Heist

"It isn't love that makes the world go round."

2001 1h 47m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🍅

66%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 640🍅66%Rotten Tomatoes●66Metacritic★6.5IMDB · 40,828

ActionCrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Joe Moore has a job he loves. He's a thief. His job goes sour when he gets caught on security camera tape. His fence, Bergman, reneges on the money he's owed, and his wife may be betraying him with the fence's young lieutenant. Moore and his partner, Bobby Blane, and their utility man, Pinky Pincus, find themselves broke, betrayed, and blackmailed. Moore is forced to commit his crew to do one last big job.

“It isn't love that makes the world go round.”

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Cast

Gene Hackman
Joe Moore
Danny DeVito
Mickey Bergman
Delroy Lindo
Bobby 'Bob' Blane
Sam Rockwell
Jimmy Silk
Rebecca Pidgeon
Fran Moore
Ricky Jay
Don 'Pinky' Pincus
Patti LuPone
Betty Croft
Alan Bilzerian
Fast Food Customer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Mamet
Writers: David Mamet, Francis Back, P.K. MacCarthy
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 81% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Mamet, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Theodore Shapiro. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Barbara Tulliver shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito and Delroy Lindo carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It isn't love that makes the world go round.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0252503 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Mamet directs. Robert Elswit behind the camera. Theodore Shapiro scores. Barbara Tulliver cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 81% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
225 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by David Mamet, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Theodore Shapiro. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Barbara Tulliver shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito and Delroy Lindo carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It isn't love that makes the world go round.".
8IMDB entry: tt0252503 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "receiving of stolen goods", "blackmail", "bank robber", "crook couple".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Elswit
Original score: Theodore Shapiro
Editing: Barbara Tulliver
Production design: David Wasco
Costume design: Renée April
Makeup / hair: Donald Mowat
VFX supervisor: Brad Kuehn
Sound: Michael Barry
Stunt coordinator: Jean Frenette
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $35,000,000
Box office: $28,500,000
Return: 81% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Heist (2001)
Rotten Tomatoes: 66% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 66/100
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 40,828 votes
MPAA: R

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David Mamet

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522022-03-27
★ 7/10
My third time seeing this over the years and still holds up as a solid crime-thriller. Mamet's dialogue is distinct and might not be for everybody but I find it quite a bit of fun. Hackman and Lindo are in their element and DeVito chews up the scenery. 3.75/5
kendallgibson2026-08-19
★ 7/10
Like the railings on Gene Hackman's boat, this review must be gilded because if I tell you what I really feel I would have to... well, you know. In essence each character is caught in an infinite loop of parlaying -- Hackman wants to capitalize on a lifetime of grift, DeVito wants to expand his territory (ironic for a man of such small stature), and Pidgeon just wants to keep getting laid. If you watch this film, keep in mind the historical context! This was the first movie where a) a bank robbery goes wrong, b) a driver leaves behind the master plan, and c) two criminals exchange a matchbook. I lied, none of that is true -- but it is an awesome movie! Flash-forward to today, and you can draw a lot of parallels between the transfer of gold and Bitcoin: each involves multimodal transport, relativistic legality, and asymmetric faces. The moral of the story? Get along with yourself!