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The case remains unsolved to this day, but this drama tells us what really happened. The gang of thieves found in the vault not only jewellery and cash, but also letters and account books in which fraudsters had hidden their schemes. Most notably, they found pictures of politicians and socialites having sex with hookers.

The thieves have the loot, but they are soon being pursued by lethal gangs, corrupt cops and hired killers who will do anything to retrieve the goods.

Director Roger Donaldson keeps the pace slick and fast and a fine cast of character actors does a great job of raising the tension and propelling the movie through its vivid, often violent, acts. It's a classic underworld thriller.

Romance

Something's gotta give - Friday, SABC3, 22:10

This "romance of the wrinklies" was a major hit for both Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. Keaton plays Erica, a woman in her late 50s, who has put all thoughts of romance behind her. Then she discovers that her daughter (Amanda Peet) is having an affair with a much older man, but she won't say how old.

One morning, the guy oversleeps and staggers out of her daughter's bedroom. Erica realises that Harry (Nicholson) is 65. After the initial shock fades, something else starts to happen. She finds herself succumbing to Harry's roguish charms. Before long, Erica has stolen her daughter's boyfriend.

It's not the easiest romance, full as it is of squabbles and insecurity, but it works for a while - until a handsome young doctor (Keanu Reeves) starts courting Erica, much to Harry's fury. It's like a teen romance 40 years on and director Nancy Meyers gives it a wry, warm, satiric spin. It was a smash hit and it won an Oscar nomination for Keaton.

Drama

Amazing Grace- Wednesday, MM2, 20:00

This period drama never broke out of the art-house circuit, but it is a powerful and superbly acted film about the political struggle that began in 1797, when politician William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) started his campaign to outlaw slavery. The slave trade made many men in England rich, so Wilberforce's passionate crusade to end its cruelty and injustice faced grave opposition.

Director Michael Apted turns what could have been a talky, pompous debate into a superb production, bolstered by the dazzling acting of Albert Finney and Michael Gambon.

The title derives from the hymn Amazing Grace, written by John Newton, who was once the owner of a slave ship, but his revulsion for this brutal trade changed his life. The hymn he wrote became something of an anthem for the abolition movement. It's deeply moving and the period staging is faultless.

Coal Miner's Daughter - Thursday, M-Net Stars, 19:30

In 1980, this film collected eight Oscar nominations and won a Best Actress nod for Sissy Spacek (pictured). British director Michael Apted brought a fresh, unsentimental style to this story of a difficult life.

Loretta Lynn was married at 13, and lived her early life in intense poverty. Her marriage was tough and sometimes violent, which for many women would have been too much to bear.

Lynn, however, had a strong survival instinct and concentrated on the only thing she could do well - singing with a country guitar.

Against the wishes of her thuggish husband (Tommy Lee Jones), she started earning money in talent contests and at country fairs and finally got a break in Nashville, where she became one of the queens of country music.

Apted kept the film gritty and realistic and allowed Spacek to build a meticulous portrait of a star who came from nothing. Even if you don't like country music, you will enjoy this passionate film.