* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic
** The opening credits (and what turns out to be Beckerman's last few moments of life, driving his Lamborghini through the Italian mountains) are accompanied by Matt Monroe singing "Days Like These".
** "Self Preservation Society", which gloriously and jauntily plays during the conclusion of the iconic car chase. The voice of Creator/MichaelCaine himself can be heard among the singers.
** While the Blue Danube DeletedScene is a BigLippedAlligatorMoment, it does have a pretty good soundtrack.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: {{Averted}}. There was a surreal scene cut featuring the thieves and the cops chasing them interrupting their frantic car chase to do some choreographed ballet on ice with their cars to The Blue Danube. This is completely out of sorts with the rest of the film and was apparently filmed without the director's knowledge; he promptly cut it when he found out what had been done.
* EnsembleDarkhorse
** Arthur, the demolitions expert, barely has any focus outside of the scene where he uses too much dynamite during a practice robbery, but the MemeticMutation status of that scene makes him quite popular.
** The UpperClassTwit BadassDriver trio are also fan favorites, despite not being terribly fleshed out.
** Altabani may be the BigBad, but his menacing demeanor, his wary respect of the crew, and some hinted EvenEvilHasStandards aspects to his personality make him more popular than most villains with as little screen time as him.
* HarsherInHindsight: Charlie considers taking his scheme to the Americans, believing them to be people who respect young talent. This line becomes ironic when you consider that the film flopped in the States.
* HilariousInHindsight: In keeping with the gang's cover as travelling football fans, the Dormobile is decorated with the names of various England footballers, particularly that of Bobby Moore who was the England captain at the time. Twelve years later, he would star alongside Michael Caine in ''Film/EscapeToVictory''.
* MagnificentBastard:
** [[LovableRogue Charlie Croker]] is recruited by Roger Beckermann to rob an Italian gold convoy and is trusted by Beckermann to continue and execute the plan without his partner once Beckermann realizes his life is in danger. Charlie plunges forward without hesitation, and breaks into prison to present his proposal to a mob boss he needs funding from. He is NiceToTheWaiter, gets along well with his subordinates. and while he does cheat on his girlfriend, he also trusts her and does what he can to keep her out of harm's way. He remains unflinching when faced with sharing Beckermann's fate and is able to threaten his would-be executioner into sparing his life. Charlie leads his men in overpowering the convoy guards with just some clubs and a fire hose. He and his men then escape with the gold in mini coopers and are quite resourceful at finding ways to outwit individual police officers who pursue them across Beckermann's escape route. When a bus containing Charlie, his accomplices, and the gold ends up dangling over the edge of a cliff, Charlie claims to have an idea to save himself, his crew, and the gold.
** [[MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll Mr. Bridger]] is the incarcerated leader of a vast criminal empire. Guards and prisoners alike cater to Bridger's every whim and let him do as he pleases. He has a strong sense of national pride, idolizing UsefulNotes/ElizabethII and showing concern about the effect crime is having on the economy. When Charlie breaks into one of the prison's bathroom to talk to Bridger, he is upset about his privacy being invaded and lectures the timid warden about the prison's security issue. He has Charlie beat up for disrespecting him, but also agrees to finance the eponymous heist (while making some useful suggestions to augment the existing plan). He recognizes that TheMafia are aware of Charlie's plans and warns him about this, while threatening Charlie if the job fails. Upon hearing that Charlie and his gang have gotten away with the gold, Bridger triumphantly marches down a flight of stairs to enjoy a delicious meal as all his fellow prisoners chant his name.
** [[TheStrategist Roger Beckermann]] is a well-regarded European criminal who schemes to steal four million dollars in gold. Beckermann plots to shut down all the traffic in the city of Turin in order to carry out the robbery, and then plans an intricate getaway route for his drivers. When Beckermann realizes that TheMafia are planning to kill him to prevent the robbery, rather than call off the job to save his own life, he makes a film detailing his plan (and various other heists he's never gotten around to) and arranges for his wife to give it to Croker so that the gold heist (the scale of which is unprecedented at that point in history) can go forward and serve as his legacy. He then continues about his business, showing no signs of fear or concern, until he is murdered by the mobsters (who show some VillainRespect toward him). Although he dies in the opening scene, the plot of the movie rests upon Beckermann's plan [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning and his fearless efforts to ensure that it will survive him in the event of his murder.]]
** [[TheDon Altabani]] is a mafia leader who serves as the BigBad of the movie. He is a criminal equivalent of a FrontlineGeneral, personally handling plenty of grunt work and surveillance. He wants to keep any foreign criminals from robbing his government out of territorial pride, and perhaps patriotism. Altabani and his men ambush and kill Beckermann on a mountain road [[DueToTheDead and drop a wreath after the wreckage of his car.]] When Charlie continues Beckermann's plan, Altabani accosts Charlie and several associates, making pleasant small talk as he has a construction vehicle destroy their cars. He is then poised to kill them to guarantee that the plan will die, and only relents to spare Britain's Italian community from retaliatory violence. He never underestimates his opponents throughout the movie and unsuccessfully tries to prevent the approaching heist through other means. When Charlie pulls off the heist, Altabani doesn't succumb to frustration or despair, but merely continues trying to track down to take the gold from them through force or negotiation. He even succeeds at his goal in the original script and the {{Novelization}}.
* MemeticMutation: "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" as said by Charlie after witnessing Arthur's bomb, which was meant to blow the back of the practice van's doors off, instead destroys it completely. Even funnier is Arthur's sheepish grin towards Charlie.
* RefrainFromAssuming: There's a song performed by the cast that plays over the end of the final chase. But while you might think it's titled "Self-Preservation Society" (as some do), it's actually titled "Getta Bloomin' Move On".
* RetroactiveRecognition:
** Henry [=McGee=] from ''Series/TheBennyHillShow'' as Charlie's tailor.
** Creator/RobertPowell as one of the gang members, eight years before he was [[Series/JesusOfNazareth Jesus]].
** A prison officer is played by Creator/FrankKelly, who would later be best known for playing Father Jack in ''Series/FatherTed''.
** A computer room official is played by Creator/JohnLouisMansi, who would later be best known for playing Von Smallhausen in ''Series/AlloAllo''.
* SignatureScene:
** The LiteralCliffhanger ending gets talked about quite a lot.
** The epic Mini Cooper chase.
** Mr. Bridger bossing around the governor of the prison he's incarcerated in.
* ValuesDissonance: Professor Peach feels less like a LovableSexManiac and more like a sexual harasser to some 21st century viewers.
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