The Italian Job (Blu-ray)

With older films on Blu-ray, you normally have to be prepared to give them a little leeway as they were never designed to be seen in the unflinching glare of 1080p HD in the home environment. It’s also true that time is likely to have degraded the source materials. However that’s not a problem with The Italian Job, where the new master Paramount have created is clean and crisp, with minimal grain and impressively sharp images. The colours may not be as bright as more modern movies (which is largely down to the colour film stock they used in the 60s), but it still looks absolutely fantastic.

It’s a welcome upgrade for one of the 1960s most entertaining classics, where ex-con Charlie Croker and his gang go off to Turin with plans to steal a gold shipment by causing a traffic jam and getting away in some Minis. It’s great fan, with memorable performances, a script full of great lines (“You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off” has to be one of the greatest lines in movie history) and a sense of sheer class that’s made it one of the defining moments in Britain’s era of cool in the 1960s.

Along with a new master of the film are some new special features, well technically most of them are old features, but they’ve been completely re-edited with new interviews added, including one with Charlie Croker himself, Michael Caine, who was notable by his absence in previous incarnations of the film on DVD. He features in the lengthy ‘Self Preservation Society: The Making Of The Italian Job’ documentary, which is a superb overview of the making of the movie, featuring pretty much everyone who’s still alive to talk about it. The other features are pretty good as well, although most of them have been seen before, such as the commentaries and deleted scene (although a surprising amount of the features are presented in HD, which is still quite unusual).

It’s a great release and the movie certainly looks a lot better than you might expect on Blu-ray. Fans of the film will be pleased with the upgrade, and for those who don’t own it on another format, this 40th Anniversary Edition is a great excuse to get hold of it.

Overall Verdict: Hang on lads, I’ve got a great idea – get this Blu-ray now, as it’s far better than you might expect.

Special Features:
Audio Commentary with Screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin and Matthew Field, author of ‘The Making Of The Italian Job’
Audio Commentary With  Producer Michael Deeley and Matthew Field, author of ‘The Making Of The Italian Job’
'Mini Adventures’ Featurette (in HD)
'Self Preservation Society: Making The Italian Job’ Documentary (in HD)
Music Video (in HD)
Deleted Scene with Commentary by Author Matthew Field
Theatrical Trailer (in HD)
Re-Release Trailer (in HD)

Reviewer: Tim Isaac