The Italian Job

Other mistake: When the Mafia are having a dinner party, the film cuts to Charlie Croker throwing his bicycle into the substation to cause a powercut. After the big explosion, the camera switches back to the dinner party and then all the lights go out. But before the lights go out, if you look at the end of the dinner table, there is a doorway, and you can see smoke coming from the candles which have already been lit before the lights go out. Within seconds of the power cut, these candles are brought in from doorway and another set comes in from the left-hand side. A little premature.

Other mistake: When the film about planning the job is being shown to Mr. Bridger in the prison: at the end of the film the mafia man walks right up to the camera to watch the English guy walk off. This seems a bit odd, him being able to walk right up to the camera and the camera operator still filming. Wouldn't he have wanted to keep the fact that he was watching them all the time a secret and not give the game away that the mafia were on to them?

Revealing mistake: When the police car crashes through the grating that was dropped down in front of it at the end of the tunnel, the occupants are dummies - they just bounce about in the same upright position whilst the car drives into the river.

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Trivia: The film is primarily about cars and driving. Star Michael Caine could not drive at the time the movie was made. Charlie Croker is assumed to be driving when he picks up his Aston Martin at the garage but in the next shot, we see it arrive outside a hotel. Caine only gets out of the stationary Aston Martin. In other scenes, including the trip to Turin and the gold heist, Caine is a passenger. However, he is seen driving his E-type Jaguar into the Turin building where the Minis are being modified. The DVD confirms that Caine couldn't drive, but could just about manage the basics.

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Question: What happened at the end? How did they get out of that fix?

Answer: We may never know. The ending was originally a set-up for a sequel, but the sequel never materialized.

Cubs Fan

Answer: Michael Caine himself once suggested in an interview that all they had to do was wait until the bus, the engine of which was still running, ran out of fuel. The fuel tank was at the rear of the bus, hanging over the cliff and so adding weight at that end. As it emptied, the balance would shift to the front and they would be able to move the gold forward. How they could then get it off the bus, or transport it from the roadside is another matter.

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