Stars: Michael Caine, Noel Coward, Benny Hill, Tony Beckley, Raf Vallone, Rossano Brazzi, Irene Handl, John Le Mesurier, Simon Dee, Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Jason Statham, Seth Green, Donald Sutherland, Mos Def, Pete Gawtti, Kelly Brook

Director: Peter Collinson

Summary: A box set featuring THE ITALIAN JOB in which Charlie Croker, fresh out of prison, takes on a job to steal gold from Italy. In order to finance the raid he enlists the help of Mr Bridger, an established criminal. The team plans to distract the Italian police with a traffic jam whilst they make off with the bullion in three Mini Coopers. In the 2003 re-make, Charlie, Steve, Handsome Rob, Lyle and Half Ear are a gang of criminals who are double crossed by Steve. To get their revenge on Steve, Charlie gets the gang together to rob him of all his money. However Steve always seems to be one step ahead of them...

A box set containing the original 1969 version of THE ITALIAN JOB plus the 2003 film of the same name. Peter Collinson's 1969 film made an immediate impact with audiences craving a faster pace and higher octane film. A box-office hit that held audiences breathless, THE ITALIAN JOB would influence action movies for years to come with its thrilling car chases, explosive pyrotechnics, and smash-em-up sensibility.
Before being murdered by the Mafia, criminal genius Robert Beckerman (Rossano Brazzi in a cameo role) masterminds a plan to steal $4 million worth of gold bullion from an armoured car in Turin, Italy. The ambitious heist is taken over by Beckerman's friend and small-time crook Charlie Croker (Michael Caine), who organises a motley group of thieves bankrolled by jailed kingpin Mr Bridger (Noel Coward). To pull off the plan, the gang must tie up traffic in the centre of the city to divert attention away from the robbery, block a police pursuit, and ultimately make off with their booty undetected. The caper leads to one of the most exciting car chases in film history, featuring a bus, a couple of Jaguars, and a trio of brightly coloured Mini Coopers careering through the streets, buildings, and highways of northern Italy and winding up in a breathtaking final cliffhanger that is simply unforgettable.
F. Gary Gray's thoroughly entertaining film--a remake of the 1969 classic--doesn't merely imitate the original, and that is what makes it such a pleasant, wholly refreshing surprise. Mark Wahlberg stars as Charlie Croker, a smooth thief who orchestrates a flawless heist in Venice with the help of his mentor, safecracker John Bridger (Donald Sutherland). Together with his cronies--explosives expert Left-Ear (Mos Def), tech whiz-kid Lyle (Seth Green), adrenaline junky Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), and the shady Steve (Edward Norton)--Charlie walks away with $35 million worth of precious gold bars. But just when the gang appears to be headed to freedom, Steve performs a heist of his own, killing John and running off with the gold, thinking that Charlie and his mates are all deceased. A year later, Charlie has located Steve, who is gradually selling off the gold bars in Los Angeles. With the help of John's beautiful daughter Stella (Charlize Theron), a brilliant safecracker in her own right--as well as some Mini Cooper cars--Charlie orchestrates a revenge heist that will teach Steve a valuable lesson about loyalty once and for all.

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The greatest Brit-flick crime caper comedy of all time, 1969's The Italian Jobtowers mightily above its latter-day mockney imitators. After Alfiebut before Get CarterMichael Caine is the hippest ex-con around, bedding the birds (several at a time) and spouting immortal one-liners ("You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!"). The inheritor of a devious plan to steal gold bullion in the traffic-choked streets of Turin, Caine recruits a misfit team of genial underworld types--including a lecherous Benny Hill and three plummy public-schoolboy rally drivers--and uses the occasion of an England-Italy football match as cover for the heist.

In his final screen appearance, Noel Coward joyfully sends up his own patriotic persona, and there are small though priceless cameos from the likes of Irene Handl and John Le Mesurier. But The Italian Job's real stars are the three Mini Coopers--patriotically decorated red, white and blue--that run rings round every other vehicle in an immortal car-chase sequence, which preserves forever the British public's love affair with the little car. Quincy Jones provided the irreverent music, naturally, while the cliffhanger ending thumbs its nose at anything so un-hip as a resolution. It's all unashamedly jingoistic--ridiculously, gleefully, absurdly so--but the whole sums up the joie de vivreof the 1960s so perfectly that future historians need only look here to learn why the decade was swinging.

On the DVD:The Italian Jobdisc contains three all-new documentaries--"The Great Idea" (conception), "The Self-Preservation Society" (casting), and "Get a Bloomin' Move On" (stunts)--which dovetail into a good 68-minute "making of" featurette. Contributors include scriptwriter Troy Kennedy Martin and Producer Michael Deeley, who also crops up on the sporadically interesting commentary track with author of The Making of The Italian Job, Matthew Field. The deleted "Blue Danube" waltz scene is also included, with optional commentary. The print is a decent anamorphic transfer of the original 2.35:1 ratio, and the soundtrack has been remastered to Dolby 5.1. The animated Mini Cooper menus set the tone perfectly. --Mark Walker

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Featurette - 1. PEDAL TO THE METAL - The Making of The Italian Job, 2. PUTTING THE WORDS ON THE PAGE FOR THE ITALIAN JOB, 3. THE ITALIAN JOB DRIVING SCHOOL, 4. THE MIGHT MINIS OF THE ITALIAN JOB, 5. HIGH OCTANE STUNTS OF THE ITALIAN JOB, Deleted Scenes, Gag Ree
Year:	1968
Release Date:	March 8, 2004
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	P H E 8500
Keywords:	Action, Job, Box, General, Italian, Set, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure