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The Hot Rock
From the director of Bullitt and the screenwriter of All The President's Men comes a slick little heist drama from 1972 called The Hot Rock that doesn't go anywhere we expect it to, demanding viewer attention through its execution and providing surprises for the majority of its running time.
An African doctor hires career criminals Dortmunder (Robert Redford) and Kelp (the late George Segal) to steal a rare diamond from a museum. Dortmunder and Kelp hire Greenburg (Paul Sand), an explosives expert and Murch (the late Ron Leibman), a transportation expert to assist them in the heist. Unfortunately, things don't go off as planned as one member of the team gets pinched and the diamond becomes a bouncing ball that our gang has to steal more than once.
Two time Oscar winning screenwriter William Goldman provides us with what appears to be a simple heist story on the surface, but we just don't see the bouncing booty that our heroes keep losing track of. The running joke of the African doctor who keeps a close eye on the expenses involved, which he doesn't want to pay remains fresh throughout. Some of the gang's requests are as perplexing to the viewer as they are to the doctor until we see how they are utilized and they all make sense, even though the guys still can't hold onto the diamond.
Initially, I was expecting something along the lines of the Ocean's Eleven franchise where the majority of the running time is devoted to assembling the team and the planning of the crime. Imagine my surprise when the actual heist happened less than thirty minutes into the running time. We then watch circumstances, interlopers, betrayal, and greed provide more than the expected interference to the prize. And this is where director Peter Yates' eye for stylish action sequences come in...the chase between our guys and the security guards at the museum is brilliantly staged and shot, as is an actual break-in to a maximum security prison, which should have been impossible. And even with all this, Yates and Goldman keep us waiting until the final five minutes of the film for some kind of resolution.
Yates utilizes Manahattan effectively as the tale's canvas and has assembled a solid cast of pros to pull of this story, headed by Redford, who almost brings a Steve McQueen-cool to Dortmunder, well-matched by Segal's breezy Kelp and Leibman's in your face Murch. Mention should also be made of Moses Gunn channeling James Earl Jones as the African doctor and a fantastic supporting turn from the legendary Zero Mostel as Greenberg's fathe, who both make the most of their screentime. It could have wrapped a little quicker than it did, but this was one was a lot of fun.
From the director of Bullitt and the screenwriter of All The President's Men comes a slick little heist drama from 1972 called The Hot Rock that doesn't go anywhere we expect it to, demanding viewer attention through its execution and providing surprises for the majority of its running time.
An African doctor hires career criminals Dortmunder (Robert Redford) and Kelp (the late George Segal) to steal a rare diamond from a museum. Dortmunder and Kelp hire Greenburg (Paul Sand), an explosives expert and Murch (the late Ron Leibman), a transportation expert to assist them in the heist. Unfortunately, things don't go off as planned as one member of the team gets pinched and the diamond becomes a bouncing ball that our gang has to steal more than once.
Two time Oscar winning screenwriter William Goldman provides us with what appears to be a simple heist story on the surface, but we just don't see the bouncing booty that our heroes keep losing track of. The running joke of the African doctor who keeps a close eye on the expenses involved, which he doesn't want to pay remains fresh throughout. Some of the gang's requests are as perplexing to the viewer as they are to the doctor until we see how they are utilized and they all make sense, even though the guys still can't hold onto the diamond.
Initially, I was expecting something along the lines of the Ocean's Eleven franchise where the majority of the running time is devoted to assembling the team and the planning of the crime. Imagine my surprise when the actual heist happened less than thirty minutes into the running time. We then watch circumstances, interlopers, betrayal, and greed provide more than the expected interference to the prize. And this is where director Peter Yates' eye for stylish action sequences come in...the chase between our guys and the security guards at the museum is brilliantly staged and shot, as is an actual break-in to a maximum security prison, which should have been impossible. And even with all this, Yates and Goldman keep us waiting until the final five minutes of the film for some kind of resolution.
Yates utilizes Manahattan effectively as the tale's canvas and has assembled a solid cast of pros to pull of this story, headed by Redford, who almost brings a Steve McQueen-cool to Dortmunder, well-matched by Segal's breezy Kelp and Leibman's in your face Murch. Mention should also be made of Moses Gunn channeling James Earl Jones as the African doctor and a fantastic supporting turn from the legendary Zero Mostel as Greenberg's fathe, who both make the most of their screentime. It could have wrapped a little quicker than it did, but this was one was a lot of fun.