Review of The Italian Job (1969) by Markku R — 27 Aug 2014

As the remake was a fairly entertaining film, The Italian Job sounded like a fun British caper film which sounded even better wtih Michael Caine in the lead role.

While the remake of The Italian Job was a very serious version of the story dominated by a mostly American cast, the original version of The Italian Job presents a much different way of storytelling as it falls into the caper genre. This way, it is more consistently entertaining because the buildup to the exciting climax of the film has a serious tone to it while also maintaining a touch of British humour as a way of keeping it more consistently entertaining. It is able to succeed this way because while like many older films there is a generally slow pace in The Italian Job specifically as it progresses towards its climax. The climax incurs a suddenly fast pace which the film really rushes through, and so the pace in the film is inconsistent and proves to be one of the most primary issues in it. The Italian Job has quite a few dull moments and is a rather dated film, but it is a fun romp and is full of old fashioned nostalgia which is good to look back on. Its charm is undeniable, and while the movement of the tale is not perfect, the quality of the material is consistently strong.

The Italian Job comes from 1969, the year after the success of the action film Bullitt which featured one of the most memorable car chases in film history, and so it capitalises on the success of the big-budget stunts that made the film popular. The Italian Job spends most of the film building up to one big car chase scene which is serious as part of the narrative but not absent of a distinctive touch of humour. The stunts in the film are executed with the budget of a meagre £3 million which proves that director Peter Collinson has an eye for strong imagery and the ambition to execute it all with skill. The iconic big Mini Cooper chase scene at the end of the film is an excellent blend of serious stunts and humour which means that it ties into the tone set up by the rest of the film easily and gives it a fairly good climax. While it gets through it a bit quickly and leaves everything on a cliffhanger, as a whole it is an exciting and entertaining scene which gave a good second act to the film. It may take a while to take off thanks to an extensive and slow set up, but all in all it is able to justify itself with exciting stunts that have a subtle level of deadpan humour which is subtle and hilarious at the same time. The Italian Job lives up to the reputation of its genre by being a valid caper which works as a legitimate crime story and a funny one at the same time.

And thanks to a strong script, The Italian Job manages to benefit from some strong acting on behalf of a versatile cast.

Michael Caine is the main thing that keeps The Italian Job interesting. The buildup to the climax in the film is not precisely that exciting, but as I said before, it is mostly entertaining and has some funny moments. Both of these qualities can be attributed to the performance of Michael Caine because he manages to prove himself the perfect casting decision for the leading role. Michael Caine's two primary assets that he brings to his performance is his own natural ability to handle gritty material with ease and charisma as well as his natural cockney charm. He delivers all of his lines with genuine strength and edge which keeps the character intense the entire time, and he even brings a lot of comic virtues to the film. One of the most iconic elements of The Italian Job is the moment in which a member of Charlie Coker's crew blows up a car to which he angrily responds "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" which is arguably the most memorable moment in the film and definitely its funniest, so Michael Caine makes his presence essential to the story in terms of both dramatic and comic value. Michael Caine is a terrific choice for the lead in The Italian Job because he is so dead on with every word he says, and so he gives a strong characterization to his role while making audiences laugh at the same time.

Noel Coward also makes a powerful effort in The Italian Job. While his screen time is very limited to the matter of a few moments, he manages to work hard to make every second on screen an intense chance to show just how skilled an actor he is. He expresses his strongest asset as being the way that he is able to articulate his words because he conveys a really manipulative sense of sadism in the part which is entertaining as well as strong for characterising Charlie Croker. He delivers his lines with natural sophistication and a sense of power hidden within him which strengthens the thrilling aspects of the story and makes the venture a more dramatic one in many areas.

The intense chemistry between Michael Caine and Noel Coward manage to create some intense and interesting moments. The two actors unflinchingly stand up to each other and play a game of wits with each person's respective minds as they stare into each other's souls and speak the words of the script. The two make good members of the cast as the opposing protagonist and antagonist respectively,.

So while The Italian Job is a dated film which suffers from a slow pace and a lot of buildup for a finale which is rather short, it is a mostly entertaining caper film which benefits from an exciting final act and a terrific leading performance from Michael Caine.