The Burglars (1971)

In 1970s Athens a group of professional burglars plan an emerald heist from the home of a gem collector but the corrupt Greek police inspector Abel Zacharia is on their trail.

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

Henri Verneuil (scenario), Vahé Katcha (scenario)

Stars:

Jean-Paul Belmondo, Omar Sharif, Dyan Cannon

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Azad
Omar Sharif	...	Abel Zacharia
Dyan Cannon	...	Lena Gripp's
Robert Hossein	...	Ralph
Nicole Calfan	...	Hélène
Myriam Feune de Colombi	...	Isabelle Tasco (as Myriam Colombi)
Raoul Delfosse	...	Le gardien de la villa Tasco
José Luis de Vilallonga	...	Tasco
Renato Salvatori	...	Renzi

Storyline

In 1970s Athens a group of professional burglars led by Azad plan a daring burglary. The victim is the rich gem merchant Mister Tasco. The treasure to be plundered is Mister Tasco's sumptuous emerald collection. The break-in team neutralize the villa's guard, enter the premises and locate the safe. Their sophisticated safe-cracking tools allow the burglars to break the safe open and steal the emeralds. During the caper a lone Greek policeman notices the burglars' car parked outside the Tasco residence and becomes suspicious. When Azad pretends to tinker with the getaway car's engine the Greek cop pretends he believes him. In fact, the Greek Police inspector Abel Zacharia suspects a burglary is taking place but decides to play along in order to allow the burglars to complete their mission. However, the corrupt Greek cop intends to arrest the criminals later and to steal the emeralds for himself. A cat and mouse chase ensues.

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Plot Keywords:

buried alive | burglar | emerald | police | heist | 

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Taglines:

Catch the burglars !

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller | Action

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Burglars

Filming Locations:

Corfu Island, Greece

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Films,Vides Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 113 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is never actually stated where this film takes place. This may be because Greece, which obviously is the setting, was at the time ruled by a military dictatorship following the coup of 1967 (the dictatorship was overthrown, and democracy restored, in 1974).

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Goofs

Just before the car chase begins, Abel Zacharia is following the burglars around the docks. They act like they don't see him until they find their ship dry-docked, but in every scene he is the only car around besides them, is clearly very close to them watching them, and follows them closely. It would take a blind person to not notice they were being followed.

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Connections

Referenced in Lovelace (2013)

User Reviews

Just get it for the car chase :)

...that's if you can get it at all. I haven't seen a copy of this movie in about 15 years, and it's only because it has such a dumb title that I can even remember what it was called.

Honestly, I can't remember anything about 'The Burglars', which I saw once, in about 1989, other than the fact that it has the most amazing car chase I've ever seen. I remember thinking the stunt drivers must have been madmen. No special effects, slow-motion or anything; just insane high speed driving through the streets of Athens. Steven Spielberg is supposed to have said that 'The Castle of Cagliostro' had the best car chase ever filmed. I guess he can't have seen this one. Honestly, it's just nuts.

As for the rest of the film, I don't remember, and frankly, who cares. If I ever track down another copy, it'll only be for one reason (and BTW, I'm not a car-chase, or even action-film buff. I mean, I thought 'Gone in 60 seconds' was as boring as dirt, as well as being utterly stupid. But I will always make room for the best example of any genre, and if car-chases were a genre, this would be my pick)

Well, that wan't much of a review, was it? But from what I remember, it wasn't much of a movie except for the... yeah, yeah, OK: you get the idea by now.