The Hot Rock (1972)

Admirable film.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Something is missing in "The Hot Rock" that keeps it from being a great film. Perhaps several smaller things together keep it from being a top caper comedy. It surely is of that genre, but the comedy is quite weak. A sometimes funny script saves is from being a bomb. The idea for the plot is a superb one. Jewel thieves have to steal the same prize diamond again and again. The schemes to do so are entertaining. But the comedy in those situations seems forced. An example is when the gang attacks a neighborhood police precinct to retrieve the jewel from a jail cell. The various police characters were all set up in comedic roles from the start. So, that's a forced comedy situation that comes off more as a satire or parody of the New York police department than a clever and humorous attempted heist at a police precinct building. And as a parody, it's just not funny. Robert Redford's character, Dortmunder, seems an awful lot like Johnny Hooker in "The Sting." But this film plot is far from that of the next year's film. And, the far laid back, easy-going character that Redford has here just doesn't seem to fit the plot very well. The best roles in the film are played by George Segal as Kelp and Paul Sand as Greenberg. They also are the source of most of the comedy. The film had great possibilities, but it comes off as more lame and silly than as very good comedy as a caper. It's worth a watch, but not the price to buy or rent it. But for some occasional funny lines, "The Hot Rock" would be a washout.Here are a few good lines from the film. For more funny lines, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie.Dortmunder, "You're not being pushy?" Kelp, "I'm just edging you towards making a decision. There's a difference." Kelp, "You take failure too hard. I don't mind it so much anymore." Dr. Amusa, "I've heard of the habitual criminal, of course. But I never dreamed I'd become involved with the habitual crime."Greenberg (to his dad, Abe Greenberg, who has just sold out his son's gang), "Don't expect me for any more Sunday drives, dad."

Starring Robert Redford in his prime, this movie is one of several from the period that are nowhere near as smart of as slick as they pretend.As a comedy drama/crime caper it strolls along with an air of smug satisfaction than often seems to drag. It's a very dated, 1970's piece. The dialogue is pretentious. Some of the heists and foul-ups are just too contrived. Comparing it with the 'The Italian Job' of 3 years earlier, really highlights its short-comings in characterisation.There is no stand-out event to raise this movie beyond the very ordinary. I mostly remember it for the bizarre 'Afghanistan banana-stand' exclamation, which sounds like something Mary Poppins might have uttered.There's a typically overblown jazz theme and incidental music that tries to endorse its hip pretensions but only leaves it sounding like so many others. Check-out 'Pelham 123' to see how it should be done.It's the only Redford movie that I can't recommend. But every actor makes at least one lemon in his lifetime.

Looked at now, this seems a very dated "buddy/caper" movie from the early 70's. Neither as suspenseful as "Topkapi" or as humorous as "The Pink Panther", it hopes to get by mainly on its star appeal, as personified by Robert Redford and hot-at-the-time George Segal. However there's not much acting to be had; with a script bereft of substantial dialogue and a fair smattering of time-consuming stunts, our two heroes mainly just get to bark at each other and mug at the lens, all the more surprising when you appreciate the screenplay is by William Goldman, late scriptor of "Butch Cassidy", the epitome of "buddy" movies and its little brother, the soon-come "The Sting". Segal is no Newman however and it's obvious that Redford is very much the main man here, but other than giving us his preferred profile, he's rarely exercised in a film that looks as if it was more fun to be in than to watch. The attempts at humour are forced, painfully at times, the supporting cast also exaggerate their playing, none more so than the choice hunk of ham that is Zero Mostel as the movie moves episodically and elephantinely to its even more improbable ending (a safe-deposit bank employee gets hypnotised by the floor-selection buttons in a lift...!). Quincy Jones' cod-jazz soundtrack, peopled as it is by heavyweight musicians like Gerry Mulligan and Clark Terry, doesn't help either. I could go on about the unfunny set-pieces of the botched robbery at the museum, attempts to fly a helicopter and the saw-it-coming-around-the-corner bluff which wrings the required confession out of Mostel's "Dishonest Abe" character but other than a passing hindsight discomfort at seeing a low-flying aircraft circling the under-construction World Trade Centre buildings, there's really very little to say one way or another. In fact the biggest laugh for me was unintentional - the gang's agreeing to pull off the heist for a measly $25000 each, the effect akin to Dr Evil's latter-day demand for $1,000,000 to stop him destroying the world in "Austin Powers". The 70's threw up some fine contemporary movies (many of which starred and were enhanced by Redford - "Three Days Of The Condor", "The Candidate" and "All The President's Men" to name but three). Here however he's coasting in a flaccid movie that does little for the reputations of cast and crew.

"The Hot Rock" is a pretty good caper film with an excellent cast, terrific musical score by Quincy Jones, and good use of New York City scenery (although during a recent viewing, as a New Yorker, it was difficult to watch the World Trade Center towers being constructed).Redford and Segal are good as a pair of friends who are connected by their work. Redford has no sooner gotten out of jail, when Segal starts telling him about their newest caper. They are to steal a diamond that belongs to one of the tribal nations of Africa.Ron Liebman and Paul Sand are enlisted as their co-conspirators, and both of them are quite good, especially Liebman, who can "drive anything.Naturally, everything goes wrong, and they are thrown one roadblock after another, in an attempt to get the diamond.A good film with moments of both great humor and no humor. Unsteady in its execution, but it still has a charm about it.Worth renting.6 out of 10