Jan 2 2020

How Safecracking Works

58 min 10 movies discussed
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Burglars have come up with a whole range of ways to get into a safe. There’s lock manipulation – methodically testing the dial to coax the combination from it – and if that fails you can always blow it open with nitroglycerin. Both count as safecracking.

AI Summary

# Summary

Join Josh and Chuck as they dive deep into the fascinating world of safe cracking, exploring everything from how combination locks actually work to the legendary safe technicians who've mastered the art of breaking into them without leaving a trace. They discuss famous safecrackers like Harry C. Miller and the methods used by professionals—from the Hollywood version involving stethoscopes to the reality of drilling, manipulation, and other techniques that take way longer than any movie scene suggests. Along the way, they chat about favorite safe-cracking movie scenes and Josh shares his recent thumb injury that's making him appreciate just how many everyday tasks require opposable digits.


Movies Discussed

Bad Santa
Bad Santa
2003 1h 32m
★ 6.6
"Favorite save cracking movie is Bad Santa. — Chuck identifies Bad Santa as his favorite safe cracking movie." — Chuck
Die Hard
Die Hard
1988 2h 12m
★ 7.8
"A diehard is as far as save cracking goes, that had its own subplot, but that's not my favorite save cracking movie. — Chuck discusses Die Hard as a movie featuring safe cracking, though he clarifies it's not his favorite safe cracking film." — Chuck
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
1996 1h 51m
★ 7.0
"I feel like I've seen that in like a mission impossible or something. Surely we have. Where you shine a black light and you see like the thumb print or the fingerprint or whatever on the combination. — Josh references Mission: Impossible as an example of using black light to reveal fingerprints on keypads." — Josh
Out of Sight
Out of Sight
1998 R 2h 3m
★ 6.7
"I also was reminded when you were talking about the ways to crack in, that great scene and out of sight when they finally find the safe just raise their pistols up to shoot at it. — Josh references a scene from Out of Sight where characters shoot at a safe." — Josh
Predator
Predator
1987 1h 47m
★ 7.5
"I thought you were talking about that wheel gun they had in Predator that Jesse Ventura had. Remember that one? Was it a Gatlin gun? — Josh references the famous Gatling gun scene from Predator starring Jesse Ventura." — Josh
Sexy Beast
Sexy Beast
2024
★ 6.4
"Sexy Beast is hard to beat. It's a great movie. I don't recall the safe cracking in it though. — Josh praises Sexy Beast as having an imaginative underwater heist scene for safe cracking." — Josh
The Limey
The Limey
1999 R 1h 29m
★ 6.5
"I just saw The Limey. Oh, that's right. Great movie, huh? That was great, man. — Josh mentions watching The Limey and Chuck confirms it was a great film." — Josh
The Ocean's 11 Story
The Ocean's 11 Story
2001 50m
★ 6.8
"I mean, I'm a big fan of Ocean's 11, but boy, Sexy Beast is hard to beat. — Josh mentions Ocean's 11 as a heist film, comparing it favorably to Sexy Beast." — Josh
The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther
1963 1h 55m
★ 6.8
"some pink panther-esque cat burglar who wears like black leather gloves and like twist the dial a few times — Josh references the Pink Panther as an example of the movie trope of a sophisticated cat burglar cracking safes." — Josh
Troll Hunter
Troll Hunter
2010 1h 44m
★ 6.7
"I've thrown a few your way. They're like the troll hunter and stuff like that you've thrown my way. Troll hunter's great. — Chuck mentions Troll Hunter as a movie recommendation that was well-received." — Chuck

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