''The Big Heist'' is a 2001

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Robert Markowitz Robert Markowitz (born February 7, 1935, in Irvington, New Jersey) is an American film and television director. He directed episodes of ''Serpico'' (1976), '' Delvecchio'' (1976-1977), and ''Amazing Stories'' (1986), and a number of television ...

and written by Jere Cunningham and Gary Hoffman. The film, based on the 1986 non-fiction book ''The Heist'' by Ernest Volkman and John Cummings, tells the story of the 1978

Lufthansa heist The Lufthansa heist was a robbery at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 11, 1978. An estimated $5.875 million (equivalent to $ million in ) was stolen, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, ma ...

. It is a co-production of the United States and Canada, and stars

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films ''Citizen X'' (1995) an ...

, John Heard, Jamie Harris, and

Janet Kidder Janet Kidder (born 1972) is a Canadian actress known for her role of Osyraa in '' Star Trek: Discovery''. Biography Janet Kidder is the daughter of John Kidder and the niece of actress Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 ...

. It aired on A&E on June 10, 2001.

Plot

Based on the 1986 book ''The Heist: How a Gang Stole $8,000,000 at Kennedy Airport and Lived to Regret It'', the film tells the story about the 1978

Cast

as Jimmy Burke * John Heard as Richard Woods * Jamie Harris as Frankie Burke *

as Maria *

Nick Sandow Nick Sandow (born August 3, 1966) is an American actor, writer, producer and director, best known for his role as Joe Caputo in ''Orange Is the New Black''. Early life Of Italian descent, Sandow grew up in the Italian neighborhood of Van Nest i ...

Henry Hill Henry Hill Jr. (June 11, 1943 – June 12, 2012) was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testif ...

Michael P. Moran Michael Patrick Moran (February 8, 1944 – February 4, 2004) was an American actor and playwright. Life and career Moran was born in Yuba City, California, but his family moved frequently because his father was a United States Army officer. Wh ...

as Louis the Whale, inspired by Louis Cafora *

Joe Pingue Joe Pingue is a Canadian actor and film maker. Early life Pingue was born and raised in St. Catharines, Ontario. He attended Ridley College for both elementary and high school, and studied theatre at York University. While attending Ridley Coll ...

as Martin Krugman *Bo Rucker as Parnell "Stacks" Edwards *

Rocco Sisto Rocco Sisto (born February 18, 1953) is an Italian-American stage, film, television and voice actor. Early life Sisto was born on February 18, 1953 in Bari, Italy, and moved to Addison, Illinois at an unknown age. He attended and graduated Addis ...

as Tommy DeSimone *Robert Morelli as

Angelo Sepe The Lufthansa heist was a robbery at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 11, 1978. An estimated $5.875 million (equivalent to $ million in ) was stolen, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, ma ...

*Joe Maruzzo as Paolo Falcone, inspired by Paolo LiCastri *Gino Marrocco as Paulie Vario *

Sam Coppola Sam Coppola (July 31, 1932 – February 5, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in almost 70 films, beginning in 1968, but may be best remembered for his role as Dan Fusco, owner of the hardware and paint store in ''Saturday Night Fever'', wh ...

Paul Castellano Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985), was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. Castellano was killed in an unsanctioned hit on December 16, 1985. Early life Cast ...

*Steven Randazzo as

John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 (, ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambino boss ...

*Craig Eldridge as Agent Billings

Production

Similar projects

The heist was also the subject of the much better-known 1990 film ''

Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' Wis ...

'', directed by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

, and of the 1991 made-for-television film, ''The 10 Million Dollar Getaway''. Filming took place in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Historical context

Although the movie correctly depicts the

, showing Jimmy Burke as the leader of a crew linked to Paulie Vario, the crew wasn't part of the Gambino family as depicted, but rather was a large part of the

Lucchese crime family The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as ...

, and the robbery brought a large quantity of funding for Tony Corallo. The film depicts Burke as an Irish immigrant, speaking with a strong Irish accent; he was in fact born and raised in the United States. Although Burke did have connections with

, Gotti was never involved with the Lufthansa heist nor did he want to be a part of it. According to a rumour, on an

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

wire tap from the 1980s years after the original heist, Gotti was heard to say to

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The underbo ...

and his capo

Aniello Dellacroce Aniello John "Neil" Dellacroce (March 15, 1914 – December 2, 1985) was an American mobster and underboss of the Gambino crime family. He rose to the position of underboss when Carlo Gambino moved Joseph Biondo aside. Dellacroce was a mentor to ...

: "I didn't want any part of that shit that Burke and those other fucks pulled. Only micks would do something crazy like this. Micks are fucking crazy; end of fucking statement". It was also alleged by Hill, in Hill's book ''

The Lufthansa Heist ''The Lufthansa Heist: Behind the Six-Million-Dollar Cash Haul That Shook the World'' is a non-fiction book written by Daniel Simone in collaboration with Henry Hill. It was published by Lyons Press, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield, on August ...

'', that John Gotti personally killed Tommy DeSimone, a member of the stick-up team.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Heist 2001 films 2001 crime drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s heist films A&E (TV network) original films Alliance Atlantis films American docudrama films American drama television films American films based on actual events American heist films Canadian docudrama films Canadian drama television films Canadian films based on actual events Canadian heist films Crime films based on actual events Crime television films Cultural depictions of Paul Castellano Cultural depictions of John Gotti Drama films based on actual events English-language Canadian films Films about the American Mafia Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Robert Markowitz Films set in 1978 Films set in New York City Films shot in Toronto Lufthansa heist Television films based on actual events Television films based on books 2000s American films Canadian gangster films