''Bandits'' is a 2001 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc. ...

directed by

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Levinson won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Rain Man'' (1988). His other best-known works are ''Diner'' (1982), '' The Natural'' (1984 ...

and written by Harley Peyton. It stars

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker, singer and songwriter. He received international attention after writing, directing and starring in the independent film, independent Drama (film and television), drama f ...

, and

Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...

. The film was released in theaters on October 12, 2001. It received mixed reviews, and Thornton and Blanchett's performances received critical praise. Thornton and Blanchett were nominated for

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

for Best Actor and Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, and Blanchett was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the

Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

Plot

Two friends and convicts, Joe and Terry, break out of

Oregon State Penitentiary Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), also known as Oregon State Prison, is a supermax, maximum security prison in the northwestern United States in Salem, Oregon. Originally opened in Portland, Oregon, Portland in 1851, it relocated to Salem f ...

in a concrete mixing truck and start a bank robbing spree, hoping to fund a dream they share. They become known as the "Sleepover Bandits" because of their ''

modus operandi A (often shortened to M.O. or MO) is an individual's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as . Term The term is often used in ...

'': they kidnap the manager of a target bank the night before a planned robbery, then spend the night with the manager's family; early the next morning, they accompany the manager to the bank to get their money. Using dim-witted would-be stunt man Harvey Pollard as their

getaway driver A crime scene getaway is the act of departing from the location where one has committed a crime. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of a c ...

and lookout, the three successfully pull off a series of robberies that gets them recognition on the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

's Ten Most Wanted list, and ultimately the reward for information leading to their capture is increased to $1 million. When Kate, a housewife with a failing marriage, decides to run away, she ends up in the hands of the criminals. Initially attracted to Joe, she also ends up in bed with Terry and a confused

love triangle A love triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with someone is simultaneo ...

begins. The three of them go on the lam and manage to pull off a few more robberies, but after a while the two begin to fight over Kate, and she decides to leave them. The two criminals then decide to pull off one last job. The story is told in flashbacks, framed by the story of the pair's last robbery of the Alamo Bank, as told by ''Criminals at Large'', a fictional

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

show, with which they taped an interview stating that Kate was only a hostage, not a participant. The show tells the story of their last job, which is known to be a failure when Kate tips off the police and the two are caught in the act. The two then begin to argue when Joe tells the police "You won't take us alive!" and the argument gets to the point where the two of them shoot each other dead. At the end of the film the real story behind the last job is revealed: Harvey used some of his special effects to make it seem as though Terry and Joe were shooting each other. Dressed as paramedics, Harvey and his girlfriend Claire then run in and place the stolen money, Terry, and Joe in body bags while Kate (who was in on the plan) distracts the police by pretending to pass out in shock upon seeing the "bodies". In the ambulance, Harvey used electronics to blow out his tires which sent the ambulance into a junkyard. Under his jumpsuit, Harvey was wearing a fire suit. He lit himself on fire and rigged a bomb to go off. Harvey, Claire, Terry, and Joe flee the scene, leading officials to believe that the bodies were burned beyond recognition. Kate receives the $1 million reward for having turned them in. Reunited, Joe, Terry, Harvey, and Kate make it to Mexico to live out their dream. The last scene shows Harvey and Claire getting married in Mexico and Kate kissing Joe and Terry passionately.

Cast

as Joe Blake *

as Terry Collins *

as Kate Wheeler * Troy Garity as Harvey Pollard *

Brían F. O'Byrne Brían Francis O'Byrne (born 16 May 1967) is an Irish actor who works and lives in the United States. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his role in the miniseries '' Mildred Pierce'' (2011) and won a BAFTA TV Award for his role in ...

as Darill Miller *

Stacey Travis Stacey Elaine Travis (born August 29, 1964) is an American actress. She has appeared in films ''Hardware (film), Hardware'' (1990), ''The Super (1991 film), The Super'' (1991), ''Only the Strong (film), Only the Strong'' (1993), ''Traffic (2000 fi ...

as Cloe Miller * Bobby Slayton as Darren Head * January Jones as Claire ("Pink Boots") * Azura Skye as Cheri Woods *

Peggy Miley Peggy Miley is an American actress and writer. She has played supporting roles in films such as ''Alice'', '' The Little Princess'', '' Bandits'', '' The Back-up Plan'', and '' Primary Colors''. She played Doris Driscoll in the Netflix series ''S ...

as Mildred Kronenberg * William Converse-Roberts as Charles Wheeler *

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. A prolific performer, he has appeared in over four hundred films, television shows and other projects, making him one of the most-credited live action performers. Life and career ...

as Lawrence Fife *

Micole Mercurio Micole Diana Mercurio (March 10, 1938 – January 19, 2016) was an American film and television actress and artist. Her film credits included the roles of Rosemary Szabo in '' Flashdance'' in 1983, Mrs. Kelly in '' Gleaming the Cube'' in 1989, ...

as Sarah Fife * Scott Burkholder as Wildwood Policeman * Anthony Burch as Phil * Sam Levinson as Billy Saunders * Scout LaRue Willis as Monica Miller * Tallulah Belle Willis as Erika Miller

Soundtrack

# "Long Way Home" – J.J. Cale # "All the Tired Horses" –

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

# " Gallows Pole" – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant # " Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum" –

# " Holding Out for a Hero" (written by

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

) –

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' and its ...

# " Twist in My Sobriety" – Tanita Tikaram # " Rudiger" –

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...

# "Just Another" –

Pete Yorn Peter Joseph Yorn (born July 27, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first gained international recognition after his debut record, '' Musicforthemorningafter'', was released to critical and commercial acclaim in 2001. He is ...

# " Walk On By" –

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

# " Superman (It's Not Easy)" –

Five for Fighting Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), also known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known for his piano-based soft rock, such as the top 40 hits " Superman (It's Not Easy)" ...

# "Crazy 'Lil Mouse" – In Bloom # " Just the Two of Us" –

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...

and Grover Washington Jr. # "Wildfire" –

Michael Martin Murphey Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was one of the founding artists of progressive country. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs (Michael Martin Murphey alb ...

# " Total Eclipse of the Heart" (written by

) –

# "Bandits Suite" –

Christopher Young Christopher Young (born April 28, 1958) is an American composer of Film score, film and television scores. Many of his compositions are for horror and thriller films, including ''Hellraiser'', ''Species (film), Species'', ''Urban Legend (film) ...

# " Beautiful Day" - U2 # "Kill The Rock" -

Mindless Self Indulgence Mindless Self Indulgence (often referred to as MSI) is an American electropunk band formed in New York City in 1997. Their music has a mixed style which includes punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno, industrial, hip hop, and b ...

# "The Chase" –

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 orig ...

# " Mustang Sally" – Bonny Rice # "" – Rubén Fuentes # " The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - Solomon Linda, Hugo Peretti, George Weiss and Luigi Creatore # "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" - Rudy Clark # "Wear it so Well" - Lucas Shine

Production

''Bandits'' was filmed at around 60 different locations in Oregon and California. Scenes were filmed in Oregon:

Broadway Bridge (Portland, Oregon) The Broadway Bridge is a Rall-type bascule bridge spanning the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, United States, built in 1913. It was Portland's first bascule bridge, and it continues to hold the distinction of being the lo ...

Lake Oswego Lake Oswego ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah and Washington County, Oregon, Washington counties ...

, Oregon City Silverton, and Salem, and

. Scenes were filmed in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Mill Valley Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mill Valley is lo ...

, San Anselmo, Tomales, and

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

, and Santa Rosa, Sebastapol,

Tomales Bay Tomales Bay is a long, narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County in northern California in the United States. Geography Tomales Bay is approximately long and averages nearly wide, with relatively shallow depths averaging 18 ft, eff ...

, Dillon Beach,

Bodega Bay Bodega Bay () is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa, California, S ...

, Nick's Cove, Point Montara Lighthouse,

Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Immediately north of Half Mo ...

, and Salinas. The series of taped interview flashbacks, by ''Criminals at Large'', a fictional

show, with show host ( Bobby Slayton) was filmed at the Sheats–Goldstein Residence.

Reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

assigned the film a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. '' Time Out'' wrote, "Despite a plot as old as the hills and a title that pitches for outlaw nostalgia, this is a reasonable hybrid, a character-led comic ramble along the highways and byways of genre - buddy pic,

heist film The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime films and the caper story, focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery. One of the early defining heist films was '' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), which ''Film G ...

, romance and

road movie A road movie is a film genre, genre of film in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the the ...

. Add light ''media satire'' and, with Levinson's emphasis on performance and dialogue, you have a higher-end studio project, albeit overlong and uneven, with a residue of indie spirit."

"Billy Bob Thornton stole the show in this film with a wonderfully funny physical performance and fine-tuned, consistent timing."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' gave the movie 2 stars out of possible 4, praising the main performances but criticizing the uneven tone, writing: "It's rare for a movie to have three such likable characters and be so unlikeable itself."

"Bruce Willis plays a walking smirk. Wait, that's unfair. He does other things too: He falls in love and gets his heart broken and dances in a tuxedo shirt under the pale blue glow of the moon. My favorite part is when he stands on a cliff and, framed by the lovely eye of cinematographer
Dante Spinotti Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC is an Italian cinematographer. He is known mostly for his collaborations with directors Michael Mann and Brett Ratner. He received Academy Award nominations for ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997) and ''The Insider'' (1999 ...
(''
Heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...
)'', fires bottle rockets (actually roman candles) over the Pacific Ocean (at Point Montara). It's my favorite because Willis plays a bank robber."

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film opened at #2, behind ''

Training Day ''Training Day'' is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer. It stars Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, two LAPD narcotics officers followed over a 24-hour period ...

'', earning $13 million. It beat out other newcomer '' Corky Romano'' by just over four million dollars. The film grossed $67.6 million worldwide, against a budget of $75 million. Another report suggests a budget of $80 million, with domestic Box Office of $41,575,141 and overseas Box Office of $26,056,762.

Home media

''Bandits'' was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

on April 2, 2002. On March 22, 2016, the film was released on Blu-ray.

Legacy

In 2007 in New York, five men were prosecuted and convicted for crimes imitative of this film's plot.

References

External links