What Heist Movies Taught Me About Filmmaking

A video about heist movies, Steven Soderbergh, Robert Rodriguez, and me.
Elsie the Intern's channel bit.ly/2MBoIna
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[@patrickhwillems]

Okay...what's the best heist movie ever made?

[@obidable1328]

Patrick (H) Willems The white Chair by Martin Granton

[@luizLPMCR]

Inside Man

[@scottpatonlevin2686]

Rififi

[@Ganondward]

Fast Five?

[@porcupineracer2]

I liked Heat a lot. Does that count?

[@TheSalts]

I can''t wait for your deep thoughts on the Spy Kids trilogy

[@Stark-Raving]

I think you mean quadrilogy

[@TheSalts]

We don't speak of Spy Kids 4

[@liquidamusica]

loved this thread

[@theaddictofgaming9174]

@@TheSalts why not? It's great.

[@lord_vwphaeton1883]

@@theaddictofgaming9174 You mean so bad it's good?? Nope. It's not good. Not even in that way...

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

I love the Ocean's trilogy so much. I am very pleased by this great metaphorical journey into the heist film. Thank you.

[@J3nLai]

except the 12.

[@998clan]

Don Cheadles English accent tho :/

[@runnysmokey4765]

forgot about hobbit 1-3, best heist movie all time i mean they steal gold from Smieg

[@UmbrellaGent]

*Smaug

[@cartervandenberg4771]

*smegma

[@marcofranck3014]

Smeagol*

[@motor4X4kombat]

a heist movie that tries to hard to be a lord of the rings wannabe despite being in the same universe from lord of the rings..... is really that hard to make a single side film like ant-man in an universe were big events like civil war or infinity war exist? why marvel is the only one that knows how to do this while other studios fail miserable at this?

[@runnysmokey4765]

motor4X4kombat smerg is like Terry Benedict and thorin is like Danny ocean

[@JD43232]

Ocean's 11 (2001) i can watch over and over because of how it is shot, acting, story, colour palets. such a slick cool movie with style. and the cast is awesome

[@mellowmelee5024]

The Mission Impossible heists are probably my favorite. When you have a great team, you have to trust them to do their job. Unless you hired a double agent or someone wearing a ridiculously convincing mask.

[@ajerqureshi6411]

Even Ghost Protocol covered the idea pretty well as pretty much all the high-tech gadgets featured in the film either didn't work, had an obvious flaw in them, and every attempt at improvising usually lead to yet another problem. But as stated by Ethan Hunt, the one thing that worked effectively was the team.

[@mskcrc]

@@ajerqureshi6411 My least favorite part of the most recent reboot (Ghost Protocol onward) was when Ethan has the tracker injected into him, and goes on that crazy chase sequence, only to disappear into a manhole and magically land in his teammates' awaiting boat. What a silly deus ex machina that was, even if it's set up with the "we injected you with the tracker so we can find you later" mechanic. Just silly, bad writing.

[@daredevil6145]

@@mskcrc It was *Fallout*

[@loganchapman1345]

Would you count the fantastic Mr. Fox as a heist film

[@asghr9885]

DEATHSTROKE621, Most Definitely

[@sunsetman22]

and it also has Clooney in it

[@ripconman4265]

I get it for inception, but I just can't endorse the broader idea of heist movies as metaphors for filmmaking. Gathering a group of highly specialized individuals and organizing them to perform a single feat is called "doing a group project," and can therefore be analagous to the making or accomplishing of any moderately complicated thing or task. Making a film is one of many such tasks, but it's very presumptuous to assume that all heist films refer to that one task. Each film requires something beyond this basic structure to prove that they are analagous to whatever it is that makes filmmaking unique from other projects that require teams of specialists. I don't know enough to speak to what those unique qualities may be, but inception is the only one of these movies that I can personally buy as intentionally covering that ground.

[@eugenepoon]

Logan Lucky's writer is very likely a pseudonym and is Soderbergh himself. Her IMDB page is pretty much a blank slate aside from Logan Lucky.

[@jamesroulstonmooney759]

Eugene Poon he did the same thing with High Flying Bird

[@ronocgrrl]

If a heist film is a metaphor for filmmaking, what does a heist film where the characters fail represent or Reservoir Dogs where the heist isn’t shown and consists of the aftermath of a heist represent. I feel this video could be a very good thesis to many branching paths

[@amsheel9921]

ronocentertains maybe it represents that a single screwup can derail the whole film (e.g. bad editing, bad cinematography, etc). Or it could mean that it failed because of external influence (studio interference).

[@tatehildyard5332]

Or it could be that Tarantino just came up with a way to subvert the heist genre in a way that kept location costs low.

[@ronocgrrl]

Tate Hildyard i mean that is the case but where’s the fun in that

[@theshawshankinception1220]

In the Inception Shooting Script Book, his brother Jonathan asks Christopher Nolan if that’s what he was doing. Nolan said he had not thought about that while making it.

[@extremeanimationstudios1118]

You should post your thesis film!!! I’d love to see it!

[@tq1238]

It's interesting to see a video where you talk about the process, since you were actively talking about the process while making the video. It's as if it was intended. Also, another thing that is really interesting is the fact that your closing statements are that people need to collaborate and delegate. That's the same advice Taylor Ramos, Tony Zhou's collaborator for Every Frame A Painting, gave on the article where she and Tony where discussing their process. This is what she said : "There’s a common myth in the arts - the lone genius, usually a man, creating everything by himself. For the most part, neither of us has found it to be completely true. Look up most cases of a lone genius, and you’ll find a footnote about some unacknowledged helper. Here’s how we work: Tony usually researches, writes and edits alone. But I do everything else: I edit every draft, watch every version, watch all the clips, do the flash cards, and build the thesis. I am the first and last audience that sees everything before it goes out. And the closest description we’ve ever come up with is that he is the editor, and I am the editor’s editor. If you look at the picture below, you’ll see Tony edited version 1 of the Chuck Jones video by himself. Then we worked together for 7 days to create version 7 (the final). The yellow boxes are the only parts that stayed the same, and even those sections got moved around." Link to the picture, which is "Tony's first draft of the edit compared with their mutual final draft" : cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1000/1*1SQVsZ5ooG6IKTkh-L-jAQ.jpeg "But most of all throughout this process, I’m a sounding board. Tony and I often build a thesis by arguing the points with each other. Except for a handful of videos, that has basically been our process for three years. We’re not saying that this system will work for everyone, but having two sets of eyes has worked really well for us."

[@djnosleeves85]

Patrick your are officially the Vsauce of movie style break downs 🙏

[@ishbanyadav]

*Wow, this was pure enlightenment*

[@federicorodriguez1886]

On this theme or heist movies as metaphors for flim production, I have to recommend you something. Los Simuladores (The Simulators). It's an Argentinian TV show, from the early 2000s. It's very low budget for American standards, BUT, it's incredibly well executed. The show runner /creator is the director for Wild Tales (also an Argentinaian film, but this is from a couple of years ago, and it had international recognition). About Los Simuladores: on each episode a person with a problem (be it, a kid that is about to flunk a test, or the president with marital problems), comes to the Simuladores for help. They are 4 men with individual skills (and charming personalities) that craft a "simulation" in real life to solve the problem of the person. And yeah, it's pretty much about film-making and the power of fiction to change people for the better.

[@ryanlane3225]

This might be my favorite of your videos so far, which is crazy cause I thought you could never hit my heart like the Paddington vid did. But you’ve done it again. Rock on man.

[@DanPurcell]

I love that not only did you psychoanalyze the work of Rodriguez and Soderbergh, but also your own work. I think that's indicative of how fabulous of a storyteller you are -- the conclusions you arrive at are more fundamental to you than the external questions you pose to filmmakers you admire -- great storytelling work on both yours and Elsie's parts in this video! :D

[@ChristopherPolack]

I respect your own honesty about collaborating.

[@WorldWideWong]

I think the TRUE point of this video was to explain why Shark Boy and Lava Girl is the best heist movie of all time! lol jks. don't @ me

[@NadellaYT]

I agree

[@endlessvoid7952]

Joking or not, you're not wrong...

[@chrisoffersen]

Really glad I subscribed to this channel

[@corbinbishop1991]

Awesome video Patrick. I wish they showed stuff like this in film school. Very informative and in depth, loved it!

[@MrFreshmaker]

I loved this one Patrick! I stepped into making movies last year. And of course I do it for the love of cinema en making great stories. But there is also the reason that I too have problems with collaboration and with movie making you have to collaborate. I force myself now working with different people and learn to trust them. And also thanks for this video, because I learned a little bit more about Soderbergh.

[@Silverdude001]

What I love most about your videos is that, unlike most video essays (which often are a fifteen minute execution of the thesis in the video title) I have no idea to what places you will take me when I click on the title.

[@Memo2Self]

I love "Topkapi," John Woo's "Once A Thief," and the opening of "Return of the Pink Panther," but I'd also say that the episode of "Mission: Impossible" where the cat was used to steal the jade figure was one of the most thrilling - and beautifully-plotted - heist stories I've ever seen.

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

That Au Claire de Lune piano at the end was brilliant.

[@uptown3636]

Great video! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Tom Cruise Runs a Marathon. I mean Mission: Impossible.

[@TheBeird]

I guess Alita Battle Angel will show if Rodriguez got his ambition back or not. Those big eyes though . . .

[@illegalblade517]

“Cristopher Nolan’s BWAAAAAHHHHH”

[@taxibullheat]

Your parents are great. You are great. Your whole team is great.

[@nerosine9]

Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it. - Bruce Lee

[@deninakonecni9039]

Great structure to the video Patrick. Refreshing flow without it feeling disjointed or schizophrenic.

[@lucainvernizzi9715]

Getting the right people and doing something while sharing responsabilities is a metaphore for half of the stuff humans do, tho...

[@Fyrtenheimer]

Yep! A lot of things you're able to do day-by-day are because there were millions+ people involved to make that happen. Driving, buying food, buying supplies, walking at the park, acquiring your pet, living in a house, etc.

[@coalsgrey3484]

It's almost like this video praising non-pretentious directors is immensely pretentious.

[@TheTonyCostaShow]

Hey man your videos are fascinating!

[@FarhanH1]

Great video Patrick. Loved the heart and personal touch to it.

[@mastajdawg]

I'm really digging the new material guys. keep it up!!!

[@TK_Brainslug]

great video as usual, when you said one man film making team I loled so hard. And the ending hilarious

[@hellojari07]

its hard to work as team, but thats when the best things get done

[@DaveKatague]

As a one man band who’s been stung so many times with horrible collaborators I can truly feel your beliefs behind your decisions 😂

[@christophersykora3601]

My favorite video of yours. Fantastic!

[@collinsmith7078]

Thanks for another great video Patrick!

[@MarioScott]

So that’s why I love heist movies.

[@tubesomething]

If heist movies are really about a director filming a movie, then who are the main characters in films like Baby Driver and Drive, where they're usually not involved in making the plan but are pivotal to the success, and are always smart and aloof? Could it be... film critics?

[@jarrettfinney4882]

Let me just say, I genuinely appreciate your ability to learn. Like you make me look at myself and think “hmm, maybe I don’t pay as much to my situation anymore and try to learn from it.” Which causes me to make a concentrated effort to do so. So thank you! It really helps a lot!

[@jrrthompson1996]

Woah wait you went to Oberlin? I toured that place in like 11th grade, that's actually pretty cool!

[@charlesjurgus]

Hey, my house-mate attended Oberlin! Also, for a great book about our society and the value and developing a method of collaboration... check out the book, Radical Man, by Charles Hampden-Turner. An image from the cover of one of the paperback publications of which, I swear, was referenced in the movie, Children of Men.

[@Locadel2003]

The score & heist 2001 are brilliant underrated heist movies. Also the town & Italian job from 2003 are very good. And Going in style was hilarious. Point break & die hard with a vengeance are both excellent fun movies but they aren’t totally heist movies. Oceans 11 is still my favourite

[@3333218]

But that's exactly what making any piece involving group work is! You're missing the forest for the trees on that one.

[@draganlazarus]

WoooW such a great vid

[@elstcman5]

This is one of the most important videos you've made. It's so personal and so real. As a fellow do-it-aller, the clarity you gave to the "fantasy" of collaboration means so much. It's that longing, coming from a place of mistrust in collaboration, which makes the team heist so beautiful to see.

[@rakseiify]

sorry but I can't take my eyes out of the largest geico billboard... it's like a mesmerizing, nice little yellow-blue spot on your overly lightgray-green-brown background, which i think is perfectly composed that way though.

[@ServosFLyingCircus]

I was like "I recognize that Science building" and then you said you went to Oberlin...

[@csblakeley]

Best Heist films: Ocean's 11, The Spanish Prisoner. Oh but have you seen Leverage, the best heist TV show?

[@Charmedsas1]

Tyler Perry be like : "i don't know what you're talking about"

[@ThinlySlicedFilms]

Excellent video, loved it.

[@philiplbc]

Great video! I thought the "it's [year] and I'm [something]" was an interesting framing device and it made me think of Watchmen. I think that's the only Snyder movie I like. Can you make a video on Snyder?

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

I'm glad that this was a beautiful video, or I'd have to drop you like 3rd-period French.

[@jessicajginting]

The second you mentioned the metaphor my brain just went !!! I definitely got that lightbulb reaction you had in 2009, and now everything makes (so much better) sense

[@FEARisCOLD]

Out of sight, such an underrated movie.

[@bfedits4439]

You deserve more subscribers than what you have

[@cmbaz1140]

digital effects in media are like spice in cooking...

[@MarkAhlquist]

Everything's a sport!

[@punggung666]

Does the Doctor Manhattan style of flashback have a name? I get that feeling a lot here.

[@andyoftheyear]

Love your videos where can I find your shorts?

[@charliec8029]

Isn't a group of people with individual skills working to make one thing work just every business. . .

[@seand9844]

“is Christopher Nolan’s Incep-" *BWAAAAAAAAA*

[@jm82337]

Feel like the analogy for the beginning of your film career was a heist movie with people who were incompetent liabilities. Teamwork isn't helpful in those cases. It's like 1+ (-1)=0. But collaboration with competent teammates enables synergy so that 1+1=3 (greater than the sum of its parts if that makes twisted sense). Bottom line: find the right collaborators (competent ones).

[@shonjones7231]

Every Mission Impossible episode is about team work. The movies are very different.

[@TheLockon00]

Love Soderbergh. Ocean's 12 is my favorite of the trilogy. No regrets.

[@HugitoAfilms]

You son of a bitch. I’m in.

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

It's so good to see your old love for Rodriguez that you expressed in the The Faculty episode coming back in this epic life story.

[@GharunLacyMusic]

Ha, those flaky composers. Check me out if you are looking for one that won't "flake"......plus I like scoring punching and shooting.

[@ajerqureshi6411]

I think heists movies are actually a pretty solid genre to start with when you start filmmaking. I mean, aside from the points made here about how close of a metaphor heists are to the filmmaking process, heist movies in generally have a very solid blueprint of conventions and guidelines everybody can recognize and also do on the cheap if necessary. You have a goal (often a precious jewel or painting or large amounts of money), you have a group of people trying to accomplish that goal, and you have several things that could go wrong the characters need to overcome. And its easy to make unique and original, with many things the characters can try to steal, many locations you can use, security systems/obstacles. Heck if you're really clever you can combine the heist with a completely different genre.

[@AustinIuliano]

I think Patrick should make a badge or pin that says "I got punch/shot in a Patrick Willems movie."

[@austinschollaert6424]

Great video! One of your best in a while

[@encryptedwolf7623]

I LOVE heist movies!!!

[@Tempus0ptic]

They should make a heist movie where the security guards are SO good at doing their jobs they make the professional robbers look like incompetent amateurs. Because heist movies always looks at things from the thieves point of view, but never the guards. It's basically kinda like a parody of heist movies where they point out all the plot holes and unrealistic scenarios that can go down when pulling off a crime with so many complexities.

[@9930527194]

The ego on this guy what bubble is he living in . X acclaimed dir does stuff like I do . Then why we don't see any of your creditble acclaimed movies .

[@ryanmccurdy9423]

This is my second time watching this and now I realizes this was subconsciously ,consciously or coincidentally inspired by Doc Manhattan in Watchmen in how its told.

[@jblue1622]

And a very successful Heist (film) could have your team walking away with a Billion dollars

[@mr.universe250]

This video is a process just like heist movie. I give you credit for keeping CGI to a minimum and being the lead actor and director at the same time. You are a genius.

[@jimslav6973]

Collaboration is overrated. You got here because you didn't depend on anybody. People consistently fail you unless they have your passion... which is RARE.

[@AriefLeuvenardi]

The classic Mission: Impossible TV series are essentially heist stories. The team was a bunch skills actors, a muscle man (like a stuntman), and an engineer/ electronic expert (like vfx specialist). So there you go...

[@Evan-nx9ng]

Patrick grew up at ocean

[@drakenfist]

Wait a second..so if a Heist movie is about the process of film making.....what does that make that spanish show "la casa de papel/Money Heist"..the day to day process of film making?...mind blown!.

[@NessJr]

Elsie is cute and has a nice voice. I will check her channel. But besides that your video came just when I needed it. I have been recently promoted (with no salary raise which sounds like slavery with extra steps) and I am having difficulties with having people under my supervision. I just had a panic attack in the middle of the day, in the office, surrounded by all my co-workers, and fortunately I just screamed and cried internally, like you are suppose to. Soddenberg is right, nothing good comes from panic, and collaborating is a skill worth having

[@jamoralesfla]

I'm not a fan of Rodriguez the last 20 years, but I understand why filmmakers admire him so much. However, the fact that most of this video focuses on Soderbergh is hilarious, since all of his heist films are basically ripoffs of Guy Ritchie's formula. I'm just saying.

[@segamble1679]

Maybe I'm overthinking this because I watch too many of your videos, but what's with the multiple locations/sets, and styles in this video? Not a criticism, seriously, I assume you do everything for a reason, and this video has been on my brain all day because of this. Am I missing some sneaky underlying personal commentary???? What have you done to me Patrick???

[@samuelbarber6177]

The 1969 film, The Italian Job also makes the whole ‘heist as a metaphor filmmaking’ thing clear in a scene where the main character literally has a pitch to present to a potential investor. He even says “The Americans’ll buy it, they can recognise young talent.”

[@michaelbalson]

I don't feel your central premise - that Heist Movies are about the film making process - lands at all. I think you could make that comparison to any other profession that involves team work and collaboration between multi-skilled workers to get a job done.... Everything from construction workers to office workers fit that bracket.

[@petitio_principii]

People are very apt at finding those "metaphors" when they're really finding are their own analogies. It makes it feel more cool if things have layers of hidden meanings, but Occam's razor suggests that the simpler explanation is the preferable one, that is, most commercial movies won't have deep metaphors resulting from the industrial writing-by-committee process.

[@jimmyboyle3543]

“Heist movies are metaphors for filmmaking.” Me slightly high and making all those connections at once after hearing it: “Woah...”

[@blokey8]

So by extension Rogue One's heist could be said to be about how every new Star Wars film bar TLJ got made. You go in without any real plan but with people who are mostly very good at their jobs, wing it the entire way whilst changing tack at several points and essentially succeed... but make a colossal mess and leave a trail of discarded casualties along the way.

[@zandyzain6241]

AcTuaLLy,....... JK Oceans Eleven is a remake too

[@kennethfegley7552]

And I always thought The Prestige was Nolan's movie about filmmaking. Hmm

[@andreyparente9610]

Dude, where can i see your movies? like, i'm from Brazil and not from São Paulo or Rio.

[@Treblaine]

Does Die Hard count? Die Hard is an example of the Anti-Heist film, it is all about an extremely elaborate plan where the best of the best are brought in to pull off an impossible task except they aren't the protagonists, the real protagonist is not an ex-special forces, he's hasn't got a plan, he doesn't have special skills, but he has guts, he has sheer will and he's invested far more in success.

[@tezzag818]

Have you seen the Spanish series La Casa De Papel (Money Heist) which is wonderful. They commit a heist in the Spanish Mint.

[@elasticharmony]

I love heist films, and think you could be right; once upon a time they had to end in failure but today they always succeed. Similar to digital equipment and web education, films are allowed to be made correctly before not.

[@henriklarsen8193]

I am pretty sure D B Cooper worked alone. Not a heist MOVIE, of course, but heists clearlyt do not need a team, and if the Beage oys and the aton brothers have taught me anything, it is that each new member is one more chance of having an idiot on board. #oreverAloneIsNotheorstThig