FSM # 16: Good heist movies & scores?
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From Wictionary:
heist (plural heists)
1. a robbery or burglary, especially from an institution such as a bank or museum
2. (slang) A heist film: a film whose plot centers around an attempted robberySo, got any good ones?
I do apologize for the posting spree yesterday, but it’s what I gotta do to keep the board alive. The result, however, was that this thread was pushed down a few places.
But it’s an interesting genre that has always spawned interesting scores — usually loungey, funky affairs, but not exclusively.
I can start off. I think THE MONUMENT’S MEN qualifies as a ‘heist film’ in the scheme of things. Now, I’m not a big fan of Alexandre Desplat, but once in a while, he churns out a good one. And this is one of them. Defined THEMES, which is rare for him, and not only ostinato-driven ‘cloppety-clop’ structures.
I guess Horner’s Sneakers qualifies?
That’s then probably my favourite.
I was at the time a little disappointed by Chris Young’s score for Entrapment. This had really potential and I had expected more.Oh, and I’ve got a crush on Powell’s score for Solo – A Star Wars Story.
When it comes to heist movies, I am a big fan of the German film Victoria from 2015. The whole movie is filmed in just one take. At first I wanted to watch just the first half hour and continue later because it was quite late. But couldn’t stop.
A few that come to mind:
– David Holmes’ OCEAN groovy movie scores although the albums suffer a bit from dialogue here and there (don’t remember RIddle’s score from the original
– Terence Blanchard INSIDE MAN. I haven’t listened to for a while but was partly suspense and partly grovvy, too
– THE ITALIAN JOB: Both the Quincy Jones original and John Powell’s score to the remake (although I find this his lesser scores)
– Simon Rogers (Theme) & Magnus Fiennes (Score) HUSTLE: THe BBC heist TV series was a lot of fun. Sadly the groovy score is unreleased but inofficially available on Youtube
– John Williams’ early score HOW TO STEAL A MILLION?
– THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR: The origina Legrand scores is of course most famous for the song. But the Conti score to the remake is nice, too
– Goldsmith THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERYI am a big fan of the German film Victoria from 2015.
Sounds interesting and escaped me completely!
I’ve just thought of one I enjoy immensely – Henry Mancini’s cool, elegant, and at times groovy THE THIEF WHO CAME TO DINNER.
Talking about Mancini. Is the Pink Panther a heißt movie?
Mission Impossible for sure is. And a great one.
Talking about Mancini. Is the Pink Panther a heißt movie?
Definitely the first one, yes. Although that’s also the weakest film in the series.
Some good suggestions here!
Another recommendation is Benjamin Wallfisch’s groovy score for KING OF THIEVES (2018), one of the last ones he did before he went all horror and sound design and stuff.
If anyone is interested in some groovy jazzy music with a OCEANS 11 vibe, I dug up the playlist to the tv series HUSTLE:
The two theme versions are placed in the middle for some reason.If you like that kind of stuff the series is really recommended. They only rob people who deserve it and it all takes itself not too serious often breaking the fourth wall (it even ended with a spefical gag related to that). Apparently there is an official(?) Youtube channell with all episodes excect the 8th and last season: https://www.youtube.com/@hustle809
I really enjoy Chris Young’s HARD RAIN and Horner’s SNEAKERS. I consider them four and four-and-a-half star scores, as you can see. 😉
I haven’t seen THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974) – does it count as a heist film? It’s about the hijacking of a subway train, so I guess it’s a borderline case. But I want to mention it anyway, because David Shire’s score is uber-cool. Twelve-tone jazz-funk. Yay!
Some great ones not yet mentioned:
Kelly’s Heroes – Lalo’s note-perfect score is probably my favourite FSM CD
The Hot Rock – Quincy at, or certainly near, his coolest
The Sicilian Clan – Two great Ennio themes with lots of variations
Danger: Diabolik – deep, deep down I really love Ennio’s score
The Wild Bunch – just about qualifies, with a great Jerry score
A Fistful of Dynamite/Duck You Sucker – back to Ennio with an iconic range of themes, amongst them “After the Explosion”, a track I always forget when asked for my favourites, but I literally adore it.We have a Tangerine Dream thread going, and no one’s mentioned THIEF yet? The scandal! (oh, and keeping to Michael Mann, you could also add Goldenthal’s glorious HEAT).
Oh yes, THIEF and HEAT for sure!
I don’t think PELHAM is really a heist movie. A heist movie for me is a sophisticated plan to break into something to steal something.
It’s been a while since I saw PELHAM, so I can’t remember the plot details, but wasn’t the hijack of the subway (which I agree is a separate genre) a decoy for a heist or something?
It’s been a while since I saw PELHAM, so I can’t remember the plot details
Ah, okay, that might be! Been a while for me, too…
That’s the thing with genres, a movie can belong fully or partly to one or more genres. Sometimes one genre is more pronounced than the other, sometimes a movie is easily both. Alien is a science-fiction film, noted in any major work about science-fiction films, yet obviously it’s also a horror film. It’s not “50/50”, it’s both a full science-fiction movie and a horror movie.
A movie can also contain elements of a genre without fully belonging to it.
Personally, I don’t see Heat or The Wild Bunch as primarily heist movies, it’s more that they do have some elements of a heist, but their main focus is clearly otherwise. But of course, one could say they contain enough “heist” elements to include them in the list of heist movies if one is so inclined. I think they are both excellent movies, so I’d have included them if I would consider the genre “heist” pronounced enough in them.As far as The Taking of Pelham 123 is concerned, I don’t see this particularly as a heist movie either. It’s not so much about the planning and execution of the heist — it’s not as if the hijackers have a spectacularly clever “heist” plan, they are basically just ruthless — as it is about the confrontation between the police and the hijackers. Basically, the “heist” is they kidnap a subway, demand money, otherwise they will shoot a hostage every hour. Execution in this film means literally executing people, it’s not so much about the planning and execution of the heist. That doesn’t readily come to my mind as the prime elements of a “heist” movie. Good movie nevertheless. 🙂
Yes, I probably misremembered regarding PELHAM (and I’m too lazy to double-check). Was probably all about the hijack.
Genres are tricky, for sure, and most are a combination of several. ARMY OF THIEVES, for example, which is part zombie apocalypse, part heist movie. But I think it suffices if the heist element is front and center, as a driving narrative catalyst.
In that respect, another recommendation is DRIVE, with a great score by Cliff Martinez (and some neat needle drops as well, like “Tick of the Clock”).
For sure. I haven’t seen ARMY OF THIEVES (yet), but like ALIEN, a movie can of course have elements of or even fully belong to more than one genre.
BREAKHEART PASS is another genre mix, it’s both a Western and an Agatha Christie type mystery movie.I really like the song Flood by Jars Of Clay on the original HARD RAIN album.
Yes, it’s OK to like a song that’s included on a score album. We’re tolerant here. 😉
It’s sometimes a bit difficult to separate between heists and films about robbers. For example, I was about to recommend Craig Armstrong’s PLUNKETT & MACLEANE, until I realized it was a film about two highwaymen more than about one (or a couple of) heists, in particular.
So moving on, Eric Serra’s SUBWAY (1985) could possibly qualify – great, dynamic synth score.
I’m surprised none of my fellow Norwegians have mentioned Bent Fabricius Bjerre’s scores for the OLSENBANDEN (THE OLSEN GANG) movies, which are iconic in Denmark and Norway. Sweden have their own too, called JÖNSSONLIGAEN. Every single film in the series is about a heist (or two). Bjerre’s music is all over the place. Lots of hot jazz/dixieland, but also various exotic flavours. Plantsounds released a 3CD set with some of this music a couple of years ago.
The OLSENBANDEN (THE OLSEN GANG) movies are know over here as well and I am sure I saw them in childhood. But neither the films nor the scores didn’t make any lasting impression for me…
Cool. I know some Scandi things have registered in Germany. Wasn’t aware that OLSENBANDEN was one of them, though. I recommend checking out that 3CD set from Plantsounds. I think you’d find some interesting cues there.
Although technically not a heist (more of an environmental mission), I loved the film HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE (2023), with Gavin Brivik channeling Tangerine Dream and the Berlin School in a lot of his music. A definite highlight of that year, which I wrote a few sentences about here.
I’ve always liked Zimmer’s MATCHSTICK MEN. It can be considered a heist movie…many small heists.
I was looking at Goldsmith, but I don’t think he did one? THE FLIM-FLAM MAN? Same issue as Horner and SNEAKERS, which Gerate mentioned earlier. Kinda is, kinda isn’t.
For sure, a very cool, recent score for a heist film was Merlijn Snitker’s NACHTVLINDERS, which I wrote about here.
Nicolas Errèra’s excellent, electronic NUIT BLANCHE (2011) starts off as a heist film, but then turns into a kidnapping drama and other things.
I was looking at Goldsmith, but I don’t think he did one?
What about “The Great Train Robbery”? Haven’t seen that.
I just realize, that Chris Young’s “Entrapment” hasn’t been mentioned yet. I thought it was.
Yes, come to think of it, THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY was mentioned earlier in the thread.
And you yourself actually mentioned ENTRAPMENT earlier…
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