Heist film

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.

Characteristics of the genre

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.<ref name=":03"/> 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.<ref name=":03">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite book</ref> This often leads to the viewer building some form of sympathy or respect for the criminals.<ref name=":12" /> Another common characteristic is the assembling of a team to complete the heist,<ref name=":12" /> with each member contributing a unique skill or trait needed to complete the job.<ref name=":12" />

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. The teen comedy The Perfect Score (2004) concerns high-school students attempting to steal the answers to the SAT tests rather than valuables.

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This trend started as a result of the initial films in the genre being made in Hollywood during the Motion Picture Production Code,<ref name=":22">Template:Cite book</ref> which prohibited criminals from getting away with their crime. While this has changed since the disappearance of the code,<ref name=":22"/> 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).

History

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.<ref name=":32">Template:Cite book</ref> 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).<ref name=":03"/> 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.<ref name=":12"/> 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,<ref name=":03"/> 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.<ref name=":03"/> 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”.<ref name=":32"/> 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.<ref name="Billson">Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name=":32"/> 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.<ref name=":32" /> A notable Italian heist film from this period is Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958), a parody of the genre.<ref name=":32" />

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.<ref name=":32" /> 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.<ref name=":32" /> 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.<ref name=":32" /> The most celebrated French heist films of this time were 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.<ref name=":32" /> 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.<ref name=":03"/> 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.<ref name=":32" /> 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.<ref name=":32" /> 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 that 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 animated films like Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) to popular Hollywood films like Inside Man (2006) and remakes of heist classics like The Italian Job (2003).<ref name=":32" /> 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.Template:Citation needed

List of heist films

Film	Year	Ref.
11 Harrowhouse	1974	<ref name="hunter" />
80 Million	2011	<ref name="haltof" />
The Anderson Tapes	1971	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Armored Car Robbery	1950	<ref name="dixon">Template:Cite book</ref>
Army of the Dead	2021	<ref name="truitt" />
Army of Thieves	2021
Dog Day Afternoon	1975
Template:Sortname	1950	<ref name="morris" />
Baby Driver	2017	<ref name="dockterman" />
The Bad Guys	2022	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bande à part	1964	<ref name="morris" />
Template:Sortname	2008	<ref name="dockterman" />
Big Deal on Madonna Street	1958	<ref name="axmaker" />
Blue Collar	1978	<ref name="indiewire" />
Bob le flambeur	1956	<ref name="indiewire" />
Bottle Rocket	1996	<ref name="dockterman" />
Template:Sortname	1970	<ref name="morris" />
Dead Presidents	1995	<ref name="Morris">Template:Cite web</ref>
Den of Thieves	2018	<ref name="gleiberman" />
Template:Sortname	1966	<ref name="indiewire" />
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves	2023
Entrapment	1999	<ref name="maslin" />
Fast Five	2011	<ref name="dockterman" />
Template:Sortname	1988	<ref name="dockterman" />
Flawless	2007	<ref name="hunter" />
Gambit	1966	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="hr" />
Gambit	2012	<ref name="hr">Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	1972	<ref name="indiewire" />
Going in Style	1979
Going in Style	2017	<ref name="robey" />
Gone in 60 Seconds	2000
Grand Slam	1967	<ref name="indiewire" />
Template:Sortname	2017	<ref name="dockterman" />
Heat	1995	<ref name="dockterman" />
Heist	2001	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Hell or High Water	2016	<ref name="klimek" />
Hell's Angels '69	1969	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	1972	<ref name="hunter" />
Honor Thy Father	2015	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
House of Games	1987
How to Steal a Million	1966	<ref name="indiewire" />
Hudson Hawk	1991	<ref name="attenborough" />
Kshana Kshanam	1991	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Inception	2010	<ref name="morris" />
Inside Man	2006	<ref name="dockterman" />
Template:Sortname	1969	<ref name="dockterman" />
Template:Sortname	2003	<ref name="dockterman" />
Jackie Brown	1997	<ref name="leitch" />
Template:Sortname	1956	<ref name="dockterman" />
King of Thieves	2018	<ref name="tobias" />
Template:Sortname	1951	<ref name="indiewire" />
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels	1998	<ref name="dockterman" />
Logan Lucky	2017	<ref name="dockterman" />
The Maiden Heist	2009	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mankatha	2011	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="sify2">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	2021	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Museum	2018
Nine Queens	2000
Now You See Me	2013	<ref name="robey" />
Now You See Me 2	2016
Ocean's 8	2018	<ref name="indiewire" />
Ocean's 11	1960	<ref name="axmaker" />
Ocean's Eleven	2001	<ref name="morris" />
Ocean's Twelve	2004	<ref name="indiewire" />
Ocean's Thirteen	2007	<ref name="travers" />
Out of Sight	1998	<ref name="leitch" />
The Perfect Club	2024	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Perfect Score	2004
The Pink Panther	1963	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Point Break	1991
Quick Change	1990	<ref name="leitch" />
Reservoir Dogs	1992	<ref name="morris" />
The Return of the Pink Panther	1975	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Rififi	1955	<ref name="morris" />
Ronin	1998	<ref name="leitch" />
Template:Sortname	2001	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Set It Off	1996	<ref name="dockterman" />
Sexy Beast	2000	<ref name="morris" />
Snatch	2000	<ref name="dockterman" />
Sneakers	1992	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
South of 8	2016	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	1968	<ref name="ebert" />
Stealing Raden Saleh	2022
Template:Sortname	1973	<ref name="dockterman" />
Thief	1981	<ref name="morris" />
Template:Sortname	1968	<ref name="dockterman" />
Template:Sortname	1999	<ref name="dockterman" />
Three Kings	1999	<ref name="leitch" />
Topkapi	1964	<ref name="axmaker" />
Template:Sortname	2010	<ref name="dockterman" />
Thunivu	2023
Tower Heist	2011
Triple Frontier	2019
Un flic	1972	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	1995	<ref name="dockterman" />
Vinci	2004	<ref name="haltof" />
Widows	2018	<ref name="morris" />
Wrath of Man	2021	<ref name="Wrath of Man"/>
In the Shadows	2010
Scorched Earth	2024

Further reading

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