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

7 wins & 9 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the film performed surprisingly well at the box office, there were rumors of a sequel while the film was still showing in theaters. An early script had it set in Brazil and it was called "The Brazilian Job" with Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, and Seth Green attached to reprise their roles, but the sequel fell apart after key people at Paramount Pictures left by the end of 2004, and rough drafts of the script proved unsatisfactory. However, Wahlberg said as recently as 2015 that a sequel was still a possibility.

---

Goofs

After Wrench modifies the MINIs, he and Charlie are walking past a shelf filled with what Wrench describes as "unnecessary engine parts". On that shelf are three exhaust headers and three crankshafts (along with many other parts) which are absolutely necessary for an engine to run.

---

Quotes

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

---

Crazy Credits

At the very end of the credits, the sound of coins falling and tinkling can be heard.

---

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.

---

Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Best Action Movie Remakes of All Time (2019)

---

Soundtracks

ABC
by Fonce Mizell (as Alphonso Mizell), Freddie Perren, Deke Richards, and Berry Gordy (as Berry Gordy,
Jr.)
Performed by Jackson 5
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

A good heist film with a respectable nod to the original.

Loved the original and a bit tired of all these remakes. Is the film industry lacking creativity, talent and ideas, that they now have to do this? I watched this not long after it came out and it passed the time and I found it a lot better than I'd thought it would be. After watching it again recently, it is a good heist film in its own right. It's not a complete remake of the original, though the minis speeding through the streets, gold bars, traffic chaos is a respectable nod to it. Plenty of action, stunts and twists and a great all star line up, who carry their characters off well. The film starts in Italy but it's mainly in the US which makes the title a bit non existent. It hasn't got the wonderful cliffhanger ending either, unfortunately!

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