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 & 8 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 Los Angeles with the gold. Charlie and the survivors of this betrayal follow Steve to 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:

It's not about the money. It's about the money.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

There were no visual effects used for the scene with the helicopter.

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Goofs

When Stella's MINI is first loaded with weights, you see that some of them are strapped down and some are not. The ones that aren't strapped down would've been shifting around the inside of the car during the test run, and probably causing some decent damage. Yet we never see any of them shift their positions.

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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 Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.88 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Go (Pete Lorimer Mix)
by Andy Hunter and Tedd Tjornborn
Performed by Andy Hunter
Courtesy of Sparrow Records/Nettwerk Productions

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 main star (and draw 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 has 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 it's a fun and enjoyable picture all in its own right, thus the rating of just under 7 IMDb is actually spot on. 7/10

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