The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Grand Slam
Crime · Thriller · 1967
Professor James Anders is a seemingly mild-mannered teacher, an American working in Rio De Janeiro. Anders, bored with years of teaching, decides to put together a team to pull off a diamond heist during the Rio Carnival. Four international experts are brought together to carry out the robbery: a safe cracking expert, a master thief, a mechanical genius, and a playboy.
Movie details
Grand Slam
“These men are in... for the crime of their lives.”
1967 Crime · Thriller 2h 1m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.1 / 10
Community rating
Professor James Anders is a seemingly mild-mannered teacher, an American working in Rio De Janeiro. Anders, bored with years of teaching, decides to put together a team to pull off a diamond heist during the Rio Carnival. Four international experts are brought together to carry out the robbery: a safe cracking expert, a master thief, a mechanical genius, and a playboy.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Grand Slam?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Now You See Me: Now You Don't
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The original Four Horsemen reunite with a new generation of illusionists to take on powerful diamond heiress Veronika Vanderberg, who leads a criminal empire built on money laundering and trafficking. The new and old magicians must overcome their differences to work together on their most ambitious heist yet.
Robbery
Crime · 1967
In this fictionalised account of the Great Train Robbery, career criminal Paul Clifton plans an audacious crime: the robbery of a mail train carrying millions in cash.
Flawless
Crime · 2007
A female executive and a night janitor conspire to commit a daring diamond heist from their mutual employer, The London Diamond Corporation.
Odds Against Tomorrow
Crime · 1959
An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.
Stolen: Heist of the Century
Documentary · 2025
Antwerp, 2003. A gang of thieves rob the impenetrable Diamond Center. Who was behind one of the world's biggest heists - and how did they pull it off?
The Asphalt Jungle
Crime · 1950
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
Deception
Thriller · 2008
As a corporate auditor who works in a number of different offices, Jonathan McQuarry wanders without an anchor among New York's power brokers. A chance meeting with charismatic lawyer Wyatt Bose leads to Jonathan's introduction to The List, an underground sex club. Jonathan begins an affair with a woman known only as S, who introduces Jonathan to a world of treachery and murder.
Man on a Ledge
Action · 2012
An ex-cop turned con threatens to jump to his death from a Manhattan hotel rooftop. The NYPD dispatch a female police psychologist to talk him down. However, unbeknownst to the police on the scene, the suicide attempt is a cover for the biggest diamond heist ever pulled.
The Wilby Conspiracy
Adventure · 1975
Having spent 10 years in prison for nationalist activities, Shack Twala is finally ordered released by the South African Supreme Court but he finds himself almost immediately on the run after a run-in with the police. Assisted by his lawyer Rina Van Niekirk and visiting British engineer Jim Keogh, he heads for Capetown where he hopes to recover a stash of diamonds, meant to finance revolutionary activities, that he had entrusted to a dentist before his incarceration. Along the way, they are followed by Major Horn of the South African State security bureau and it becomes apparent that he has no intention of arresting them until they reach their final destination
The Hot Rock
Crime · 1972
Dortmunder and his pals plan to steal a huge diamond from a museum. But this turns out to be only the first time they have to steal it...
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Giuliano Montaldo
Written by
Paolo Bianchini · Mino Roli · Augusto Caminito · Marcello Fondato
Janet Leigh
Mary Ann
Robert Hoffmann
Jean-Paul Audry
Klaus Kinski
Erich Weiss
Riccardo Cucciolla
Agostino Rossi
George Rigaud
Gregg Hutchinson
Adolfo Celi
Mark Milford
Edward G. Robinson
Prof. James Anders
Court is in session
Put Grand Slam on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.