The lowdown: 'Gone in Sixty Seconds' is set in the world of the American car theft industry, where fast cars
are stolen and rebirthed for customers willing to pay a price. Nicholas Cage stars as Randall "Memphis" Raines,
an expert car thief who retired from the trade several years ago, but is forced to do one last job in order to save his
younger brother's life. Raymond Calitri (Christopher Eccleston) is a car broker who operates from a car crushing 
yard. He hired Kip Raines to steal cars for him, but Kip screwed up and Calitri wants Memphis to steal 50 cars 
in four days, otherwise Kip will die. Memphis assembles a team of expert car thieves and they attempt to pull off 
the impossible, while being pursued by the police and a rival group of car thieves who don't want Memphis on their
patch. It is a race against time to steal the final car (a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 nicknamed 'Eleanor') and deliver
it to Calitri. The film culminates in an impressive car chase featuring the ill-fated Mustang and a shoot-out between
Memphis and Calitri.

Christopher Eccleston is great as Calitri, and generates a suitable air of menace. Quite wisely, the producers did
not try to make him use an American accent, but instead cast him as an English villian in America (complete with
a reference to the exciting game of baseball). The supporting cast includes Robert Duvall and Angelina Jolie (who
looks very different as a blonde). 'Gone in Sixty Seconds' is recommended for people who enjoy action, drama
and fast cars in the one two-hour package. And did I mention Angelina Jolie? 

The film is based on 'Gone in 60 Seconds', which was made in 1974 and written by, directed by and starred H.B. 
Halicki. The basic premise of the two films - stealing a certain number of cars in a couple of days - is the same.
The original features an epic 40-minute car-chase, regarded by many to be the best ever filmed, in which 93
cars were destroyed. This chase also featured a classic Mustang dubbed 'Eleanor', although it was a 1974 model.
 
  Quotes:
Calitri: I try to learn your ways, understand your obsessions.
  But this baseball, it's so bleedin' boring, isn't it? 

Calitri: I'm the arsehole who said I could deliver? Am I an arsehole?
  Do I look like an arsehole? 
Memphis: Yeah. 

   Video Clips:
Raines and Calitri  (6.9mb)
The car crusher  (4.9mb)
The last car is delivered  (6.4mb)
Calitri dies (6.2mb)


 
 
 

    
 

 
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