The Bank Job takes us to 1971 London, when Baker Street bank Lloyds is done over for more than three million pounds. Based on a true crime, for which no arrests were ever made and no money was ever recovered, The Bank Job is a caper film if ever you saw one. Unfortunately, it's not a good example of the genre.

The true crime met headlines for a few days around Britain, but fell under the radar as MI5 insisted that the story endangered national security. Nothing was heard again, until now.

Enter our protagonist, Terry (Statham), a used car dealer in massive debt. Along comes old flame Martine (Burrows) and offers to pull him out of his hole if he'll only help her with this 'small robbery'. Little does poor Terry know that behind Martine's request is MI5 agent Tim (Lintern), who needs some documents which are held in a safety deposit box at Lloyds.

The Bank Job has met with mixed reviews, ; some consider it well paced, yet while others, myself included, believe it doesn't live up to its potential. The one large thing this film has going for it is its 'based on a true story' charms. The producers claim that inside sources were involved in production, and the added romanticism of an MI5 gag order recently lifted makes for anticipation to say the least. The caper genre is not known for its character development, however The Bank Job does well in this arena.

Worth a look if you're a fan of a good caper film, or if you're just intrigued as to how a bank heist could have anything to do with British national security...

Classic revolutionary film from the 60s. Set at a posh school in Britain, If.... is a defining film from the period. It tells a tale of power, revolution and boarding school life.

The film devolves into large flights of fancy throughout, and you're left never really knowing what actually happened and what was fantasy. The random switch from black and white to colour only serves to exacerbate this feeling; a deliberate vision by the director (Lindsay Anderson), further blurring the line between the surreal and the real.

Malcolm McDowell (of A Clockwork Orange and Caligula fame) stars in his breakout film as Mick Travis. He and his sidekicks are the school rebels, and as such are routinely ridiculed and punished through the school's various systems of hazings and prefects known as 'whips.' Even with all the heavy-handed violence heaped upon them, the three boys only grow more restless and rebel even further, until the unforgettable climax of the film.

If.... uses Mick and his gang to incite revolution, rather than merely portray and comment on it. Clearly influenced by Vigo's Zero for Conduct, If.... takes everything a step further.

So horribly graphic is in some places, and yet so comic in others. T, the lows and highs of this film come fast and thick;, and the purely soul-crushing violence throughout leaves you feeling... well, you'll feel.

This could be your only chance to see this classic at the cinema, just one more time, or as a first viewing. Either way, a must see on this semester's program.

(This print provided courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive)