The Italian Job

Factual error: While Bridger is watching the film of the Mafia boss following Beckerman he signals for the film to be stopped so he can look at the close up shot of the man. He is watching a 16mm film shown through a bog standard projector - stop a film like that for more than two seconds without closing down the projector shutter (this doesn't happen - if it did the screen would darken instantly) and it will melt and catch fire. This doesn't happen.

Factual error: The amount of gold shown would weigh upwards of 12 tons. That's 4 tons per mini. No way! The density of gold is 19 times that of water; a cubic metre of gold weighs 19 tons. A whole Morris Mini weighed less than 700kg. If you can pay for it, put a block of 10cmx10cmx10cm of gold on the table and see if anyone can lift it.

Factual error: At the end on the coach the actual coach is not big enough to accommodate the 3 minis, the mini crews, the coach crew and the mini bus crew and the pile of gold. The first mini is parked right behind the driver and the last is literally touching the back doors also as we've seen not much room either side of the minis there simply isn't enough room.

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Mistakes

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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Quotes

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Trivia

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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Questions

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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