Top 10 Great Scenes from Movie Robberies Gone Wrong

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Anyone who has ever been robbed at gun/knifepoint can tell you that the experience is far from fun or exhilarating. But like many of life’s unpleasant experiences, when robberies are viewed from the distance afforded by film viewing, the results can be far more exciting.

Michael Haneke, director of the recent re-make of Funny Games, said in an interview that part of the film's power comes from the fact that the two main nameless antagonists have no respect for the protagonists’ personal space. When we, as people, don’t respect our personal spaces, the results can be absolutely terrifying, and the implications can be grim.

In a nutshell, that's what robbery is about. It's about a criminal violating another person’s space and property. And on film, in the heat of the moment, things can often go wrong during the process, making things even more unbearably tense. Here are the top 10 greatest scenes from movie robberies gone wrong:

Update: Several people have pointed out that Before the Devil Knows You're Dead and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels also feature the greatest "robbery gone wrong" scenes of all time. You are absolutely right and these scene will be added to the list shortly.

Reservoir Dogs - "There's nothing you can do. Except pray for death."

It's easy to forget that this movie is about a robbery (since you never actually see the robbery take place!). But Tarantino's brilliant debut shows what happens when you stir in a psychotic cop-hater and the possibility of a mole into the mix. The "Stuck in the Middle With You" scene is still chilling for the way the camera indifferently pans away during the carnage. And yes, there are 2 scenes here from one film, but I don't think you can never get too much Tarantino.

Snatch - "All bets are off"

Where has the Guy Ritchie we know and love been taken to, and what has been done to him? Remember when Ritchie's films were witty, hilarious, and relevant? This scene will remind you: The two guys in it have literally the worst robbery skills ever.

Two Hands - *SMACK*

This underappreciated gem starring the late, great Heath Ledger has a robbery scene that ends in a completely surprising, hilarious way. In order to get to the robbery scene, fast forward in the Youtube video to 7:10

Inside Man - "Anyone else here smarter than me?"

This one is kind of a cheat, since nothing really goes wrong during this robbery. It is in fact, the most perfectly planned robbery I can remember watching. However, I love this scene because it demonstrates Clive Owen's character's brilliance in the face of a hiccup in his plan. When he starts grabbing random phones to dial Mr. Hammond, you can cut the tension with a knife. And when that tacky ringtone goes off, you're filled with the same horror that Hammond must be filled with. A good demonstration, not of robberies gone wrong, but of what happens when a hostage violates the rules of his robbing intellectual superiors.

Dog Day Afternoon - "ATTICA!"

Once upon a time, before Al Pacino had become a parody of himself, he gave a brave performance as Sonny Wortzik in Dog Day Afternoon. Before ultra-slick scenes of hostage-takers and negotiators, there was the spectacle of the media, the uncontrollable mob, and that famous chant, “Attica!”

Heat - "Sit there, don't move, let it bleed."

No list of robbery scenes would be worth a damn without this iconic scene from Heat. This film presents the ultimate glamorized version of a bank robbery, with extremely efficient perpetrators, brilliantly believable dialogue, and a bloody gunfight at the end. It has informed every single robbery scene that has come afterwards, and for that reason alone, deserves yet another look.

Pulp Fiction - "Be cool."

As with most of his films, Quentin Tarantino’s dialogue from the final scene in Pulp Fiction transforms this from yet another robbery to something more transcendent. Having seen Samuel L. Jackson loudly kill others in this film, the tension here is almost unbearable as the two sit down.

Raising Arizona - "Nathan needs some Huggies."

Before he took place in the creation of atrocities such as Wild Wild West and Men in Black II, Barry Sonnenfield was an extremely skilled cinematographer. This scene from the Coen brothers’ early days shows Sonnefield at his best, employing abundance use of the wide-angle, as well as skewed and wild camera angles.

Boogie Nights - "We want what's in the safe."

This is perhaps one of my favorite scenes of all time: Dirk Diggler, strung out on coke, gets caught up in a drug robbery gone wrong. What makes this scene amazing are all the disparate elements that come together to form a spectacular whole: Alfred Molina wearing pretty much just a bath robe, the Sister Christian blaring uncontrollably in th e background, Mark Wahlberg’s bleary-eyed performance, and some random Chinese dude in the background detonating firecrackers. While many have celebrated P.T. Anderson’s coronation as a respectable filmmaker with There Will Be Blood, I’m definitely going to miss completely over-the-top whacked out scenes like this one.

[An earlier version of this article was cross-posted at Cineleet, a wonderful film blog]

Did I miss any? If so, leave some suggestions in the comments or feel free to e-mail us at contact@alwayswatching.org. If your suggestion is good enough, I'll put it up and include a link to your website.

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[Image from Flickr user Colin Brown under Creative Commons]