I’ve always felt nostalgic about the 1960s and 1970s as decades. The Italian Job was made at the tail end of the sixties, or, arguably, the cusp of the seventies and it was perhaps one of the last notable “swinging” films of that era. It concerns Charlie Croker, a Cockney gangster recently released from prison, who, with a faithful team of crooks, masterminds a plan to steal a large quantity of gold from Italy, all the while evading the Italian authorities, and the Mafia.
Our protagonist is played by boy wonder of the 60s, Michael Caine, who had had many successes, including Zulu (1964) and Alfie (1965). As an aficionado of spy thrillers, I particularly enjoyed him as Harry Palmer in the cold war thriller, The Ipcress File (1965). Paradoxically, while Caine is famous for that signature voice, which spurred on the quotable cockney slur of “My name is Michael Caine”, his talents are many. He treats this part with seriousness and also a generous helping of deadpan humour – who can forget the ever-quotable line; “You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!”. He is well-supported by a line-up of well known personalities from that time, such as Benny Hill as Professor Peach, and Noel Coward as Mr. Bridger, to name but a few.
The direction, by the little known Peter Collinson, is well-grounded, as is the cinematography by Douglas Slocombe. Both rapid editing and tracking shots highlight the intensity of the famous car chase featuring the Mini Coopers. What particularly sticks in my mind is the serene opening of the film, comprised mainly of a single point-of-view shot in criminal Beckerman’s sports car as he, (played by Rossano Brazzi), winds along the roads of the Italian Alps to the beautiful theme of “On Days Like These” by Matt Monro.
On the subject of music, legendary American composer, Quincy Jones, hits the nail on the head with a quintessentially “British” soundtrack for the film. It’s difficult to forget the choral closing theme; “Get A Bloomin’ Move On” (A.K.A. “The Self-Preservation Society”), which makes use of good old cockney rhyming slang. However. Jones’ music is also more discrete when he channels those “groovy” bossa nova-style vibes.
While The Italian Job is far removed from Oscar-worthy filmmaking, it is nevertheless a piece of British cinematic history. In fact, the film is a celebration of British culture, albeit one that, by today’s standards, is overly colourful and stylish, but also rather politically incorrect and comically xenophobic. It represents an England that I never knew, and one that perhaps never quite existed. This film is certainly up there with other British classics such as Get Carter (1971) and Alfie (1965), also starring the ever-resourceful Michael Caine.
fortheloveofcelluloidblog 