Bandits (2001 film)
| Bandits | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Barry Levinson |
| Written by | Harley Peyton |
| Produced by | Barry Levinson Roger Birnbaum |
| Starring | Bruce Willis Billy Bob Thornton Cate Blanchett |
| Cinematography | Dante Spinotti |
| Edited by | Stu Linder |
| Music by | Christopher Young |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date | October 12, 2001 |
Running time | 123 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $80 million[1] |
| Box office | $67,631,903[2] |
Bandits is a 2001 American crime-comedy film directed by Barry Levinson. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. Filming began in October 2000 and ended in February 2001. It helped Thornton earn a National Board of Review Best Actor Award for 2001. Thornton and Blanchett were nominated for Supporting Actor and Actress Golden Globes for their performances in this film.
Plot summary
Two friends and convicts, one charismatic (Joe, played by Bruce Willis), the other neurotic and hypochondriac (Terry, played by Billy Bob Thornton), break out of Oregon State Penitentiary in a concrete mixing truck and start a bank robbing spree, hoping to fund a dream they share. They become known as the "Sleepover Bandits" because of their modus operandi: they kidnap the manager of a target bank the night before a planned robbery, then spend the night with the manager's family; early the next morning, they accompany the manager to the bank to get their money. Using dim-witted would-be stunt man Harvey Pollard (Troy Garity) as their getaway driver and lookout, the three successfully pull off a series of robberies that gets them recognition on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.
When a housewife with a failing marriage (Cate Blanchett) decides to run away, she ends up in the hands of the criminals. Initially attracted to Joe, she also ends up in bed with Terry and a confused love triangle begins.
The three of them run away and manage to pull off a few more robberies, but after a while the two begin to fight over Kate, and she decides to leave them. The two criminals then decide to pull off one last job.
The story is told in flashbacks, framed by the story of the pair's last robbery of the Alamo Bank, as told by Criminals at Large, a fictional reality television show. The show tells the story of the last job to be a failure when Kate tips off the police and the two are caught in the act. The two then begin to argue when Joe tells the police "You won't take us alive!" and the argument gets to the point where the two of them shoot each other dead.
But at the end of the film the real story behind the last job is revealed: Harvey used some of his special effects to make it seem as though Terry and Joe were shooting each other. Harvey and his girlfriend then ran in dressed as paramedics and placed the stolen money, Terry, and Joe in body bags. In the ambulance, Harvey uses electronics to blow out his tires which sends the ambulance into a junkyard. Under his jumpsuit, Harvey was wearing a fire suit. He lights himself on fire and rigs a bomb to go off. Kate, Harvey, Harvey's girlfriend, Terry, and Joe flee the scene, leading officials to believe the bodies were burned.
Reunited, Joe, Terry, Harvey and Kate make it to Mexico to live out their dream. The last scene shows Harvey getting married in Mexico and Kate kissing Joe and Terry passionately.
Cast
- Bruce Willis as Joe Blake
- Billy Bob Thornton as Terry Collins
- Cate Blanchett as Kate Wheeler
- Troy Garity as Harvey Pollard
- Brian F. O'Byrne as Darill Miller
- Stacey Travis as Cloe Miller
- Bobby Slayton as Darren Smith
- January Jones as Claire
- William Converse-Roberts as Charles Wheeler
- Richard Riehle as Lawrence Fife
Soundtrack
- "Gallows Pole" - Jimmy Page & Robert Plant
- "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum" - Bob Dylan
- "Holding Out for a Hero" - Bonnie Tyler
- "Twist in My Sobriety" - Tanita Tikaram
- "Rudiger" - Mark Knopfler
- "Just Another" - Pete Yorn
- "Walk On By" - Aretha Franklin
- "Superman (It's Not Easy)" - Five for Fighting
- "Crazy 'Lil Mouse" - In Bloom
- "Just the Two of Us" - Bill Withers and Grover Washington, Jr.
- "Wildfire" - Michael Martin Murphey
- "Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Bonnie Tyler
- "Bandits Suite" - Christopher Young
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film opened at #2 raking in $13,050,700, behind Training Day, which was on its second week at the top.[3]
The film's release and box office intake was marred by the initial anthrax attacks at NBC on the morning of its release.