Of course I’d seen the movie - once - years ago, and although I enjoyed it at the time, I never really thought about it again until a few things happened all at once this year. The first was when The Italian Job was released as a video game. Now I thought this was a fantastic idea as it combined your usual driving game with a plot based around the movie, a really funny Michael Caine dialogue courtesy of excellent impersonator Phil Cornwell, and a unique set of cars including a limousine, a Jaguar and - of course - the Mini Cooper.

Then one day the Mr Men were relaxing in the FFL sauna, smoking cigars and drinking Absinthe, talking about the greatest car chases ever committed to celluloid, when the discussion got around to The Italian Job. And that was it. My mind started wandering. I was starting sentences with "Well…" in a Cockney accent (incidentally, the first rule of talking Cockney is to replace all Ls with Ws), I was looking out for Minis on the roads, and I couldn’t get the theme tune (the annoyingly catchy "Self Preservation Society") out of my head. I even downloaded it into my mobile phone. Then Christmas happened, and my nea

Which brings us to the almost triumphant finish. The prisoners are applauding Mr Bridger. The gold is unloaded and the Minis dumped over cliff edges. Everyone in the coach is celebrating. But then there is a tight corner, a few skids, some slippery gravel… and a classic final scene. A real cliffhanger and one of the best closing lines ever: "Hang on lads, I’ve got a great idea. Err, err…"

You don't need me to tell you the movie is filled with outstanding moments and already you are probably thinking of the red, white and blue Minis speeding around Italy in a fine example of breath taking choreography - if Busby Berkeley ever drove a Mini, he couldn't have done shot it better.

While such broad strokes stick in the mind, it's the fine nuances that leave most of us giggling into our liquorice allsorts.

It was written by Troy Kennedy Martin, one of the most talented scriptwriters of his generation who also gave the world TV drama Edge of Darkness - for which we should be truly grateful.

Some topics in this essay:
Cue Minis, Preservation Society, Italian Job, Michael Caine, Handl I'nt, Robert Redford, England Mini’s, Land Rover, Noel Coward, Remy Julienne, michael caine, italian job, noel coward, self preservation, self preservation society, preservation society, gold unloaded minis, traffic jam, video game, bullion heist, traffic lights, oh yes, charlie croker michael, red white blue, croker michael caine,