Top 5

Top 5 Heist Films

Suspense, backstabbing, money, loyalty, cool music and most of all an inventive heist, this is what I qualify as the right ingredients of the perfect Heist film. 

 Note: This list isn't in any particular order just what comes to mind while writing. 

 1. Rififi - Jules Dassin's quintessential Heist film.  The most stunning aspect of the film is the 30 minute Heist, almost with no dialogue and very little sound, you'll find it hard to breath throughout.  I also love the opening in the club where a cocktail singer sings, "Rififi" and the silhouette photography that accompanies the scene.  It's such a cinematic moment, one I find myself thinking about and also singing in a crappy French accent.  

2.  Reservoir Dog's -  Tarantino's debut mostly remembered for the ear slicing scene.  But what I love it for is the kick ass soundtrack that bounces along and the beautiful dialogue performed with absolute perfection.  My favourite scene is were Mr. Orange delivers the monologue, from when he gets picked up and when it finishes is amazing, almost like a short film.  Mr. Orange is such a tragic character, I love it when he looks into the mirror and says" Be cool", that's a Tarantino moment.  

3.  Le Doulo's - Jean Pierre Melville's poetic existential crime caper.  It's bleak and has a great jazz soundtrack.  The black and white cinematography is stunning and the emotions kept to a minimal, true Melville style.  What makes it a truly great maybe the best Heist film is the screenplay which until the last 20 minutes do we find out what is actually happening.  At that point, we hope that our characters wlll be saved but not in a Melville world, it charges towards an unforgettable and heart breaking finale.  

4. The Killing - The first Heist film I ever saw.  Sterling Hayden is the man in this film.  Again the reason it stands out is the narrative structure which moves back and forth mostly because the heist is ill-fated from the get go.  It's in turns comical and unease to watch due to the fact your watching a gang of misfits mess up the robbery of a lifetime.  The Killing has two standout scenes the very last scene with the dog and then the one where the sniper shoots the horse and ironically a horseshoe bursts his tire.  Truly a classic heist film and Kubrick film.  

5.  Bande a part - Godard's rock n roll version of a heist film.  The standout moments of the film have nothing to do with the robbery like the playful death of Billy The Kid and of course the dance sequence that inspired Pulp Fiction's.  I must confess I love the entire ending to the film, the heist is lazy and messy, but what sets it apart is that the cool exterior becomes cracked and reveals a beautiful sadness to the characters.  

Re: Top 5 Heist Films

1. Topkapi - Rififi, masterpiece though it was, never made it out of the big cities, back in the day. It was Dassin’s Topkapi that made the big splash at my neighborhood cinema.

2. Groundhog Day - Armored-car highjack. Precisely timed, coolley pulled off.

3. The Score - Brando, De Niro, Norton. Hard to ignore a cast like that.

4. Inside Man - Are tricky bank robberies a separate category?

5. Tenacious D. and the Pick of Destiny - Includes laser dance and unusual use of the male anatomy. 

Re: Top 5 Heist Films

Hey great category, even though I'm sure I've not seen enough of the greats.  For instance I've never seen Rififi, although I know it's considered the best.  Although I HAVE seen Big Deal on Madonna Street, which from what I'm told is pretty much a parody of Rififi in a way.

1.  Reservoir Dogs.  Yeah it takes all of the best and puts them together into something even better.

2.  The Killing.  You said it well enough.

3.  The Sting.  Does this count?  They really didn't have to break into anywhere, but they sure did hussle a huge amount of cash.  Oh well, it's a great freakin movie.

4.  The Ladykillers and the remake.  Yes the original was fantastic, and no matter what many people say, I believe the Coen brothers can do no wrong.

5.  Sexy Beast.  Wonderful heist sequence.

I also seem to remember an interesting heist sequence in Dead Presidents, but don't remember it quite well enough.

Joem, wonderful mention of Groundhog Day!  I had no idea what you were talking about until I saw the sequence you were referencing.

Re: Top 5 Heist Films

Re: Top 5 Heist Films

I have a fav, but after that don't really have a ranking. (Good topic, BTW!)

1. The Killers--based on Ernest Hemingway's minimalist story, the original b & W version is such an effective heist movie partly because it starts from the end when everything is all over and then works backwards. When two gangsters come looking for The Swede, he doesn't run, but sits there in his room to be murdered. The Question: Why would any guy just sit there and get killed?

Then

2. Inside man

3. The Italian Job

4. The STing

5. (I welcome your suggestions.)

Re: Top 5 Heist Films

OH MY GOODNESS!!!  I just finished watching one of the greatest fast-pace thrillers I've ever seen.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

I don't know if it is technically a hiest film as they are not stealing money from an actual place, but it's a group of guys with guns who with an elaborate and detailed plan to get away with a shitload of money.  I think it fits into this group well enough.  And it's another movie Tarantino pulled from when making Reservoir Dogs.  Specifically the fact that all of the guys use aliases such as "Mister" followed by the name of a color.

I couldn't belive how well done this movie is.  Just the way everything is put together, the sequences, the editing, the dialogue, the characters, the action, the humor.  And I really enjoyed the theme that kept popping of people trying to figure eachother out and making assumptions about eachother, particularly the racial and gender prejudice and preconcieved ideas.  I could list a lot of them but one is the little moment where Garber finally meets Inspector Daniels and you can tell he didn't expect him to be black.  Or all of that stuff about not knowing whether the cop on the train might be a woman.  And then when Garber finally goes up to the male cop who has long hair who is lying face down on the tracks, he calls him "Mam".

That woman on the train who slept through the entire hijacking just killed me!!

Re: Top 5 Heist Films

Re: Top 5 Heist Films

I seem to remember Tucker or someone else in Vietnam holding someone's head.  I rememberd that when I saw a similar scene recently in The Ninth Configuration

Re: Top 5 Heist Films

Re: Top 5 Heist Films