The Art of the Heist

Overview

What do Alfred Hitchcock, Jennifer Lopez and the Fast and Furious franchise all have in common? And Stanley Kubrick, Ryan Gosling, Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino, too? The heist genre, that's what. Whether focusing on scams, swindles or just good ol'-fashioned thefts, heist flicks just keep gracing cinema screens — from applauded filmmakers, starring dazzling talent and slotting into blockbuster franchises.

Here's something else that all of the above names share, too: they're each on the bill at The Art of the Heist, the Gallery of Modern Art's two-month season dedicated films about thievery. From Friday, April 29–Sunday, June 26, screening on Wednesday and Friday nights, plus Saturday and Sunday during the day, this Australian Cinémathèque movie season will showcase 35 pictures that see folks get light-fingered in various ways and places. Some serve up heist capers, others deliver heist comedies, and more still overflow with heist thrills. There's even two Steven Soderbergh-directed heist standouts — Ocean's 11 and Logan Lucky, of course.

Other highlights include classics Rififi, Bob le Flambeur and Bande à part; high-profile 60s hits The Thomas Crown Affair and The Italian Job; the original (and best) version of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three; and the sublime 1981 masterpiece Thief. Or, there's Australia's own Malcolm, QT's Reservoir Dogs, Al Pacino in both Dog Day Afternoon and Heat, and the recent likes of Hustlers, Widows and Kajillionaire.

This season is ticketed — but costing between $7–10, those tix feel like a steal.