The only thing that seems grossly negligent is sharpshooter Nikki’s getaway plan after shooting the racehorse in broad daylight - and he takes the hit for that negligence. A good 90 percent of the energy of this heist is distraction, which is why it’s still fun to watch unfold.
Everything seems to be obscured through layers of plausible deniability, from Maurice’s fake-out fight at the bar, to the gun Johnny eventually uses to stick up the attendants in the money room. But for this racetrack in the 1950s, career criminal Johnny Clay has just about all of his bases covered. The Killing, a classic heist film and an early Kubrick highlight, is one of those movies that you can imagine working a lot differently with modern-day technology and/or security protocol. You may be as surprised by the results as I was - a couple of scenes I assumed were classics come up short, and a bunch of surfer goons pull off what, for my money, is one of the slickest bank robberies in contemporary cinema.ġ2. Weighed less in the grading but still crucial are the stakes of the mission, and how much collateral damage is accrued (the less, the higher the score - in this house, we like a clean heist!).Īnd, of course, we’ll be grading the actual success of the heist - not only if our heroes get the money/gold/diamonds, in the short term, but whether or not it measurably improves their lives. My criteria include Finesse and Planning (how detail-oriented our crew is, and the degree to which they’ve thought of everything, as well as physical grace) and Style (aesthetic elements such as wardrobe and props, as well as more immaterial qualities like charisma and team chemistry). What follows is an extremely scientific grading of some of the best and most memorable heist-movie heists, graded not for cinematic quality, but on the strength of the execution of the people doing the heist.
#BLACK ORCHID ALBUM BLUE OCTOBER MOVIE#
And you need only see one movie that thinks it can get away with hand-waving its entire heist to recognize how rewarding it is when a filmmaker actually takes its time to show how the whole crime sausage is made. While plenty of great movies have situated themselves among con men and robbers, and luxuriated in the satisfaction of a good grift, not as many take the time to take us through the play-by-play of a heist - whether its a mere bank stickup or something requiring more time and planning and laser-dodging acrobatics.
Heist movies are a dime a dozen, but a truly good movie heist is something you don’t forget. Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
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