The Italian Job - Reception and Legacy

Reception and Legacy

The film has received generally positive reviews, holding an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and an average of 7.2/10. Most positive reviews focus on the climactic car chase and the acting of both Michael Caine and Noël Coward, complimenting Peter Collinson's directing. It is considered highly evocative of 1960's London and the era in Britain as a whole. In a modern review Nik Higgins of Future Movies claims that the film makes Austin Powers' wardrobe appear 'drab and grey'. He compliments Michael Caine's ability to effectively portray the character of Charlie and also praises the music of Quincy Jones. Higgins particularly highlights how the music 'hops between smooth lounges' like the opener "On Days Like These" and the latter "Get a Bloomin' Move On" ('The Self Preservation Society'), which plays near the film's end.

It has also received some negative reviews, focusing on what is perceived as a predictable chase and a lack of real emotion. Vincent Canby, writing at the time of the film's release, felt that the caper film had been made before and much better as well. He complimented the film's technological sophistication, only criticising what he saw as an 'emotionally retarded' plot. Canby also expressed concern that Coward's appearance in the film, although intended to be kind, 'exploits him in vaguely unpleasant ways' by surrounding his character with images of the royal family, which had not knighted him at the time. A contemporary review in Time felt that the film spent too much time focusing on the film's caper as opposed to building the characters, also criticising the car chases as 'dull and deafening'.

Although it received a Golden Globe nomination for "Best English-Language Foreign Film", the film was not a success in America. Caine blamed its failure on unattractive and misleading advertising. As a result, plans for a sequel were shelved.

The film remains popular, however, and is considered one of the greatest British films in modern polls. James Travers' of Films de France believes that the film's enduring appeal rests in the 'improbable union' of Michael Caine, Noël Coward and Benny Hill, who he considers 'three of the best known performers... in the late 1960s'. He states that the film has a cult status and stands as a 'classic of its genre'.

Since 2000 there have been two remakes of the film. The first was released in 2003 and also called The Italian Job, set in Los Angeles and starring Mark Wahlberg as Charlie Croker. It features Donald Sutherland as John Bridger, played as more of a father figure to Croker. It employs the updated Mini Cooper for a chase towards the end. An official Bollywood remake of the 2003 film, called Players, was released in 2012.,

There is also a video game based on the 1969 film, released for the PlayStation game console in 2001 and Microsoft Windows in 2002 and published by Rockstar Games.

The film was also the subject of a play, "Bill Shakespeare's The Italian Job", written by Malachi Bogdanov, who used lines from Shakespeare plays to tell the story. It was first performed in 2003 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. .

As part of a celebration of British culture at 2012 Summer Olympics, which were held in Britain, a replica of the bus was made and was exhibited actually balanced on the edge of the roof of The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-sea. The famous dialogue and car blowing up scene were also played at the closing ceremony.