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The Italian Job

£495.00

Film

The Italian Job

Additional information

Year

1969 (1999 RR)

Size/Type

UK Quad (30" x 40")

Country of Origin

UK

Condition

Near mint minus; originally rolled (as issued)

Director

Peter Collinson

Actor/Actress

Benny Hill, Fred Emney, Graham Payn, Irene Handl, John Clive, John Le Mesurier, Margaret Blye, Michael Caine, Noel Coward, Peter Collinson, Raf Vallone, Rossano Brazzi, Tony Beckley

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“This is the self preservation society”

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A personal favourite that’s “bloody” scarce…A rolled country of origin (British) quad film poster from the 30th Anniversary 1999 re-release for the classic Michael Caine crime caper “The Italian Job”. Design agency Kennedy Monk have produced a modern classic for what is possibly the greatest British crime caper film of all time. This is impressive with a capital “I” deep colours and presented in exceptional original rolled condition…Unquestionably the Film is a cultural masterpiece that has become legendary…a true British institution…An incredibly rare piece of film and “British” memorabilia that perfectly captures that moment in time…“They say he’s going to do a job in Italy…Well, I hope he likes spaghetti. They serve it four times a day in the Italian prisons”

Trivia: BMC (British Motor Corporation), the owners of the Mini, refused to donate any cars to the film. The boss of Fiat Motors, offered to donate all the cars they needed, including Fiat 500s in place of the Minis. The director, however, decided that, as it was a very British film, it should be British Minis. Fiat’s boss still donated scores of cars for filming, as well as the factory grounds, and even though the authorities refused to close the roads, the Italian Mafia stepped in, and shut whole sections of Turin down for filming, so the traffic jams in the film are real, as are people’s actions during it.

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Film Description

The Italian Job Movie Poster

“You must have shot an awful lot of tigers, sir ? … Yes, I used a machine gun”

The Italian Job is one of the best-loved British classics ever made. Most people in my home country of Britain have seen the film many times (most of those times spent drinking tea and speaking like the queen, of course), but there’s more than enough for audiences from other countries to like about this delightful thriller as well. As you almost certainly already know, The Italian Job stars Michael Caine as the criminal at the centre of the job, dubbed ‘The Italian Job’ (would you believe). Caine is iconic in this film; his voice and mannerisms are often imitated, and it is this film that is probably most responsible for that. The plot follows Charlie Croker (Caine), a freshly released crook that, with a tip off from a deceased friend, decides to steal £4 million from Italy. However, it’s not an easy job and there are many risks involved, so the job must be astutely planned and flawlessly executed for it to work right – and it is there that the film really takes off…The Italian Job is well remembered for two things, the first of which is the Mini’s. This is the film that made Mini’s cool, so as you might expect, there is a fair amount of stunt work involving the Mini, a lot of which is truly spectacular – these little cars can be seen driving up stairs, onto and across roofs, through shopping centres, flying over various chasms etc and it’s all very exciting. The second thing that it is remembered for is, of course, the line – “you were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!”, which is one of the most quoted of all time. The film’s impact on popular culture has been immense, and that line’s impact in particular is legendary; people that don’t know the film know that line, and I dare say that a lot of them quote it even. It’s up there with ‘I’ll be back’ or ‘that’ line from Dirty Harry. The film also highlights a lot of British culture, most notably the reaction to something going right and then the letdown as something goes wrong…The final scene is simply, sublime and a perfect way to end the film; funny, well executed and absolutely genius.

Vintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria

Mint
A poster that has never been used or displayed and may show the most minor signs of age and wear. The poster should have no holes or tears.

Near Mint
A generally unused poster with fresh, saturated colors. May have minimal tears at folds. Has no significant holes, no paper loss, may have minor tears along edges, may have fine pin holes.

Very Fine
A poster with bright colour and crisp overall appearance. It may have very general signs of use including slight fold separation and fold wear. It may have pin holes or very minor tears. This is the highest grade allowed for a poster that has been restored either on linen or on paper.

Fine
A poster with good colors and overall clean appearance. It may have minor tears small paper loss and minor stains. It may have some fold seperation.

Good
An average poster with overall fresh color. May have tears, minor paper loss, minor hazing. Paper may be brittle due to age, may have minor stains. May have a small amount of writing in an unobtrusive place. May have medium or major restoration.

Fair
A poster with faded colors and brittle paper, showing significant signs of use. May have tears and paper loss. May have tape, writing, stains in image area. In need of restoration or had major restoration.

Poor
A poster that is worn, torn, and/or damaged. May have staining, cracking, dry rot, and/or large tears. May be heavily soiled, may have pieces missing. In need of major restoration.

All photographs and images used on our site are photographs of the actual poster/item you are buying, we do not use stock photographs.

Most Popular Poster Types

US Posters

LOBBY CARD
11 x 14″ printed on heavy stock paper. Used as display in theatre lobbies. Originally made in sets of eight. Some sets have a title card, which contains credits and artwork, essentially a mini-poster. The remaining seven cards are coloured photographic credits and poster artwork showing different scenes from the movie.

WINDOW CARD
14 x 22″ printed on heavy stock paper with the top 4-6 inches usually left blank for the local cinema owner to fill in the cinema and the date it was due to play. Largely discontinued during the 1970’s.

HALF SHEET
22 x 28″ printed on heavy stock paper. The image displayed is normally a smaller version of the main poster, although some do have different artworks and sometimes come in two versions.

INSERT
14 x 36″ printed on heavy stock paper. Inserts usually have the same artwork as a one sheet. Popular with collectors since they are smaller and easier to frame. Normally come tri folded or rolled.

STYLE Y/FORTY BY SIXTY
40 x 60″ printed on heavy stock paper. Rare since they were primarily used for major motion pictures only. Designed to be used outside the theatre, on an easel, normally at a drive-in movie theatre.

ONE-SHEET
27 x 41″ printed on paper. This is the most common size of poster, intended to be displayed in a glass “marquee” case. It is the most sought after size by collectors. Since the 1980’s most posters are sent to the theatre rolled and maybe slightly smaller measuring 27″ by 40″ and with the advent of backlit light boxes a growing number of modern movie posters are available double-sided and the more traditional single-sided.

THREE-SHEET
41 x 81″ printed on paper. These were printed on two or three separate sheets designed to overlap, few survive. Used for larger advertising spaces, normally posted on walls, perfect for huge movie theatres the drive-in, where people could see them from a distance. From the 1970’s on, three-sheets were sometimes printed in one piece and issued as “international” versions to be used abroad.

BRITISH Posters

BRITISH QUAD
30 x 40″ Most common poster size used in the UK. British Quads are horizontal and may have different artwork to the US one sheet. Like a US one sheet they normally come in two versions. Like a US one sheet they are usually supplied single-sided or more commonly now as a double sided poster.

BRITISH ONE-SHEET
27 X 40″, printed on paper. Very rarely used size.

ITALIAN Posters

ITALIAN LOCANDINA
13 x 28″ six inches shorter than the US insert, very nice size to frame. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.

ITALIAN PHOTOBUSTA
18 x 26″ Glossy, high quality, used as lobby cards in Italy. Size may vary, either vertical or horizontal format. There are also double Photobusta or mini Photobusta.

2-FOGLIO (DUE)
(DUE): 39 x 55″ This is the standard poster size used in Italy. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.

4-FOGLIO
(QUATTRO) 55 x 79″ Very large Italian poster printed in two pieces, often contains very beautiful artwork.

FRENCH Posters

FRENCH
47 x 63″ (GRANDE) or 24 x 33″ (PETITE) French movie posters normally come with different artwork to either the US or the UK. Like the Italian’s some of the artwork is extrememly beautiful.