Mr. Smithee names his best heist movies

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Mr. Smithee names his best heist movies

See these classic heist flicks instead of Demi Moore and Michael Caine in "Flawlesss."

"Flawless" -- with Michael Caine and Demi Moore as amateur jewel thieves -- opens Friday, but Mr. Smithee has some advice for moviegoers. "Flawless" is flawed, he says; if you really want to see a heist movie, try one of the following flicks instead because diamonds don't do much for Demi.

BOB LE FLAMBEUR (1956). A thief and gambler plans to rob a French casino, but the cops are tipped off beforehand. Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, it was remade in 2002 into "The Good Thief," starring Nick Nolte.

DIE HARD (1988). High-stakes thieves posing as terrorists take a group of partygoers hostage while NYPD cop Bruce Willis tries to save the day.

THE ITALIAN JOB (1969). Michael Caine attempts to steal gold bullion using a Turin traffic jam to aid his getaway. Quincy Jones wrote the soundtrack. Stick with this version, not the 2003 Mark Wahlberg remake.

THE KILLING (1956). Directed by Stanley Kubrick, "Killing" has an ex-con planning to rob a racetrack before he gets married. Stars Sterling Hayden, who was memorable in another heist film, "The Asphalt Jungle."

LE CERCLE ROUGE (1970). From the same director as "Bob Le Flambeur," "Cercle" features a thief and an escaped murderer conspiring to commit a jewel heist in Paris. A remake is in the works; Orlando Bloom is reportedly in the cast.

RESERVOIR DOGS (1992). The debut film of writer/director Quentin Tarantino, "Dogs" centers around a botched jewel heist and a group of thieves who suspects that one of them is an undercover cop.

RIFIFI (1955). A jewel thief is released from prison, only to find that his girl has taken up with another gangster. Out of anger, he joins a plot to rob a jeweler's safe. A remake is in the works, possibly starring Al Pacino.

RONIN (1998). Robert De Niro is one of several hired guns who want to steal a mysterious suitcase that's also wanted by Russian gangsters.

THREE KINGS (1999). After the Gulf War, U.S. soldiers have a crisis of conscience while trying to steal a cache of Kuwaiti gold.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995). After five con men are arrested on suspicious charges, they decide to commit a high-stakes robbery to target corrupt cops. Won two Oscars.

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"Flawless" -- with Michael Caine and Demi Moore as amateur jewel thieves -- opens Friday, but Mr. Smithee has some advice for moviegoers. "Flawless" is flawed, he says; if you really want to see a heist movie, try one of the following flicks instead because diamonds don't do much for Demi.

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