Today's Special: Tax day heist movie quiz… Answers

How many heist movies did you get right in our tax day quiz? Here are the answers:

A-6. The Bank Shot – Based on a novel by Donald E. Westlake, this movie features one of the novelist’s most popular characters, John Dortmunder. Dortmunder has made his way into seven films, including three versions of Jimmy the Kid. Curiously, The Bank Shot, directed by Gower Champion, changed the character’s name to Ballentine.
Available on DVD from MGM/Fox.

B-5. The Getaway – At the top of his game, Sam Peckinpah crafts a tale of deceit, double and triple crosses in this film, which features a cast of characters so despicable, you’re rooting for McQueen’s bank robber.  It’s a dusty, dirty, wild ride from beginning to end.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from Warner Home Video

C-12. The Italian Job – The 2003 version starring Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron and Donald Sutherland is a faster, funnier and more action-packed version of the 1969 film, thanks to the crisp direction of  F. Gary Gray.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from Paramount

D-2. The Killing – One of Stanley Kubrick’s earliest films, The Killing is thought to be a major influence of both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, though Quentin Tarantino denies it.
Available on DVD from MGM/Fox

E-1. Larceny, Inc. – Based on S.J. and Laura Perelman’s play The Night Before Christmas, this movie is a delightful outing from director Lloyd Bacon. Keep an eye out for Jackie Gleason in one of his earliest screen appearances.
Available on DVD from Warner

F-11. Oceans 11 – All the stops are pulled out in Steven Soderbergh’s breezy remake of the Rat Pack classic as George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle and Matt Damon take turns seeing who can be the most flippant.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from Warner

The Pink Panther DVD boxG-3. The Pink Panther – Inspector Clouseau became director Blake Edwards’ most iconic character, and this is the film that started it all. The bumbling detective reappeared in some form in seven more movies, including a 1993 comedy featuring Roberto Benigni as his son. In 2006, the series was rebooted with Steve Martin taking on the role Peter Sellers immortalized. The movie was successful enough to warrant a 2009 sequel.
Available on DVD from MGM/Fox

H-9. Ronin – An action tour de force from director John Frankenheimer that’s exciting from beginning to end. We never do find out what’s in the briefcase, but we have so much fun chasing after it around France, we really don’t mind.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from MGM/Fox

I-7. Sneakers – Phil Alden Robinson followed up his highly sentimental Fields of Dreams with this lively, twisty caper, made all the more enjoyable by a cast that includes Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix, Mary McDonnell, Ben Kingsley and David Strathairn. Despite all the fun, Robinson gets to make a few politically correct points along the way.
Available on DVD and HD DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment

J-10. The Thomas Crown Affair – The original 1966 version, starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, is the epitome of 1960s cool. But John McTiernan’s stylish remake sizzles, thanks to the give-and-take between Pierce Brosnan and co-star Rene Russo.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from MGM/Fox

K-4. Topkapi – Director Jules Dassin’s frothy adventure  movie features Melina Mercouri at her sultry best. Peter Ustinov, as two-bit hustler Arthur Simon Simpson, stole enough of the film to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Available on DVD from MGM/Fox

L-8. The Usual Suspects – An instant classic for its inventive plotting, colorful characters and mysterious central question “Who is Keyser Soze?” (we’ll never tell!), this twisty crime drama put director Bryan Singer on the map and scored two Oscars: Kevin Spacey for Best Supporting Actor and Christopher McQuarrie for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from MGM/Fox

About Chris

Chris Koseluk has written about the entertainment industry for numerous magazines and newspapers including The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Make-Up Artist Magazine, BackStage West, Premiere, Video Business, Movie Times, Newsday, The Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, the Portland Oregonian and the Houston Chronicle. He currently runs MediaMischief.com. As a partner in Never Dull Productions, Chris wrote and directed the feature documentary Sled Shots about the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team.