The Italian Job (2003 film)

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For other uses, see The Italian Job (disambiguation).
The Italian Job

Poster
Directed by F. Gary Gray
Produced by Donald De Line
Written by Donna Powers
Wayne Powers
Based on the film written by
Troy Kennedy Martin
Starring Mark Wahlberg
Charlize Theron
Edward Norton
Seth Green
Jason Statham
Mos Def
Donald Sutherland
Music by John Powell
Cinematography Wally Pfister
Editing by Richard Francis-Bruce
Christopher Rouse
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) Tribeca Film Festival:
May 11, 2003
United States:
May 30, 2003
Australia:
August 21, 2003
United Kingdom:
September 19, 2003
Running time 110 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $60,000,000[1]
Gross revenue $176,070,171[1]

The Italian Job is a 2003 American heist film directed by F. Gary Gray. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Seth Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def and Donald Sutherland. It is a remake of the 1969 British film of the same name, and is about a team of thieves who plan to steal gold bullion from a former associate who double crossed them. Despite the shared title, the plot and characters of this film differ from those of its source material; Gray described the film as "an homage to the original."[2]

Most of the film was shot on location in Venice, Italy and Los Angeles. Produced by Paramount Pictures, The Italian Job had a successful theatrical release in the summer of 2003, and grossed over $170 million worldwide. Critical response was generally positive. A sequel has reportedly been in development since 2004, but has yet to be produced as of 2009.

Contents

[edit] Plot

In Venice, Italy, retired safecracker John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) calls his daughter Stella Bridger (Charlize Theron) and tells her that he is participating in what will be his final heist. John then meets up with Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) before setting the heist into motion. Their team consists of themselves and four others: Steve (Edward Norton) is the "inside man", Handsome Rob (Jason Statham) is a getaway driver, Left Ear (Mos Def) is an explosives expert, and Lyle (Seth Green, who later demands the handle "Napster"), is a computer genius. The heist is a success, but Steve betrays them all by taking the gold for himself; he kills John Bridger and leaves the rest of the team for dead.

A year later back in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stella is using her safecracking expertise to break into vaults as an assistant to law enforcement personnel. The team has tracked Steve down, and Charlie recruits Stella to participate with the team in stealing the gold from Steve since she has the required skill and motivation. The team travels to Los Angeles, California to begin their surveillance of Steve's house and plan the heist. Meanwhile, Steve attempts to sell his gold through a money launderer called Yevan, but kills him when he begins asking questions about the source of the gold. However, Yevan is the cousin of a local Ukrainian Gang Boss, who subsequently seeks vengeance for his cousin's murder. The team's initial plan is to have Steve stood up on a date with Stella—who posed as a cable repair woman to get into Steve's house and locate his safe—while the team would break into Steve's house, load the gold into one Mini Cooper S and two Mini Coopers modified by Rob's mechanic friend Wrench (Franky G), and use hacked traffic lights to make their escape. However, Charlie is forced to call it off because of a local party, which would witness the heist's execution. To maintain her cover, Stella goes on the date with Steve, but he figures out her real identity. Charlie and his team then confronts Steve and promises that he will take back the stolen gold.

Now aware that Charlie and his team are alive, Steve makes preparations to move the gold. He obtains three armored trucks and a helicopter from which to monitor the trucks' transit. To counter the shell game, Napster uses his control over the Los Angeles traffic system to isolate the one truck containing the gold, which he manages to find, and gridlocks the entire city. The team then steals the gold from the truck and escape in their trio of Mini Coopers. Steve (Who has been overseeing the gold transfer in a helicopter) and his hired security guards pursue them through Los Angeles, and the team manages to lose them all, except Steve. He follows Charlie, but falls into a trap: Charlie has already convinced the Ukrainian Gang Boss that Steve is the man they want, and Charlie sells the Ukrainian Gang Boss the remaining gold. Steve is taken away by the Ukrainian Gang Boss' men, and the team split up the money and raise a toast to Stella's father as they leave Los Angeles on the Coast Starlight. During the credits, it is shown what happens to each of the main characters afterwards.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

[edit] Development

Screenwriting team Donna and Wayne Powers had not seen the original 1969 film prior to their commission to write a remake. The duo viewed the film only once "because [they] wanted to get a sense of what it was about" in regards to its tone, and over the course of two years they developed a screenplay which was described by director F. Gary Gray as "inspired by the original."[3] Gray, Powers and Powers, and executive producer James Dyer identified the most prominent similarities as the trio of Mini Coopers used by the thieves, as well as the titular heist involving the theft of gold bullion.[4][5] Some sequences of the film were storyboarded and previsualized by Gray before production began.[6]

[edit] Casting

Gray had been interested in working with Wahlberg since seeing his performance in Boogie Nights (1997). After reading the script for The Italian Job, Gray contacted Wahlberg, who "fell in love with it" after reading it himself.[4] Green was also attracted to the project because of the script.[7] Theron was Gray's first choice for the character of Stella Bridger, and Wahlberg also recommended her for the role. She spent time with a safecracker in preparing for the role.[4][8] Gray's casting director suggested Statham for the role of getaway driver Handsome Rob, and Gray agreed with her choice.[4] Norton took the role of Steve Frazelli due to a contractual obligation he had to fulfill.[9] Wahlberg, Theron and Statham attended a special driving school for nearly a month during pre-production.[10]

[edit] Filming

Most of The Italian Job was shot on location, at sites scouted by cinematographer Wally Pfister over 12 weeks during pre-production, but some scenes were filmed on sets. The Venice building where the film's titular, opening heist sequence takes place, the van from which the thieves survey Steve Frazelli's mansion, a hotel room, and the LACMTA Red Line subway tunnel were sets constructed at Downey Studios in California. For the scene in which an armored truck falls through Hollywood Boulevard and into the subway tunnel below, Pfister set up seven cameras to capture the vehicle's ~ 30 foot (9.1 m) descent.[6] Three hundred cars were used to simulate the traffic jam at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland, which was controlled by the production crew for a week.[4][6] Three of the 32 Mini Coopers used during principal photography were fitted with electric motors since combustion engines were not allowed in the subway tunnels where some scenes were shot. Other Mini Coopers were modified to allow for camera placement on and inside the vehicles.[10][11]

Gray wanted the film to be as realistic as possible; accordingly, the actors did most of their own stunts, and computer-generated imagery was used very sparingly.[4][10][12] Filming on location posed some challenges. The opening heist sequence in Venice, Italy, was strictly monitored by the local authorities due to the high speeds the boats were driven at.[6] The frigid temperatures of the Italian Alps created problems during production: "The guns would jam, and if you could imagine not being able to walk 40 feet with a bottle of water without it freezing, those are the conditions we had to work in," Gray remarked.[4] Also, pedestrians had to be allowed to use the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard between takes.[12]

[edit] Release

[edit] Theatrical run and home media

The Italian Job premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on May 11, 2003, and was theatrically released in the United States on May 30, 2003. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $19,457,944,[1] placing third in the box office.[13] Paramount re-released the film on August 29,[14] and by the time its theatrical release closed in November 2003, the film had grossed $106,128,601 in the United States and Canada and $69,941,570 overseas—$176,070,171 worldwide.[1] It was the highest-grossing film produced by Paramount in 2003.[15] The Italian Job was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment October 7, 2003, and includes five bonus features on different aspects of the film's production, in addition to six deleted scenes.[16] It was released on Blu-ray disc October 24, 2006,[17] and on HD DVD August 8, 2006.[18]

[edit] Critical reception

Based on 174 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, The Italian Job has an overall approval rating of 73 percent, with a weighted average score of 6.4/10. Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop", which consists of popular and notable critics from top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 82 percent, with a weighted average score of 6.8/10.[19] By comparison, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 68 out of 100 from the 37 reviews it collected.[20]

Stephanie Zacharek, writing for Salon.com, liked the reinvention of the plot and the style and execution of the action sequences, specifically those involving the trio of Mini Coopers, which she wrote were the stars of the film.[21] BBC reviewer Stella Papamichael gave The Italian Job 4 stars out of 5, and wrote that the "revenge plot adds wallop lacking in the original".[22] Los Angeles Times reviewer Kevin Thomas praised the opening Venice heist sequence and the characterization of each of the thieves, but felt that the Los Angeles heist sequence was "arguably stretched out too long".[23] Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, writing that the film was "two hours of mindless escapism on a relatively skilled professional level."[24] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle concurred, describing The Italian Job as pure but smart entertainment "plotted and executed with invention and humor".[25] Reviewer James Berardinelli also gave the film 3 stars out of 4, and said that Gray had discovered the right recipe to do a heist movie: "keep things moving, develop a nice rapport between the leads, toss in the occasional surprise, and top with a sprinkling of panache."[26] Variety's Robert Koehler compared The Italian Job to The Score (2001), another "finely-tuned heist pic" which also featured Edward Norton in a similar role.[27] David Denby, writing for The New Yorker, praised Norton's performance, as well as those of Seth Green and Mos Def, and the lack of digital effects in the action sequences.[28] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B− grade, comparing it positively to the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, as well as the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven.[29] New York Daily News reviewer Jack Matthews gave The Italian Job 2.5 stars out of 4, writing that the action sequences and plot twists were a "vast improvement" from the original, and that the Los Angeles heist sequence was "clever and preposterous". Matthews concurred with Zacharek on the use of the Mini Coopers in the film as a connection to the original, and as product placement for BMW.[30] Mike Clark of USA Today also questioned the probability of the Los Angeles heist sequence and wrote that the film was "a lazy and in-name-only remake", giving it 2 stars out of 4.[31] Peter Travers, writing for Rolling Stone, gave The Italian Job 1 star out of 4, describing the film as "a tricked-out remake of a heist flick that was already flat and formulaic in 1969." Travers enjoyed the comic relief in Green's and Def's characters, and added that Norton's was "[t]he most perversely magnetic performance" outside of the Mini Coopers, but felt that there was a lack of logic in the film.[9]

[edit] Awards

Director F. Gary Gray won a Film Life Movie Award for Best Director at the 2004 American Black Film Festival.[32] Clay Cullen, Michael Gaines, Jean Paul Ruggiero and Mike Massa won an award for Best Specialty Stunt at the 2004 Taurus World Stunt Awards for the boat chase through the canals of Venice.[33]

[edit] Product Placement

While the film heavily features the Mini, a billboard advertising Pepsi Blue can be seen in the "disappearing truck" scene.

[edit] Sequel

There are a couple of scripts that have been written, but in the last six years since we made [The Italian Job], Paramount’s hierarchy has changed hands four times and it’s never seemed to be a priority for the studio to make the movie. [...] There’s enough of a fan outcry for it, but we just haven’t been able to get the studio to greenlight it.

—Seth Green on the possible sequel, September 7, 2008[34]

A sequel to The Italian Job, tentatively titled The Brazilian Job, was in development by the summer of 2004, but has faced multiple delays. Principal photography was initially slated to begin in March 2005, with a projected release date in November or December 2005.[35] However, the script was never finalized, and the release date was pushed back to sometime in 2006,[36] and later summer 2007.[37] Writer David Twohy approached Paramount Pictures with an original screenplay entitled The Wrecking Crew, and though the studio reportedly liked the idea, they thought it would work better as a sequel to The Italian Job.[38] Director F. Gary Gray was expected to return, as well as most, if not all, of the original cast.[37][38] At least two drafts of the script had been composed by August 2007, but the project had not been greenlit.[39] In a March 2008 interview, Jason Statham said that "somebody should just erase it from IMDb.... and put it back on there when it's fully due and ready. [...] It's one of those things that's just sitting around."[40] Green also stated, in September 2008, that the sequel is unlikely in the near future.[34] However, producer Donald De Line revealed on March 9, 2009, that "[we] have a version at Paramount that we're talking very serious about", additionally mentioning that the cast was interested in the project.[41]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Italian Job (2003)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=italianjob.htm. Retrieved on 2008-04-19. 
  2. ^ Spence D. (2003-05-30). "Gray's Got Game". IGN Entertainment. http://movies.ign.com/articles/421/421750p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-10. 
  3. ^ Powers, Donna (writer) et al.. (2003). Putting the Words on the Page for The Italian Job. [Documentary]. Paramount Pictures. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Gray, F. Gary (director) et al.. (2003). Pedal to the Metal: The Making of The Italian Job. [Documentary]. Paramount Pictures. 
  5. ^ Stax (2003-03-17). "Gray Talks Italian Job". IGN Entertainment. http://movies.ign.com/articles/389/389689p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-15. 
  6. ^ a b c d Fisher, Bob (May 2003). "How Wally Pfister, ASC Gave The Italian Job a Contemporary Look". International Cinematographers Guild. http://www.cameraguild.com/interviews/chat_pfister/pfister_italian.htm. Retrieved on 2008-10-07. 
  7. ^ Applebaum, Stephen (2003-09-15). "Seth Green". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/04/02/seth_green_the_italian_job_interview.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-09-15. 
  8. ^ Lee, Alana (2003-09-15). "Charlize Theron". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/09/08/charlize_theron_italian_job_interview.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-09-16. 
  9. ^ a b Travers, Peter (2003-05-30). "The Italian Job". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5947767/review/5947768/the_italian_job. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. 
  10. ^ a b c High Octane: Stunts from The Italian Job. [Documentary]. Paramount Pictures. 2003. 
  11. ^ The Italian Job – Driving School. [Documentary]. Paramount Pictures. 2003. 
  12. ^ a b Daly, Steve (2003-06-05). "Keepin' It Wheel". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,456902,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. 
  13. ^ "Box office and rental history for The Italian Job". Rotten Tomatoes. http://au.rottentomatoes.com/m/italian_job/numbers.php. Retrieved on 2008-04-19. 
  14. ^ McNary, Dave (2003-08-14). "Par decides 'Job' will work Labor Day". Variety (Reed Business Information). http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117890898.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-18. 
  15. ^ McNary, Dave (2003-12-21). "De Line hire portends more changes at Par". Variety (Reed Business Information). http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117897479.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-05. 
  16. ^ Patrizio, Andy (2003-10-17). "The Italian Job (2003) Review". IGN Entertainment. http://dvd.ign.com/articles/455/455380p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-15. 
  17. ^ "Historical Blu-ray Release Dates". highdefdigest.com. http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates_historical.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-19. 
  18. ^ "Historical HD DVD Release Dates". highdefdigest.com. http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/releasedates_historical.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-19. 
  19. ^ "The Italian Job (2003)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://au.rottentomatoes.com/m/italian_job/. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. 
  20. ^ "Italian Job, The". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/italianjob/. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. 
  21. ^ ""The Italian Job"". Salon.com. 2003-05-30. http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/review/2003/05/30/italian_job/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  22. ^ Papamichael, Stella (2003-10-04). "The Italian Job". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/09/04/the_italian_job_2003_review.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-09-15. 
  23. ^ Thomas, Kevin (2003-05-30). "'The Italian Job' (2003)". Los Angeles Times. http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-kevin30may30,0,7941397.story?coll=cl-mreview. Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  24. ^ Ebert, Roger (2003-05-30). "The Italian Job". rogerebert.com. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030530/REVIEWS/305300302/1023. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. 
  25. ^ LaSalle, Mick (2003-05-30). "Rip-off artistry". San Francisco Chronicle (Hearst Communications, Inc). http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/05/30/DD270386.DTL&type=movies. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. 
  26. ^ Berardinelli, James (2003-05-27). "Review: Italian Job, The (2003)". ReelViews.net. http://www.reelviews.net/movies/i/italian_job.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-09. 
  27. ^ Koehler, Robert (2003-05-26). "The Italian Job". Variety. Reed Business Information. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=review&reviewid=VE1117920874. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. 
  28. ^ Denby, David (2003-06-16). "Traffic James". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/06/16/030616crci_cinema. Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  29. ^ Glieberman, Owen (2003-05-30). "The Italian Job (2003)". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,454095~1~~italianjob,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. 
  30. ^ Matthews, Jack (2003-05-30). "In revved-up comedy heist, the car's the star". New York Daily News. NYDailyNews.com. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2003/05/30/2003-05-30_in_revved-up_heist_comedy__t.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-14. 
  31. ^ Clark, Mike (2003-05-29). "Give this American 'Italian Job' the boot". USA TODAY. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2003-05-29-italian-job_x.htm. Retrieved on 2008-10-09. 
  32. ^ Film Life, Inc (2004-07-20). Star-Studded Film Life Movie Awards Show Concludes 8th Annual American Black Film Festival. Press release. http://www.thefilmlife.com/press/releases/20040720_release.htm. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. 
  33. ^ "Nominees / Winners 2004 - Taurus World Stunt Awards". Taurus World Stunt Awards. http://www.taurusworldstuntawards.com/index.php?cmd=cmdPastNominees&year=2004. Retrieved on 2008-09-13.  See also: Taurus World Stunt Awards (2004-05-16). Blow Up With Excitement-Literally!. Press release. http://www.worldstuntawards.com/content/press/press_detail.php?id=10. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. 
  34. ^ a b Soll, Lindsay (2008-09-09). "Seth Green talks 'Heroes' and 'Italian Job' sequel". Entertainment Weekly. http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/09/heroes-seth.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-10. 
  35. ^ Davidson, Paul (2003-07-23). "Sequel to The Italian Job Proposed". IGN Entertainment. http://movies.ign.com/articles/430/430101p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-08.  Fleming, Michael and McNary, Dave. "New man for the 'Job'". Variety (Reed Business Information). http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117907994.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-17.  McNary, Dave (2004-09-26). "Par reunites 'Job' crew". Variety (Reed Business Information). http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117910959.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-17.  Keck, William (2004-09-23). "'Huckabees' stars are all 'Heart'". USA TODAY. http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-09-23-huckabees-premiere_x.htm. Retrieved on 2008-10-10.  See also: Davidson, Paul (2004-09-27). "New Italian Job Looks Likely". IGN Entertainment. http://movies.ign.com/articles/551/551886p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-17. 
  36. ^ McNary, Dave (2004-11-07). "Par: Déjà vu all over again". Variety (Reed Business Information). http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117913091.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.  See also: Tecson, Brandee (2005-12-27). "Mark Wahlberg Hits The Gridiron For Role In True-Life Tale 'Invincible'". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1519332/20051227/story.jhtml. Retrieved on 2009-03-18. 
  37. ^ a b Davidson, Paul (2005-12-16). "The Brazilian Job Targets Summer 2007". IGN Entertainment. http://au.movies.ign.com/articles/676/676604p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-17.  Davidson, Paul (2007-05-02). "Brazilian Job Still On". IGN Entertainment. http://au.movies.ign.com/articles/785/785006p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-17. 
  38. ^ a b Fleming, Michael (2005-05-31). "Par puts vet on the 'Job'". Variety (Reed Business Information). http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117923728.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-11. 
  39. ^ Goldman, Eric (2007-08-17). "Exclusive Interview: Seth Green". IGN Entertainment. http://tv.ign.com/articles/813/813574p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-15. 
  40. ^ IGN Staff (2008-03-04). "Statham Talks Sequels". IGN Entertainment. http://au.movies.ign.com/articles/856/856850p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-17. 
  41. ^ Douglas, Edward (2009-03-09). "Donald De Line on Green Lantern and Brazilian Job". Comingsoon.net. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=53545. Retrieved on 2009-03-18. 

[edit] External links

Search Wikiquote Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Italian Job (2003 film)
Preceded by
Calendar Girls		 Box office number-one films of 2003 (UK)
September 21		 Succeeded by
Calendar Girls
v • d • e
The Italian Job
Films
The Italian Job (1969) • The Italian Job (2003)
Video Games
Characters
v • d • e
Films directed by F. Gary Gray
1990s
Friday (1995) • Set It Off (1996) • The Negotiator (1998)
2000s
A Man Apart (2003) • The Italian Job (2003) • Be Cool (2005) • Law Abiding Citizen (2010)
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