HEIST MOVIES
SELECTED BY DIRECTOR Christopher Mcquarrie
ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976)
The crowning achievement of Alan Pakula and Gordon Willis’ ‘paranoia trilogy’ (the others being Klute and The Parallax View). It’s also a great detective movie with no real detectives in it after the first five minutes (and one of those detectives is an undercover F. Murray Abraham).
DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975)
Based on a true story, and in many ways more ahead of its time now than when it was made, the less you know about it going in, the better. I envy anyone watching it for the first time.
THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950)
Everyone’s taken a page from Kubrick’s The Killing, which takes more than a page from this one (along with quintessential noirrior — a word I just made up — Sterling Hayden). A cornerstone of the genre from director John Huston.
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1975)
Huston makes the list twice, here with his tale of two utterly amoral, racist, imperialist, and ultimately irresistible Victorian-era con-men on an outrageously fated streak of luck that takes them beyond the Hindu Kush to an inevitable fate. Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Christopher Plummer star. God’s holy trousers, just watch it.
PAPER MOON (1973)
As the ’70s New Wave raged all around him, director Peter Bogdonovich and his very underrated/overlooked production designer/ wife Polly Platt lean into their love of John Ford, Howard Hawks and Dust-bowl America for what I will argue in any bar on Earth is the finest con movie ever made, starring father/daughter duo Ryan and ten-year-old Tatum O’neill.
RIFIFI (1955)
Blacklisted American director Jules Dassin self-exiled in Paris and made the heist film to rule them all, peaking with a silent, middle-act, 20-minute jewel theft that has never, ever been beat. Dassin himself was forced to play the Italian safe-cracker when the real actor dropped out, making him an American directing the French while speaking Italian (and his character’s fate is Dassin’s fascinating commentary on those who betrayed him back home). Lovers of shamelessly imitated heists should also seek out Dassin’s iconic and influential Topkapi.
THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 (1974)
Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Jerry Stiller, Hector Elizondo and an NY subway (hijacked by men calling themselves Mr Gray, Mr Green, Mr Blue and Mr Brown). The score by David Shore holds us up by the ankles and shakes the change from our pockets, Owen Roizman’s cinematography defines the Big Apple of the era, and Matthau’s deeply flawed and ultimately unbeatable Inspector Garver could never exist in a movie today where reality bites. The movie’s last seconds are untouchable.
THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT (1974)
Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges (who looks great in drag, you’ll discover) star in Michael Cimino’s directorial debut — a joltingly random, oddly emotional ode to ’70s Americana. No punches (or kicks to the head) are pulled, and the ending will leave you ruined.
THE TRAIN (1964)
John Frankenheimer and Burt Lancaster’s muscular and unmatchable destruction of post-war France’s antiquated railway system, disguised as a meditation on the value of art and human life, disguised as an attempt by Nazis to loot France of her greatest art in the last days of World War II, despite the valiant efforts of the resistance to stop them. A titanic and criminally underrated cinematic masterwork.
WHAT’S UP, DOC? (1972)
Bogdanovich returns to the list in his (and Polly Platt’s) continued refusal to get with the ’70s New-wave programme, making a screwball comedy that contains, among other things, a car chase that never, ever makes those “top ten car chases of all time” lists, instantly rendering them all complete and utter bullshit (and in Bullitt’s San Francisco, no less). Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’neill (whose star power Bogdanovich employed like no other) lead an impeccable comedic cast with a script written by David Newman, Robert Benton and Buck Henry. Why are you not already watching?
SELECTED BY DIRECTOR Simon Kinberg THE KILLING (1956)
Kubrick pretty much mastered any genre he attempted, and the non-linear, tense storytelling of this movie is such an operatic masterpiece, it feels almost harder to pull off than a real heist itself.
RIFIFI (1955)
This belongs on the list if only for the greatest silent set-piece of all-time (sorry, Mission: Impossible).
HEAT (1995)
Yes, the shootout, the diner scene, the music, the style. But it’s the little things that make this movie resonate with me, the attention to every character detail, not a wasted glance or shot.
THE RED CIRCLE/LE CERCLE ROUGE (1970)
I guess I just really love silent set-pieces, but this has another masterpiece, and it has Alain Delon at his super-cool best, working for one of the greatest crime filmmakers of all time.
DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975)
This is all about characters and performances, and the most sympathetic reason for a heist in movie history. It’s another movie that does something sonically radical — going without a score. There’s got to be something about heist movies and silence that enhances the tension of getting busted.
SET IT OFF (1996)
Just as relevant today as it was 25 years ago. The chemistry between the women is flawless, and you’re rooting for them for all the right reasons from start to tragic finish.
OUT OF SIGHT (1998)
Speaking of chemistry, this is just the sexiest movie of all time. It’s the perfect script by Scott Frank, capturing the voice of classic crime writer Elmore Leonard. The non-linear storytelling has a jazz of its own. Soderbergh is another expert in the genre.
RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)
Another non-linear masterpiece that introduced the world to the genius of Quentin Tarantino. We’d never heard a voice like his before, and even though many have tried to imitate it, we’ll never hear another like him. I saw this movie in college, and probably watched it in the theatre ten times in the first week alone.
THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950)
A movie that gives you sweaty palms like you’re in the crew. Sterling Hayden must be the heist genre MVP for me.
INCEPTION (2010)
The idea of pulling a heist inside someone’s head is reason enough to put this on the list, but the visuals are beyond brilliant, and the way Nolan plays with time is pure genius. I wish I could get inside Nolan’s mind to steal some ideas.