Force Fed Films: The Italian Job (1969)

Today's movie was picked for me by Puneet. Surprise surprise, another old car movie. But not just any movie, The Italian Job! This is title even I recognized! Mind you, it's purely because of the version that came out in 2003 (which I also haven't seen). I do remember plenty of ads and trailers for it when it came out though. But Puneet is all about the older movies, particularly originals, if you haven't noticed. It seems whenever a remake comes out, it spurs him on to see the original. Not that that's a bad habit! I should probably get into the same habit myself. But for now, lets jump into the original Italian Job, which you can find me doing right after the jump!


I'd just like to say right off the bat, that I was expecting a fast paced action movie filled with car chases and daring stunts. I expected to find this because of all the trailers I remember of the 2003 Italian Job film. But let me tell you, that's surprisingly not what this movie is like at all! This movie is far more a comedy than anything else, which caught me completely by surprise. I had no idea it would be like that in the slightest. You can imagine my confusion when Benny Hill showed up in the opening credits!

You most likely all know the plot of this movie as it's pretty much the same as the remake. A complex heist with a complex getaway chase through the Italian streets in Mini Coopers. They take full advantage of their incredibly small size going where most other cars couldn't even dream of.

The action comes all in the form of the car chase that takes up the majority of the back half of the film. There are several jumps and stunts performed by the Minis, but there's always a dash of comedy thrown in to give it a little flavour. The downside to this for me, was that I never thought they'd get caught, and so there was no tension at all. A lot of the humour did feel like the kind of laughs you'd get in a Benny Hill show in fact, lighthearted, silly, and a tad bit pointless sometimes.

The famous Mini Coopers

Another thing about the movie is that it had a very slow, deliberate pace. Even the getaway at the end just felt slow to me, mainly because it took so long. Yes, it was all interesting to watch, but it wasn't exciting, and I found myself losing interest several times throughout the movie, wondering how much longer it was going to take. And the sad part is, it's only an hour and a half and it feel long and drawn out, especially the beginning. Once it gets to the actual heist, it's not too bad, but if I'm to be honest, it felt a little tiring overall.

I'm not sure what I think about it in the end. It was cute and charming and an utterly harmless way. But at the same time those qualities also seem to conflict directly with the daring escape with your lives situation of the heist. The style of comedy wasn't really my idea of funny,  but it's enough to put a little smile on your face. In the end, it just seemed harmless, but ultimately forgettable.