The Bank Job is a 2008 heist thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and starring Jason Statham, based on the 1971 Baker Street robbery in central London, from which the money and valuables stolen were never recovered. The producers allege that the story was prevented from being told in 1971 because of a D-Notice, to protect a prominent member of the British royal family.[4][5] According to the producers, this film is intended to reveal the truth for the first time,[6] although it includes significant elements of fiction.
The Bank Job 2008
The premiere was held in London on 18 February 2008, and it was released in the UK on 29 February 2008 and in the US on 7 March 2008. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed $66 million worldwide.
Martine approaches her friend Terry, a struggling East London car salesman with criminal contacts, and tells him that if he can assemble the gang to help her rob the bank, he will be richly rewarded, though she does not tell him about the photos in the deposit box. Terry recruits a small team, including one of his own workers, Eddie, Dave, Kevin, Bambas, and Guy Singer. While scouting the bank, Dave runs into local gangster Lew Vogel, for whom he made several pornographic films.
The film is in part based on historical facts about the Baker Street robbery. A gang tunnelled into a branch of Lloyds Bank at the junction of Baker Street and Marylebone Road in London on the night of 11 September 1971 and robbed the safe deposit boxes that were stored in the vault. The robbers had rented a leather goods shop named Le Sac two doors down from the bank, and tunnelled approximately 40 feet (12 metres), passing under the Chicken Inn restaurant that was located between the shop and the bank.[5] The tunnelling took three weeks, working on weekends.[5]
Part of the filming took place on location at the offices of Websters, 136 Baker Street, where the rooftops were used for lookout locations. The exterior scenes of the bank and adjacent shops were done at Pinewood Studios on a specially constructed set of Baker Street, to retain an authentic feel of the period and to allow for greater control. This partial set was extended using visual effects.[18]
Terry is a small-time car dealer trying to leave his shady past behind and start a family. Martine is a beautiful model from Terry's old neighbourhood who knows that Terry is no angel. When Martine proposes a foolproof plan to rob a bank, Terry recognises the danger but realises this may be the opportunity of a lifetime. As the resourceful band of thieves burrows its way into a safe-deposit vault at a Lloyds Bank, they quickly realise that, besides millions in riches, the boxes also contain secrets that implicate everyone from London's most notorious underworld gangsters to powerful government figures, and even the Royal Family. Although the heist makes headlines throughout Britain for several days, a government gag order eventually brings all reporting of the case to an immediate halt.
Dressed in early 1970s tweeds, Roger Donaldson's "The Bank Job" tells the true story of a bank heist with the goal of doing more than just stealing money. A vault full of incriminating items is the target in this stranger-than-fiction tale that looks good but never feels as if it gets off the ground. Starring Jason Statham, the film has its moments but lacks the narrative propulsion needed to make it anything beyond a serviceable diversion.
The Bank Job true story is stranger than fiction, so it's little surprise Lionsgate decided to adapt the bizarre events of the 1971 Baker Street Robbery into the equally-bombastic 2008 heist film. But is The Bank Job accurate? The answer, like the Baker Street Robbery itself, is complicated. In the movie, the 1971 robbery is masterminded by Martine Love (Saffron Burrows), an ex-model who is in a romantic relationship with British Security Services Agent Tim Everett (Richard Lintern). Martine convinces a group to rob a bank containing a safe deposit box owned by black militant Michael X (Peter de Jersey), which contents include compromising photographs of Princess Margaret. What ensues is a wild ride, with greater repercussions than the gang imagined.
The heist-thriller, directed by Roger Donaldson (Al Pacino's The Recruit), explores the real-life Lloyds bank robbery of 1971 which took place on Baker Street in London. The value of the goods that were stolen during the heist is still unknown as the police only managed to retrieve a small sum. However, it is estimated the total amount stolen lies between 1.25 and 3 million. The true purpose of the Baker Street heist remains shrouded in mystery too, and this robbery still has many unanswered questions, even fifty years after it happened. Here is The Bank Job true story explained.
It seems odd the government would go to such lengths to cover up the details of the robbery. Whether it had something to do with Princess Margaret or someone else's personal life, whatever was inside the safety deposit boxes at Lloyd's bank in 1971 remains unknown to this day. The Bank Job's version of events serves to add fictionalized flavor to what really happened that night in Central London, and it will likely be many more years until the truth is unearthed.
The Bank Job -- like Thirteen Days and The World's Fastest Indian -- is another Donaldson movie that has roots in actuality; it is loosely based on a bank robbery in 1971, which had drastic repercussions for the robbers and the British government.The Bank Job focuses on the robbery of a Lloyd's Bank on Baker Street in Marylebone, London. Terry (Jason Statham) is approached by old friend Martine (Saffron Burrows), who has a plan to rob a bank.
In the bank they plan for Martine to recover incriminating photos hidden in a safety deposit box by a Black Power advocate who is using them to blackmail the government to keep himself out of jail. The photos damage the Royal Family, because Princess Margaret was photographed behaving like a "scalawag."
The Bank Job's protagonist is Terry Leather (Jason Statham), a typical dodgy East End character. He runs a car-sales garage, is in debt to a loanshark who believes in more than "harsh words" when it comes to repayment, and - perhaps surprisingly - is happily married to the love of his life, Wendy (Keely Hawes). He is a doting father and husband. Enter Martine Love (Saffron Burrows), an old flame-who-might-have-been. When she needs a "villain" to help her with a heist, she approaches Terry with a proposition. She's in possession of information that could net him a lot of money if he can put together a team on short notice to break into the safety deposit vault of a Baker Street bank. With his greed overcoming his good sense, Terry in inclined to believe her but, unbeknownst to him, Martine is not on the level. The puppeteer pulling her strings is an MI5 agent named Tim Everett (Richard Lintern), and he's after the contents of safety deposit box 118 - compromising pictures of Princess Margaret that are being used to blackmail the government. So Terry gathers his crew of six, which includes Martine, a couple of close friends (Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays) and two others, without being aware of what he's really getting involved in.
This Friday is Black Friday, but there's a lull on the home market with not a whole lot of great releases. (This is the usual pattern for Thanksgiving.) The biggest hit coming out is The Expendables, which should top the chart, while there are a number of smaller releases that are in contention for Pick of the Week. The best of these is Metropolis: The Complete Metropolis, which comes out on Blu-ray this week after being released on DVD last week. More...DVD Rentals - Island Paradise for TwoAugust 27th, 2008
There were no marquee new releases this week, which left Nim's Island in first place on the rental chart, although both Smart People and 21 were very close behind. More...International Details - Cliff Strong OverseasAugust 24th, 2008
Ponyo on the Cliff is locked in first place in Japan growing by 13% to $7.75 million on 481 screens over the weekend for a total of $90.47 million at the end of last weekend, and it is likely that it has hit $100 million in the meantime. More...DVD Rentals - Nim's Not Alone on the Rental ChartAugust 19th, 2008
Kung Fu Panda slipped to sixth place with $9.34 million on 4736 screens in 47 markets for a total of $349.69 million internationally. The film is starting to shed theaters and markets at an accelerated pace, however, it still has openings in Italy and other smaller markets ahead of it, while it could reach $400 million internationally and $600 million worldwide before the end of its run. (The latter it a lot easier than the former.) More...DVD Rentals - 21 Lets It RideAugust 13th, 2008
Almost no new releases were able to reach the top 30 on the sales chart this week, but we did have a new number one as 21 led the way with $11.20 million in sales from 585,000 units. More...DVD Rentals - 21 Doubles DownAugust 5th, 2008
Like it was on the sales chart, there were few new releases to reach the top 30 on the rental chart this week. And again, things were led by 21. However, The Bank Job was relatively close behind during its second week of release. More...DVD Sales - Step Up 2 The TopJuly 31st, 2008
Five of the top six films on this week's sales chart were new releases, including the overall number on film, Step Up 2 The Streets. That film sold 604,000 units for opening week sales of $10.50 million. More...DVD Rentals - And You Can Take That to the Bank (Job)July 31st, 2008
There were a boatload of were new releases on the rental charts this week, including the new number one renter, The Bank Job, which generated nearly 50% more revenue than its nearest competitor. More...DVD Releases for July 15, 2008 - Part IJuly 14th, 2008
Another week without a first run release that is in contention for the DVD Pick of the Week. Granted, The Bank Job is worth picking up, but neither the two DVDs nor the Blu-ray have enough extras to be the DVD Pick of the Week. To find the best of this week's selection you have to look at the TV on DVD list and grab Eureka Season Two. Paradoxically, while the quality is low, the quantity is high, so much so that I had to split the list into two parts. Part two can be found here. More...International Details - Step Up Falls Down and Out of the Top FiveApril 6th, 2008 2ff7e9595c
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