Lancia Motor Club

The original Michael Caine one (is there another?) on DVD £4 at Tesco.

I bought a copy from HMV a couple of days ago, also £4.  There is another version, but it was set in America and used the current Mini.  I have never seen the remake, but am told that it is not very good.  I don't know how they can justify calling it The Italian Job when it is not set in Italy!

I saw bits of the new one and it is junk.

I know it's junk - but the reason is that the first job they do was in Venice - Italy, and the fallout / following story are due to the betrayal on 'the Italian Job'

See your point though...........

I heard Michael Caine on the radio the other day, if the original film had been a greater success in the US as it was in the UK, then there would have been a second film after the coach was left hanging over the cliff, the second involved the French 'mafia' and the gold from the first film.  We will never know the outcome of that now, unlike the remake set in the US which as you say is poor in comparison, no Lancias, Fiats or Alfas unlike the 60s original!

Quite surprising is the fact that hardly any Italians know anything about the film, a friend who used to live in Turin runs (or did?) a company called the Italian job, he has traced all the locations where the film was shot, and takes people around to see where it was all shot, and using a portable DVD with the film on it,what is very apparent is whereas some locations have changed completely, many haven't changed at all. we did some of it a few years ago but didn't have the time to follow the route of the gang with the coach.
The Minis jumping arcoss the gap on the roof was shot at Fiat's press shop and looking from below it was one heck of a job.
He used to take small parties around in Mini's.

Brian
8227 8)

The city traffic centre with the computer system and CCTV monitors as depicted was filmed in the Hanworth/Feltham area, near the A316 not Italy at all, the building has long since been demolished, but I guess that is standard for film locations

Ah, now we're talking.....Italian Job 'anorak' facts! There is a great book called 'The making of the Italian Job' by Matthew Field which gives the complete story of the film, actors, locations ,cars etc which is a fascinating read.

Other 'fake' locations are the prison sequences which were shot at an empty Killmainham Jail outside Dublin and the famous sewer scene
which was filmed in Stoke Aldermoor near Coventry.
A couple of surprising car 'quirks' include the shot of the Mafia staff cars, the black Fiat Dino's,on the mountain pass if you look closely
(hit the pause button) when the boss gets back in the cars as the doors are open the door jam/edges are blue and red! Apparently they
had resprayed them for the film as black wasn't an original colour!
Also the 'Aston' which gets pushed over the edge is in fact a Flaminia Touring mocked up.Apparently the scene was shot twice and the
Lancia had to be used after problems on the first shoot, again hit the pause button!!

The film has to be one of my favourites(don't even mention the re-make), perfect viewing for any classic car (especially Italian) enthusiast and IMHO the most evocative opening sequence of any film. I bet most people who have driven over the Alps have had 'On Days  Like These' playing on the CD at the same time...it's got to be done!

Steve

I've got the same book, and it's a great read, the sewer pipes they drove through were at Coventry if I remember right,  an interesting sequence is when the copper on the motorbike crashes after the jump, and the following sequence is of the mini's tearing off down the road, in fact this road is at a right angle to where the copper and motorbike crashed.
I'll dig the paperwork out and add some genuine Turin locations.
And evryone is right, the new version is pants! if that's a current expression ::)

Brian
8227 8) 8)