The Art of the Heist at QAGOMA

A breath-taking program of more than 30 feature films will explore one of cinema’s most beloved crime subgenres – the heist – at the Australian Cinémathèque, Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) from 29 April to 26 June. Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Director Chris Saines said tickets were on sale now for ‘The Art of the Heist’, an exhilarating journey across diverse cinematic styles from caper, action and film noir to martial arts and comedy.
“With a seductive mix of gangster cool and cerebral ingenuity, ‘The Art of the Heist’ celebrates films that feature a crafty ensemble of players, a high stakes plan and the lure of the ultimate reward,” Mr Saines commented “QAGOMA’s Australian Cinémathèque presents curated programs, genre showcases and director retrospectives covering the world of film from crowd-pleasing fan favourites and cult classics to hard-to-find international cinema, rare 35mm prints and silent films with live musical accompaniment.”
Mr Saines said This program’s unmissable line-up opens with two genre touchstones: Jules Dassin’s twist-filled masterpiece Rififi 1955, about four criminals plotting one last job; and Stanley Kubrick’s 1956 noir classic The Killing, a suspenseful tale of a meticulously planned race-track robbery. Cinema goers will be enthralled by this program which also includes such iconic films as The Asphalt Jungle 1950 directed by John Huston, Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle) 1970 by French director Jean-Pierre Melville, Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs 1992 and Steve McQueen’s women-led caper Widows 2018.




Rosie Hays, Associate Curator, Australian Cinémathèque, QAGOMA and curator of ‘The Art of the Heist’ said style played a leading role in heist films such as Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief 1955 starring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant; William Wyler’s elegant How to Steal a Million 1966 featuring Audrey Hepburn; and French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard’s joyously thrilling gangster film Bande à part (Band of Outsiders) 1964, set in the streets of Paris.
“Other essential entries in ‘The Art of the Heist’ are the superbly funny British caper The Italian Job 1969 starring Michael Caine; The Thomas Crown Affair 1968, a dazzling game of cat-and-mouse intrigue with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway; and Joseph Shaw’s electrifying New York subway stick-up The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 1974.” Ms Hays commented “Unexpected gems showcasing a unique take on a heist include Jules Dassin’s cheeky European romp Topkapi 1964 with the indomitable Melina Mercouri; an all-woman crew staging a strip club heist in Lorene Scafia’s Hustlers 2019; Taiwanese director King Hu’s complex monastery-set robbery Raining in the Mountain 1979; and the high octane, one-take German film Victoria 2015.”
Ms Hays said that the program closes with the charming Australian comedy Malcolm 1986, a tale of a newly unemployed, chronically shy mechanical genius and a bank robbery, starring Colin Friels. Ms Hays also said that QAGOMA acknowledges the generous assistance of the National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra; and the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute, Taipei in providing materials for this program.



The Art of the Heist’ includes the following films:

  1. The Asphalt Jungle 1950 / Dir: John Huston
  2. Armoured Car Robbery 1950 / Dir: Richard Fleisher
  3. The Lavender Hill Mob 1951 / Dir: Charles Crichton
  4. Rififi 1955 / Dir: Jules Dassin
  5. To Catch a Thief 1955 / Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
  6. Bob le Flambeur 1956 / Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville
  7. The Killing 1956 / Dir: Stanley Kubrick
  8. Bande à part (Band of Outsiders) 1964 / Dir: Jean-Luc Godard
  9. Topkapi 1964 / Dir: Jules Dassin
  10. Cruel Gun Story 1964 / Dir: Takumi Furukawa
  11. How to Steal a Million 1966 / Dir: William Wyler
  12. The Thomas Crown Affair 1968 / Dir: Norman Jewison
  13. The Italian Job 1969 / Dir: Peter Collinson
  14. Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle) 1970 / Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville
  15. The Sting 1973 / Dir: George Roy Hill
  16. The Friends of Eddie Coyle 1973 / Dir: Peter Yates
  17. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 1974 / Dir: Joseph Sargent
  18. Dog Day Afternoon 1975 / Dir: Sidney Lumet
  19. Raining in the Mountain 1979 / Dir: King Hu
  20. Thief 1981 / Dir: Michael Mann
  21. Malcolm 1986 / Dir: Nadia Tass
  22. Reservoir Dogs 1992 / Dir: Quentin Tarantino
  23. Heat 1994 / Dir: Michael Mann
  24. Mission: Impossible 1996 / Dir: Brian De Palma
  25. Bottle Rocket 1996 / Dir: Wes Anderson
  26. Sexy Beast 2000 / Dir: Jonathan Glazer
  27. Oceans 11 2001 / Dir: Steven Soderbergh
  28. The Hard Word 2002 / Dir: Scott Roberts
  29. Fast Five 2011 / Dir: Justin Lin
  30. Drive 2011 / Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn
  31. Victoria 2015 / Dir: Sebastian Schipper
  32. Logan Lucky 2017 / Dir: Steven Soderbergh
  33. Widows 2018 / Dir: Steve McQueen
  34. Hustlers 2019 / Dir: Lorene Scafaria
  35. Kajillionaire 2020 / Dir: Miranda July

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