The Self Preservation Society

Book excerpt: This year marks the 50th anniversary of the British cult classic movie The Italian Job. This landmark anniversary presents a unique opportunity to celebrate the film with a coffee table book packed full of images, insights and revelations. Loaded with Sixties swagger, and famed for its endlessly quotable dialogue and one of the most impressive car chases in movie history, The Italian Job is the ultimate celebration of ‘cool Britannia’. From the opening sequence of Rossano Brazzi gliding through the Alps in an orange Lamborghini Miura, to the high-speed getaway across the city of Turin in three Mini Coopers, The Italian Job is a petrolhead's dream. The Self Preservation Society will detail how all these cars, including the Aston Martin DB4 and E-Type Jaguars were found and ultimately where they are today. Over the last 20 years, author Matthew Field he has interviewed all the key people involved in the 1969 production. Through him, their stories are revealed, often for the first time. Based on more than 50 in-depth interviews with the cast and crew, and lavishly illustrated with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and production documents, this definitive book will explode some myths, include a few revelations and tell the fascinating full story of this perennially popular movie.