In honor of this week’s release The Bank Job, which I can tell you is far better than I ever thought it would be, I decided to compile a top ten list of what I consider to be the best heist films I have seen. Searching around the Internet, obviously I am not the first person to do this, but one thing I thought was interesting as I looked were the films people considered “heist” films.
For instance, I don’t think films like Die Hard, Reservoir Dogs, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Catch Me If You Can, Dog Day Afternoon, Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and especially The Sting are heist films. Die Hard, Dog Day and Pelham are hostage style robberies. Snatch and Lock, Stock are simple theft features and The Sting and Catch Me If You Can are con man films, a con alone is not a heist.
What exactly constitutes a heist film then? Well, in my estimation it involves the planning of the heist, ending in the execution and in most cases the aftermath. A big part is the planning as that is really the key that unlocks a great heist. Then, of course, there is the attempt to actually get away with it without being caught, at least not by the authorities. This, to me, is a heist… a big take masterfully executed.
So, without further delay, let’s get into it…
