The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime films and the caper story, focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery.
One of the early defining heist films was The Asphalt Jungle (1950), which Film Genre 2000 wrote "almost single-handedly popularized the genre for mainstream cinema". It featured robbers whose personal failings ultimately led to the failure of their robbery. Similar films using this formula were Armored Car Robbery (1950), The Killing (1956), and The Getaway (1972). By the 1990s, heist films began to "experiment and play with these conventions," incorporating elements such as comedy into their stories.
While there is no unanimous agreement on what constitutes a heist film, there are some common characteristics that most films in the genre share.
The most basic is that films in the genre tend to follow the planning, execution and aftermath of one large robbery. [1] While there can be smaller crimes leading up to the major crime, this major crime is the centerpiece of the film and is the event which informs much of the film's plot. [1] As a result of this, heist films tend to focus on the process of the crime, often planned in great detail, followed by extended exposition of the heist itself.
The genre is also distinct for almost exclusively following those committing the crime rather than whoever is trying to stop them. [2] This often leads to the viewer building some form of sympathy or respect for the criminals. [2] Another common characteristic is the assembling of a team to complete the heist, [2] with each member contributing a unique skill or trait needed to complete the job. [2]
Over time filmmakers have taken these characteristics and changed them to create interesting plays on the genre. For example, Reservoir Dogs (1992) skips the execution of the heist and most of its planning, choosing instead to focus almost exclusively on the aftermath. Another example of this is The Italian Job (1969), which shows the planning and execution of the heist but doesn't fully show the aftermath.
Other tropes of the genre include the failure of the heist due to fate, or the traits of the criminals involved. Among them is one of the participants getting injured during the heist, or betraying the others during or after. [3] This trend started as a result of the initial films in the genre being made in Hollywood during the Motion Picture Production Code, [4] which prohibited criminals from getting away with their crime. While this has changed since the disappearance of the code, [4] the trope of failed heists still remains. One of the most dynamic examples is Reservoir Dogs, which focuses solely on trying to figure out which of their group members betrayed them after a failed heist. Another popular trope is "one last job", whereby a criminal looking to quit the life enlists the team to commit one last heist so they will have money for the rest of their days. This can be seen in early films such as The Asphalt Jungle (1950) as well as more recent like Heat (1995).
While elements of the heist film can be seen in movies as early as The Great Train Robbery (1903), the genre didn't become fully fledged until the late 1940s and the early 1950s. [5] The film widely agreed upon as the first to do so is John Huston's 1950 The Asphalt Jungle, starring Sterling Hayden and Sam Jaffee (with Marilyn Monroe in a supporting role). [1] It contains many of the heist hallmarks, focusing from the criminal's perspective on the elaborate planning, flawed execution, and calamitous aftermath of a single heist. [2] It also devotes a large amount of time to the recruiting of variously skilled criminals to form a team.
Two earlier films that some consider prior examples of the genre, and others just key to its development, [1] are Criss Cross (1949) and The Killers (1946). While these do follow the planning, execution, and aftermath of a single heist from the criminals' perspective, some critics argue that they devote too much time to the planning and aftermath of the crime and too little to the actual job. [1] All of these films are also notable for having elements which are indebted to film noir, including their moody, expressionistic black and white cinematography and dark fatalistic tone. As a result, scholars such as Daryl Lee refer to such examples as “noir heists”. [5] Anne Billson of the BBC cites Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) as an influence on the "assembling the team" trope that later became a common characteristic of heist films. [6]
The period between 1955 and 1975 is considered by scholars to be the most productive for the heist genre. It began with American filmmakers continuing the noir heist trend in films like 5 Against the House (1955) and The Killing (1956). The ‘50s also saw the release of the first international heist films. Notably, a handful made in France were influenced by and responding to the American style. Two notable examples are Rififi (1955), which is known for its detailed 30 minute heist sequence, and Bob Le Flambeur (1956), known for an ending which plays with the conventions of the genre. [5] The 1950s also marked the beginning of British heist film, including The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and The Lady Killers (1955), pictures which introduced comedy to the genre. [5] A notable Italian heist film from this period is Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958), a parody of the genre. [5]
In the 1960s heist stories became more mainstream, with glossier and higher-budget heist films which moved away from the fatalism and darkness present in the earlier noir heists. [5] Two examples of this from the early 1960s are the British film The League of Gentlemen (1960) and the American film Seven Thieves (1960). Despite having conventional heist plots about gathering together a group to commit a heist, both films balance comedy and drama, unlike the darkness of the earlier noir heist films. [5] The mainstream shift as well as a growing cultural interest in travel led to a wave of glossy heist films involving exotic international locals, such as Topkapi (1964) and How to Steal a Million (1966). In France Rififi spawned a number of lower-budget crime films which often used Rififi as part of their title. These include films such as Rififi in Tokyo (1963) and Du rififi à Paname (1966). As the decade continued, the French also began to produce more glossy heist films which served as star vehicles for big names of the time, such as Any Number Can Win (1963) starring Alain Delon and Greed in the Sun (1964) starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. [5] The most celebrated French heist films of this time where directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, whose heist film Le Cercle Rouge (1970) is often regarded as one of the greatest heist movies of all time. [5] This expansion of the genre in the 1960s also led to remakes of older heist movies, with an early example being Cairo (1963), which is a remake of The Asphalt Jungle. [1] In 1968, the motion picture production code was abolished, paving the way for a number of heist films that didn't shy away from portraying graphic violence. This included films like Charley Varrick (1973) and The Getaway (1972).
The period between 1975 and the early 1990s is considered a low point for productivity in the heist genre. [5] While some were made, such as Thief (1981) and a remake of Big Deal on Madonna Street called Crackers (1984), some critics do not consider them as meaningful developments of the genre. [5] The 1990s would see the return of the heist film, with a number creating new interest. While pictures like John Woo's Once a Thief (1991) and Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight (1998) would bring some attention to the genre, the three returned the genre to prominence were Reservoir Dogs (1992), Heat (1995) and The Usual Suspects (1995).
This led to a large output of heist films throughout the 2000s. These range from British efforts like Snatch (2000) and Sexy Beast (2000) to kids' films like Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) to popular Hollywood films like Inside Man (2006) and remakes of heist classics like The Italian Job (2003). [5] Some of the most popular heist films of this era are the remake of Ocean's 11 (2001) and its sequels Ocean's 12 (2004) and Ocean's 13 (2007), which remain so today.[ citation needed ]
The Killing is a 1956 American film noir directed by Stanley Kubrick and produced by James B. Harris. It was written by Kubrick and Jim Thompson and based on Lionel White's novel Clean Break. It stars Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, and Vince Edwards, and features Marie Windsor, Elisha Cook Jr., Jay C. Flippen and Timothy Carey.
The crime film is which Nicole Hahn Rafter described as a genre that film scholars have been reluctant to examine "due to complex nature of the topic." While academics and historians such as Carlos Clarens, Thomas Schatz and Thomas Leitch have given interpretations of the genre, Both Rafter and Leitch suggested that it would be impractical to call every film in which a crime produces the central dramatic situation. Various interpretations of the crime film include Clarens describing them as symbolic representations of crime, law and society while Leitch said they present defining subjects as part of a culture which normailzies a place where crime is both shockingly disruptive and also completely normal, while Rafter said the films in the genre are ones that are defined by plots that focus on crime and their consequences.
The Newton Boys is a 1998 American Western crime film directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Claude Stanush and Clark Lee Walker. It is based on Stanush's 1994 book of the same name, which tells the true story of the Newton Gang, a family of bank and train robbers from Uvalde, Texas. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, who was actually born in Uvalde, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Dwight Yoakam.
The Asphalt Jungle is a 1950 American heist film noir directed and co-written by John Huston, and starring Sterling Hayden and Louis Calhern, with Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, and Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles. Based on the 1949 novel by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city.
Heist is a 2001 American heist crime drama film written and directed by David Mamet and starring Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito and Delroy Lindo, with Rebecca Pidgeon, Ricky Jay, Patti Lupone and Sam Rockwell in supporting roles.
Rififi is a 1955 French crime film adaptation of Auguste Le Breton's novel of the same name. Directed by American blacklisted filmmaker Jules Dassin, the film stars Jean Servais as the aging gangster Tony "le Stéphanois", Carl Möhner as Jo "le Suédois", Robert Manuel as Mario Farrati, and Jules Dassin as César "le Milanais". The foursome band together to commit an almost impossible theft, the burglary of an exclusive jewelry shop in the Rue de la Paix. The centerpiece of the film is an intricate half-hour heist scene depicting the crime in detail, shot in near silence, without dialogue or music. The fictional burglary has been mimicked by criminals in actual crimes around the world.
Pulp noir is a subgenre influenced by various "noir" genres, as well as pulp fiction genres; particularly the hard-boiled genres which help give rise to film noir. Pulp noir is marked by its use of classic noir techniques, but with urban influences. Various media include film, illustrations, photographs and videogames.
Armored Car Robbery is a 1950 American film noir starring Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, and William Talman.
Bob le flambeur is a 1956 French heist gangster film directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and starring Roger Duchesne as Bob. It is often considered both a film noir and a precursor to the French New Wave, the latter because of its use of handheld camera and a single jump cut.
Le Cercle Rouge is a 1970 crime film set mostly in Paris. It was directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and stars Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonté, François Périer and Yves Montand. It is known for its climactic heist sequence which is about half an hour in length and has almost no dialogue.
$, also known as Dollar$, Dollars or $ (Dollars), and in the UK as The Heist, is a 1971 American heist comedy film starring Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn, written and directed by Richard Brooks and produced by M.J. Frankovich. The supporting cast includes Gert Fröbe, Robert Webber and Scott Brady. The film is about a bank security consultant (Beatty) who develops a scheme with a prostitute, Dawn Divine (Hawn), to steal several criminals' money from a bank vault.
Palookaville is a 1995 American crime comedy film directed by Alan Taylor and written by David Epstein. The film is about a trio of burglars and their dysfunctional family of origin. It stars William Forsythe, Vincent Gallo, Adam Trese, and Frances McDormand. The writing is a free interpretation of three short stories by Italo Calvino.
L.A. Takedown, also called L.A. Crimewave and Made in L.A., is a 1989 American crime action film written and directed by Michael Mann. Originally filmed as a pilot for an NBC television series, the project was reworked and aired as a stand-alone TV film after the series was not picked up. The film was later released on VHS and, in Region 2, on DVD.
The Hot Rock is a 1972 American crime comedy-drama film directed by Peter Yates and written by William Goldman, based on Donald E. Westlake's 1970 novel of the same name, which introduced his long-running John Dortmunder character. The film stars Robert Redford, George Segal, Ron Leibman, Paul Sand, Moses Gunn and Zero Mostel. It was released in the UK with the alternative title How to Steal a Diamond in Four Uneasy Lessons.
The Split is a 1968 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by Gordon Flemyng. It was written by Robert Sabaroff, based upon the Parker novel The Seventh by Richard Stark.
Family Business is a 1989 American neo noir crime film directed by Sidney Lumet based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Vincent Patrick, who also wrote the film's screenplay. It stars Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, and Matthew Broderick.
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. Tension is created by delaying what the audience sees as inevitable, and is built through situations that are menacing or where escape seems impossible.
Killing Them Softly is a 2012 American neo-noir crime film written and directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Brad Pitt. Based on George V. Higgins' 1974 novel Cogan's Trade, the story follows Jackie Cogan, a hitman who is hired to deal with the aftermath of a Mafia poker game robbery that ruptured the criminal economy; the events are set during the 2008 United States presidential election and financial crisis. Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, and Sam Shepard also star.
A gangster film or gangster movie is a film belonging to a genre that focuses on gangs and organized crime. It is a subgenre of crime film, that may involve large criminal organizations, or small gangs formed to perform a certain illegal act. The genre is differentiated from Westerns and the gangs of that genre.
Locked Down is a 2021 romantic comedy heist film directed by Doug Liman and written by Steven Knight. The film stars Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor, with Stephen Merchant, Mindy Kaling, Lucy Boynton, Mark Gatiss, Claes Bang, Ben Stiller, and Ben Kingsley in supporting roles.