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THE ITALIAN JOB is one of the three great Michael Caine movie from the 1960s going into the early 1970s (The other two being
THE IPCRESS FILE and GET CARTER). Caine plays master crook Charlie Croker who hatches a job to steal two million in gold
from the Italians in Italy. He gets backing from a crime lord (Noel Coward) and assembles a crew to pull off a job that will
involve timing, avoiding the Mafia, and the police.
If you are going to watch THE ITALIAN JOB, stick with the original and skip the remake. I hear they are working on a
sequel to the remake, but it would be cool to have both films collide and have Michael Caine play a supporting role and use
him as a wink wink to the audience of the original (while being a homage tribute to the original). The original ITALIAN JOB
has a great script with great actors and the cars being another character in the heist and chase sequence. Then the ending
is a hoot which makes you wonder what happens next. THE ITALIAN JOB is a movie you can say had at least an indirect influence
on the heist sequence in FAST FIVE.
PRESENTATION: The 4K UHD disc has a bit-rate of 60 to 80 MBps while the blu-ray has an average bit-rate of 40 MBps.
The blu-ray does use the new 4K transfer and it is a higher bit-rate than the old transfer used for the 40th Anniversay edition
of THE ITALIAN JOB which was released in the UK. The other bad news is that the discs only include English subtitles where
the UK blu-ray had a option of 11 different subtitle languages. However, the blu-ray makes the first time THE ITALIAN JOB
has been released on blu-ray in North America and the world debut of the movie on 4K UHD blu-ray.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
All the special features from the 40th and 50th Anniversary blu-ray editions (from the UK) are carried over to the Kino
blu-ray (and the old Paramount DVD in the US) in addition to a few trailers for other Michael Caine movies available through
Kino Lorber.
Two audio commentaries-
Audio commentary by Screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin and Matthew Field, author of The Making of THE ITALIAN JOB
Audio commentary by Producer Michael Deeley and author Matthew Field
The audio commentaries talk about the origins and production of THE ITALIAN JOB in addition to several ways of how the
movie could have ended in addition of ideas of where a sequel could have started.
THE SELF PRESERVATION SOCIETY retrospective documentary from 2002- this feature length documentary features interviews
from cast and crew as they talk about the origins of THE ITALIAN JOB, the production, and how it gained cult status years
later.
THE GREAT IDEA 2002 documentary-
GETTA BLOOMIN MOVE ON 2002 documentary
MINI ADVENTURES featurette from 2009 which features some Mini stunt drivers as they and others talk about the stunt work
done in the Minis by a great French car stunt team.
Deleted scene with optional commentary by Matthew Field. The deleted scene is neat to watch, but I do agree it would
have interrupted the flow of the chase sequence
Theatrical and 30th anniversary re-release trailer for THE ITALIAN JOB
Trailers for THE IPCRESS FILE, GAMBIT, BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN, THE DESTRUCTORS, THE WILBY CONSPIRACY, DRESSED TO KILL, THE
HOLOCROFT COVENANT, and THE WHISTLE BLOWER
FINAL ANALYSIS: THE ITALIAN JOB looks great in 4K as Kino Lorber hits it out of the park again with this release and
it is a cult classic you should own with a great range of extras too. THE ITALIAN JOB is a cult classic you should own whether
you’re a fan of this film or just seen the inferior remake (Sorry, Mark Wahlberg).
This review is ©2-24-2023 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com
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