France Italy UK Germany

Language:

English Russian Italian

Release Date:

30 May 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Italian Job

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,457,944, 1 June 2003

Gross USA:

$106,128,601

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$176,070,171

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, De Line Pictures, Mestiere Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filming on location posed some challenges. The opening heist sequence in Venice, Italy, was strictly monitored by the local authorities, due to the high speeds at which the boats were driven (which were over the legal speed limit). The frigid temperatures at Passo Fedaia, in the Italian Alps, created problems during production: "The guns would jam, and if you could imagine not being able to walk 40 feet with a bottle of water without it freezing, those are the conditions in which we had to work," F. Gary Gray remarked. Pedestrians had to be allowed to use the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard between takes. Also, scenes which took place on freeways and city streets, were only filmed on weekends.

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Goofs

The wide shot of the driving range facing the "golfers" is not reversed; the numbers and letters are backwards because the signs are facing the street on the other side of the fence, and the camera is showing the back of those signs.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Famous British model Kelly Brook appears in the end credits with Lyle.

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Alternate Versions

For the US television version, Steve's line "What the fuck happened to my truck?" has been replaced with alternate footage of him saying "What happened to my truck?". It is not an overdub; it is a complete replacement.

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Connections

Featured in The Italian Job: Driving School (2003)

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Soundtracks

To Get Down
by Timo Maas, Martin Buttrich, Malte Hagemeister, and Phil Barnes
Performed by Timo Maas
Courtesy of Kinetic Records

User Reviews

Ocean's Five.

John Bridger's gang of thieves are double crossed and left for dead after a daring gold raid in Venice. The surviving members regroup and convene in L.A. to enact revenge and recapture their gold.......the job is on!

This could have been a complete disaster, I'm British and the wave of revulsion that boomed in my homeland upon hearing of this remake was explosive; "how dare they remake a British institution" was the cry. Things were not helped in the run up to the film's release by it's main star {and drawing card} Edward Norton, proclaiming that the film was a contractual obligation and that fans of his work would be better advised to give The Italian Job a miss!

Had to be a stinker then surely? Actually no it isn't. Director F. Gary Gray hasn't remade the Italian Job of 1969, in fact he hasn't even re-imaged it, the minis are in there, the gold is in there, but all the stand out moments so beloved by many in the 69 film of the same name are not to be seen at all. So what we get is a very cool heist-come revenge movie-that's maybe a tad too glossy at times, but it's got a pretty sharp script, tight action sequences and a group of actors working very well as a team. Mark Wahlberg, Mos Def, Jason Statham, Seth Green and the delectably delicious Charlize Theron all come out smelling of roses, whilst Edward Norton really had no cause for concern because his portrayal as Steve is a smarmy delight.

I have jokingly titled this film Ocean's 5, but that is in no way detrimental to The Italian Job, it lacks the jazzy coolness of Soderbergh's Ocean's 11, but its a fun and enjoyable picture all in its own right, its rating of just under 7 here on IMDb is actually spot on. 7/10