‘The Italian Job’ (1969) 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – Michael Caine Charms In This Classic British Caper

Join the effortlessly cool Michael Caine (The Ipcress File, Gambit) for the ultimate British caper movie packed with fast cars, beautiful girls and swinging ’60s action. Forget about the straight and narrow. Clever con Charlie Croker (Caine) intends to go straight to the bank. Fresh from the slammer, he begins work on a heist that will either set him up for life—or send him up forever. Croker and his unruly lot of thieves take on the mob, the police and the gridlocked traffic of Turin to rob a heavily armed shipment of gold bullion in The Italian Job. Entertainment legend Noël Coward co-stars in this open-throttle corker as criminal mastermind Bridger. And Benny Hill, Raf Vallone, Tony Beckley, Rossano Brazzi and Maggie Blye add to the story’s fun and suspense as it zips from plan to robbery to escape to an ending that’s a cliffhanger in every sense of the word. Hold on tight for this crime-comedy classic written by Troy Kennedy Martin (Kelly’s Heroes), directed by Peter Collinson (The Earthling), lensed by Douglas Slocombe (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and scored by Quincy Jones (In the Heat of the Night).

For thoughts on The Italian Job (1969), please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/sx8C4bA7Tws?t=2546]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents The Italian Job with a terrific 2160p/Dolby Vision transfer for the first time on 4K UHD Blu-Ray sourced from a 4K scan of the Original 35mm Camera Negative conducted by Paramount Pictures. The Dolby Vision brings out a richness to the film’s palette and contrast which is pretty unbelievable. Outside of a handful of moments where the color temperature looks a bit iffy, the visual splendor on display is much appreciated. Black levels are very deep with little left to be desired in shadow detail and in resolving crushed blacks. When things are a bit brighter in the open air, white levels are solid as a rock with no trace of blooming within the highlights. 

The level of detail and clarity is even improved from the included remastered Blu-Ray, and the transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation without too much in the way of digital management. Most of the grain resolves very well with it looking sharp and compact. The texture on display in the outfits and within the environments really brings a richness to the picture. Subtle facial details present with impressive clarity. This transfer does not seem to feature any stray specks after being restored with such care. This disc avoids anything in the realm of jarring digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding and any other such nuisances. This presentation is a favorable effort from Kino Classics, and it serves as a substantial step up from any other previous release. 

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track in English that handle this material without fault. The 5.1 surround track is great for those looking to engage all of their speakers, but the 2.0 mono track appears to capture the original intention of the film. The environmental sounds of the city and the automobiles are rendered well alongside everything else. There does not seem to be any obvious instances of age-related wear and tear. 

The track is pretty thrilling throughout with a palpable sense of forward momentum that comes alive as needed. The memorable music is used perfectly to establish the mood of the narrative, and this track handles it terrifically throughout the duration of the film. There is never a moment where it threatens to overwhelm competing sounds, and it maintains a good balance so that dialogue comes through clearly. Kino Classics has given this film a faithfully preserved audio presentation that brings the movie to life exactly how you would want. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided. 

Special Features

• Audio Commentary #1: Screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin and Matthew Field, the Author of The Making of The Italian Job, provide an incredibly informative commentary track in which they discuss the how this film came about, the disagreements Martin had with director Peter Collinson, some of the subtleties of the performances, motivations behind particular decisions, the love that the movie has for cars, the mood during the production and more. 

• Audio Commentary #2: Producer Michael Deeley and Matthew Field, the Author of Michael Caine: You’re a Big Man, in which he Deeley discusses how he became involved with this project, the music in the film, how they got around certain stunts to keep the budget down, the production design, working with director Peter Collinson and more that is well worth a listen.  

• The Self Preservation Society: A terrific 87-minute documentary from 2002 which features interviews with Michael Caine, screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin, composer Quincey Jones, actress Margaret Blye, chief of production at Paramount Pictures (’66-’75) Robert Evans, producer Michael Deeley, and many others. This piece covers nearly every aspect you could hope to explore from the initial idea to the direction, casting the picture, pre-production, shooting the film, the stunts, the cliffhanger, finishing the film and the lasting legacy. 

• The Great Idea: A nearly 24-minute featurette which once again takes a look at the conception of the film and the subsequent production with interviews from screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin, producer Michael Deeley, Hazel Collinson, and cinematographer Douglas Slocombe and more.  

• Getta Bloomin’ Move On: A nearly 25-minute piece which explores the impressive and dangerous stunts as well as the cars that define the movie even all these decades later. 

• Mini Adventures: A 17-minute program which delves into the history of the Mini Cooper and how it is tied to The Italian Job featuring some interesting insights from enthusiasts outside of the film world. 

• The Deleted Scene: A two-minute unused scene is provided here which is dubbed “The Blue Danube” sequence which is provided with optional audio commentary from Matthew Field. 

• Trailers: This disc provides the Trailer (3:12) and the Re-Release Trailer (1:43) for The Italian Job. There are also trailers provided for The Ipcress File, Gambit, Billion Dollar Brain, The Black Windmill, The Destructors, The Wilby Conspiracy, Dressed To Kill, The Holcroft Covenant and The Whistle Blower. 

Final Thoughts

The Italian Job (1969) is a notable example of late ‘60s filmmaking which mixes the pleasures of a thrilling caper with distinctly British humor and memorable performances. The narrative is riveting from beginning to end thanks to a finely tuned script which leaves little room for bloated storylines. Even when you have put all the pieces together and revisit the film, it is still just as exciting as the first time you watch it. This one comes by its fan favorite status honestly. Kino Classics has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and a decent array of archival supplemental features. If you are a fan of the film, you should feel the long wait for a decent upgrade was worth it.. Recommended 

The Italian Job (1969) is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.