GENRE RESEARCH HEIST ASHISH HIRANI

WHAT IS A HEIST FILM?... A heist film is a film that has an intricate plot woven around a group of people trying to steal something. One of the common forms of the heist is the one last big job. In it, a team of criminals are gathered together for a final caper that will make their fortunes and take them away from a life of crime forever. Usually, the added risk combined with the promise of an ideal life once the job is done provide for a natural element of suspense. The story then follows the execution of the job, or, if in the beginning the job goes horribly wrong, with the actions of the survivor.

EARLY HISTORY... A "caper movie" generally shows the ingenious planning and realization of a heist. Even though it has come to be regarded as a classic American genre, in Europe it is Jules Dassin's Du rififi chez les hommes of 1955 that served as the founding father of this particular type of film. The classical Film noir period of the 40s and 50s brought the genre to fame: during these decades, several such gangster's films have been shot that to this day remain second to none.

RECENT HISTORY... Since that time Big caper movies have been shot in many variations, often introducing innovative ways of craftsmanship, such as Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. Even to contemporary Hollywood, the genre still remains promising, as the 2001 and 2003 remakes of Ocean's Eleven and The Italian Job show.

EARLY HEIST FILMS... OCEAN’S 11 (1960) THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1979) RIFIFI (1955) COPS & ROBBERS (1973) BANK SHOT (1974)

RECENT HEIST FILMS... GONE IN 60 SECONDS (2000) INCEPTION (2010) LAYER CAKE (2004) OCEAN’S 13 (2007) CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002)

ARCHETYPICAL STRUCTURE... Usually a heist film will contain a three-act plot. The first act usually consists of the preparations for the heist: gathering conspirators, learning about the layout of the location to be robbed, learning about the alarm system, revealing innovative technologies to be used, and, most importantly, setting up the plot twists in the final act. The second act is the heist itself. With rare exception, the heist will be successful, though some number of unexpected events will occur. The third act is the unraveling of the plot. The characters involved in the heist will be turned against one another or one of the characters will have made arrangements with some outside party, who will interfere. Normally, most of or all the characters involved in the heist will end up dead, captured by the law, or without any of the loot; however, it is becoming increasingly common for the conspirators to be successful.

ICONOGRAPHY... In terms of Iconography a heist film follows the same convention nearly all the time. They are usually around 5 group members, including a ‘Leader’, ‘Weapon/Explosives Expert’, ‘Geek/Technical Expert’, ‘A Beautiful Female’ and ‘A Double Crosser’. The leader is generally the character who is the brains behind the operation and sees it out until the end. Like the director of a film. The weapons/explosive expert would be in charge of any weapons and explosives required for the heist to take place. The geek/technical expert deals with the technical side of the heist and has the ability to help the team in any way possible to help complete the heist. The beautiful female is used as a ‘joker’ in a way to try and pick the brains of others and can use charm and looks to get whatever she is after. Finally, we have the double crosser who is an equal part of the heist, but rather than sharing anything gained he/she wants 100% and therefore turns against the group.