The Italian Job

The Italian Job is a British comedy caper film, directed by Peter Collinson and written by Troy Kennedy Martin. It was released in 1969 and was very popular in Britain, not least because of the presence of Michael Caine; subsequent television showings and outings on video have established it as something of a national institution in the UK, with a cult following elsewhere.

Sequels and remakes

Although it received a Golden Globe nomination (for "Best Foreign Film in the English Language") the film was not a success in America. Michael Caine blamed its failure there on an unattractive and misleading advertising campaign. As a result, plans for a sequel were shelved. Producer Michael Deeley had envisaged helicopters coming in to save the cliff-hanging bus from the end of the first film. The grateful gang soon discover that it is the Mafia that has saved them, and the sequel would have been about getting the gold bullion from them.

Related Topics:
Golden Globe - Michael Deeley

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A remake of the movie, set in Los Angeles and starring Mark Wahlberg as Charlie Croker, was released in the summer of 2003. It also featured Donald Sutherland as John Bridger, more of a father-figure to Croker, Edward Norton, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron, Seth Green, and Mos Def. It made many changes to the original story, replacing the British characters with a primarily American cast, moving the action from Turin to Venice and Los Angeles, and replacing the ambiguous ending with one that is completely positive. The Minis of the original film were replaced by the new BMW-built MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S. Also unlike the original, there is said to a be a sequel in the works called The Brazilian Job.

Related Topics:
Remake - Los Angeles - Mark Wahlberg - 2003 - Donald Sutherland - Edward Norton - Jason Statham - Charlize Theron - Seth Green - Mos Def - Venice - BMW - MINI Cooper

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