He has done some storming movies... and more than a few stinkers too.

Zulu is one of my favourite flicks of all time, with very honourable mentions to the Man who would be King and the whole Harry Palmer series... and of course The Italian Job and Get Carter are classics (not those travesty remakes I hasten to add).

Who can forget his role in "The Swarm"? "Get .. inside .. the .. killer ... bees ... are ... coming".

Or the 1980's remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels?

DRS was pure genius. And that was back when Steve Martin was actually funny.

Look I said before Michael did the Swarm for the swimming pool and conservetory extention.
Money not art.
It's always better if the two come together, but let's not begrudge him a stinker of a "Little Earner" or two in his long career eh!

I liked the Harry Palmer movies most of all. Caine played about a bit with the anonymous character in the Len Deighton novels on which the films were based (the Deighton books are also great fun and I like his non-fiction, too).

As for the Italian Job, it is so full of glorious non-PC material, including a windup on the European Union, that it has to be on a list of any Samizdata regular!

Noel Coward (as Mr Bridger): "Last night Mr Governor, my toilet was brrrroken into".

Governor (John le Mesurer): "Toilet?"

Coward: "Toilet. There are some things, that to an Englishmen, are sacred"

Governor: "Well I am most awfully sorry."

Coward: The purpose of a prison is not just to keep people in, but to keep people out. You are an example of the slack, unimanigative management that is driving this country onto the rocks."

Genius.

I remeber a movie called "Water" that he starred in. I remember enjoying it, but it was a while ago and I can't remember the specifics -- sometimes if I re-watch something I thought was great I end up wondering what I thinking.