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The
Italian Job - 40th Anniversary Special Edition [Blu-ray]
(Peter Collinson, 1969)
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Coming to
Blu-ray
and
4K UHD
by Kino in January 2023:
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Review by Gary Tooze
Production :
Theatrical: Oakhurst Productions
Video: Paramount British Pictures
Disc:
Region: ALL
(as verified by the
Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)
Runtime: 1:39:39.725
Disc Size: 46,781,387,836 bytes
Feature Size: 26,308,411,392 bytes
Video Bitrate: 27.39 Mbps
Chapters: 15
Case: Standard Blu-ray case
Release date: June 15th, 2009
Video:
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Resolution: 1080p
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Bitrate:
Audio:
Dolby TrueHD Audio English 1848 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1848
kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Commentaries:
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
DUBs:
Dolby Digital Audio French 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224
kbps
Dolby Digital Audio German 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Italian 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Subtitles:
English (SDH), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian,
Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, none
Extras
• Audio Commentary
with screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin and author Matthew
Field
•
Audio Commentary with Producer Michael Deeley
and author Matthew Field
• Mini Adventures (17:16 in HD)
• Self Preservation Society: Making the Italian Job (10
chapters - 1:26:36
in HD)
• Music Video (3:38 in HD)
• Deleted Scenes (2:08) with Commentary by
author Matthew Field
•
Theatrical Trailer (3:14) and Re-release Trailer (1:45) in HD
Synopsis
In this classic crime film, small-time crook Charlie Croker
(Michael Caine) organizes a motley group of thieves to steal
four million worth of gold bullion from an armoured car in
Turin, Italy. The mastermind of the heist is Mr. Bridger
(Noel Coward), an experienced convict who has come up with
the idea, but can't take part in its execution because he's
in jail. To pull off the plan, the gang must tie up traffic
in the center of the city to divert attention from the
robbery, and ultimately make off with their booty
undetected. The caper leads to one of the most exciting
automobile chases ever filmed.
The Film :
I can’t stress enough how wonderfully, quintessentially ‘60s
“The Italian Job” is. The cars, the clothes, the music, the
camera work, the exuberance. And the women—ironed down hair,
goofy underwear, and every one of them as beautiful as a
Bond girl, with even less dialogue. Because the movie is
British, the robbery is not simply a capitalist venture, as
in the American remake. The heist comes across, however
vaguely and misguidedly, as the last hurrah of some youthful
social rebellion. The movie’s lighthearted tone turns
briefly revolutionary as the lads club police officers and
smash pickax handles through cop car windshields. “The
Italian Job” also makes light of the antagonism Britain has
always had with the rest of Europe (“bloody foreigners” one
of the crooks mutters as he wanders Italy). Words and
phrases like “anarchy” and “angry young man” would not be
inappropriate. This was the ‘60s, after all, when even
action movies were allowed to have social commentary.
Enter the legendary Michael Caine, in one sharp suit after
another, whose name is deservedly painted like the Union
Jack in the re-release trailer. He plays Charlie Croaker,
fresh from prison with absolutely no compunction about
turning to crime again. The prize is a half-ton of gold
being transported through a giant traffic jam in Turin
during an Italy-UK soccer match. To this end, Croaker
enlists a small army of Cockney crooks, and soon it’s “bloomin’”
this and “bloody” that as the lads soup up three mini
Coopers. There’s bugger-all we can do about it as we’re off
to Italy where our heroes can short out computerized video
cameras, cross the Mafia, and walk nonchalantly past
jaw-dropping Renaissance architecture. The movie doesn’t
bother developing the gang too much; Tony Beckley is the
prissy one, Stanley Caine (Michael’s brother) is the lummox,
and Benny Hill is… well, Benny Hill, and let’s all thank God
for that.
Excerpt
from Friday & Saturday Night located HERE
Image:
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the
Blu-ray disc.
Top shelf image from Paramount on this classic. All the
ducks seem in-line with bright, happy, colors, and
impressively high detail for a film celebrating it's 40th
birthday.
It shows some depth, strong contrast and black levels. It
looks almost brand new and seems to have greatly benefited
from the move to hi-def. The visuals approach the
spectacular with over 26 Gig being filled on the
dual-layered disc for the feature film.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music :
On the English language front we have a
TrueHD 5.1 bump at 1848 kbps or option for the restored mono
track. The
disc starts by giving you a choice of about a dozen
different languages for menus and optional DUBs/subs. I'm
usually a fan of the original but I switched to the TrueHD
mix and it suited the film well with some subtle effect
noise and chummy music tones sounding crisp and clean. The
car chase scenes are dramatic and evenly separated with some
action to the rear speakers. This
disc seems very international-friendly and can be played on
Blu-ray
machines world wide as noted by my
Momitsu.
Extras :
I guess the most apt description would be to call the disc
supplements "super-stacked". Information-packed audio
commentaries with Matthew Field, author of
The Making of the Italian Job, supporting
screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin in the first and Producer
Michael Deeley in the second. We also get, in HD, a 1.5 hour
documentary entitled Self Preservation Society: Making
the Italian Job with input from just about everyone
involved in the project from Caine to Quincy Jones, writers,
producers, cast etc. It's brimming with detail and anecdotes
- it's hard not to gain some appreciation for the film by
watching it. We get a look at some of the driving stunts in
the 17-minute, HD, Mini Adventures, a Music Video
(3:38 - also in HD), short deleted scenes (2:08) with
commentary by author Matthew Field and two trailers -
theatrical (3:14) and re-release (1:45) in HD. Wow - what a
package!
Recommendation :
This is such a fun film and Caine is perfect. I kept
reminiscing about Stanley Donen's
Charade as it carried that same stylish
energy. This
Blu-ray
is close to perfect - impeccable image transfer, great audio
options and, possibly, the most complete extras of the year.
Super job Paramount - STRONGLY recommended!
Gary Tooze
June 21st, 2009
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Coming to
Blu-ray
and
4K UHD
by Kino in January 2023:
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