Thief

Rating:
Summary: James Caan At His BEST!
Review: In his finest role to date, veteran actor James Caan plays Frank, an ultra-cool, independent jewel thief with some very definite plans. Frank reluctantly gets involved with a mobster who changes all those plans. Frank is "Joe the boss of my own Universe" as he tells Leo (Robert Prosky)upon their first meeting. Unfortunately for Frank, he'll soon find that Leo has become the boss of his universe once he agrees to "freelance" for him. To get free, Frank has to dismantle the picture perfect life he tried to assemble, and start over again. ................ This film has a wonderful noir mood with all the atmospheric rain soaked Chicago streets, earthy dialogue and colorful characters. These come in the form of crooked DTs and mobster henchmen to name a few, peppering the screen with non-stop action. These characters feel very real, and keep you riveted throughout. ............ Director Michael Mann, who also created "Heat" and "Man Hunter" as well as the "Miami Vice" TV classic of the 80s, did some of his best work in this film. The soundtrack from "Tangerine Dream" is no less than outstanding. The entire score really enhances every scene. I especially love the wonderfully sensual sounding lead guitars during the exciting culmination of the story when Frank faces Leo solo to take back his independence. .......... Willie Nelson as David Okla, master thief that taught Frank his craft, and Dennis Farina in his big screen debut (with BLACK hair!) as one of Leos henchmen are two of many interesting faces and characters along the way. .............. Since this is one of my favorite films, I can truly say, if you have never seen "Thief"... you've been robbed of a truly great film viewing experience.

Rating:
Summary: Before There Was "Heat"
Review: I had to write this review after reading so many rave reviews of "Heat", which is overrated compared to "Thief". It makes me wonder how many of those customer reviewers are adolescents or young adults who have not seen this picture.

This motion picture is somewhat similar in plot to "Heat", but with considerably less violence (until about the final 30 minutes). James Caan is at his best as an ex-con trying to play his cards close to the vest when he makes a deal with a mob leader that ends disastrously. I find myself agreeing with the customer reviewer who wrote that this was Caan's best acting performance ever. The intensity and feel of "Thief" make it a far superior movie to "Heat", with excellent supporting performances from Willie Nelson, Tuesday Weld, and Jim Belushi.

Especially noteworthy is the performance of Robert Prosky as Leo, the mobster who thinks he's got Caan's character under his thumb only to get his comeuppance. Look for Rick Rossovich and Dennis Farina as Leo's hired muscle.

In addition to a great plot and great performances (hallmarks of almost every film Mann's ever done) is a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream that really rocks! Rent or buy this movie, and if you like it, start your quest for the soundtrack album immediately! You'll be glad you did.

Don't get me wrong here, "Heat" was a good movie. "Thief", however, was done first and done better

Rating:
Summary: thief in the night
Review: I seen this movie when it was 1st released in the theatre,
and i like it, and also the style of filing, and storey line.
filmed in chicago, this movie gives ya a world wind tour of
the area with land marks....the elevated train tracks,
the bridges, chocago police interview techniques, pay off's, the mob, double cross's, the love connection.
jame caan was around 42 at the time of the movie and probably
at the zenith of his looks and ability's.
tuesday weld, was around 38 and looked....hot..!!!!
james belushi, was in his late 20's and starting his film career
based on his own talents.
dennis farina, the ex chicago cop, i believe this may have been his 1st film as well, we see him prior to his tv show
crime storey when his hair was still dark.
the bad guy mob boss- robert prosky, although older than james caan, later played the 2nd lead sgt on hill street blues.
unlike the new york mob, chicago's " outfit" always had a different flair to it.
willie nelson, shows up in the film as a aging- death bed convict also., this film , with a lot of footage filmed at night, y takes us in the world of the professional thief, on the prowl, one of the better crime movies to come out of the 80s'

Rating:
Summary: Gritty, urban thriller with film noir style & flair.....
Review: Michael Mann's dark and intriguing 1981 crime film "Thief",....adapted from the Frank Hohimer novel "The Home Invaders" is finally out on DVD and packed with interesting features including insightful commentary by director Michael Mann and star James Caan.

Additionally, there are deleted scenes, theatrical trailer and an 8 page booklet too....excellent additions to accompany the DVD release of this noir cult film. The DVD color transfer is excellent...precisely capturing the neon lit and rain swept night world of crime...and Tangerine Dreams haunting soundtrack is brilliant in Dolby sound. Mann's movie depicts the life of ex-convict turned professional thief, Frank (James Caan) who maintains an honest veneer during the day as a car dealership manager, but his nights are spent with partner Barry (James Belushi) carrying out elaborate jewel robberies. Frank falls in with criminal mastermind, Leo (Robert Prosky in a chilling performance) who is seemingly a guardian angel...but the relationship quickly sours and Franks world crumbles and then ignites in violence and death.

Mann's highly effective use of light and color give an eerie ambience to this film...and the first rate support cast including Tuesday Weld and Willie Nelson as the ailing master safe cracker, Okla....give "Thief" a polished finish. Director Michael Mann continued his motif of criminal thrillers in later years with TV shows like Miami Vice & Crime Story...and films like Manhunter & Heat.

A very worthy addition to your DVD collection...fans of intense, intelligent crime saga's will definitely enjoy !!

Rating:
Summary: Gritty, urban thriller with film noir style & flair.....
Review: Michael Mann's dark and intriguing 1981 crime film "Thief",....adapted from the Frank Hohimer novel "The Home Invaders" is finally out on DVD and packed with interesting features including insightful commentary by director Michael Mann and star James Caan.

Additionally, there are deleted scenes, theatrical trailer and an 8 page booklet too....excellent additions to accompany the DVD release of this noir cult film. The DVD color transfer is excellent...precisely capturing the neon lit and rain swept night world of crime...and Tangerine Dreams haunting soundtrack is brilliant in Dolby sound. Mann's movie depicts the life of ex-convict turned professional thief, Frank (James Caan) who maintains an honest veneer during the day as a car dealership manager, but his nights are spent with partner Barry (James Belushi) carrying out elaborate jewel robberies. Frank falls in with criminal mastermind, Leo (Robert Prosky in a chilling performance) who is seemingly a guardian angel...but the relationship quickly sours and Franks world crumbles and then ignites in violence and death.

Mann's highly effective use of light and color give an eerie ambience to this film...and the first rate support cast including Tuesday Weld and Willie Nelson as the ailing master safe cracker, Okla....give "Thief" a polished finish. Director Michael Mann continued his motif of criminal thrillers in later years with TV shows like Miami Vice & Crime Story...and films like Manhunter & Heat.

A very worthy addition to your DVD collection...fans of intense, intelligent crime saga's will definitely enjoy !!

Rating:
Summary: Great 80s film
Review: James Caan does a great job at playing a master thief approaching middle age. Contrary to a superficial viewing he does not glorify the criminal life. His best scene is where he is describing the sense of waste he feels about his life and time in jail. James Caan really carries this scene over better than many actors of today would.

Oldsters will also remember that this is the first peice where James Belushi stepped out of his brother's shadow. He surprised a lot of people with a good dramatic role as James Caan's partner instead of a comedy.

Great Tangerine Dream score. Bit of trivia, the film has a song over the closing credits that was not by Tangerine Dream that is very good but not by Tangerine Dream. This song DOES NOT appear on the CD version of the Thief soundtrack, although it was included on the older cassette and LP releases. You can hear it on this movie release though.

Rating:
Summary: THE SIGNATURE STYLE OF MICHAEL MANN
Review: James Caan in black Armani leather looking better than he did in THE GODFATHER; Tuesday Weld looking angelic; Chicago lit up in neon with non-cliched corrupt cops, desperate crooks and the underbelly of the Midwest. Michael Mann imprinted his signature style on this fierce tale of a career criminal caught in the nightmare of a dream gone bad and a life that could never exist. THIEF is distingushed by its incredible visuals and quick dialogue... the most frightening of both is an exchange between a silent, face up Cann and Robert Proskey (just great as Leo) in a back alley shop with an acid bath at arms length. THIEF is a fitting homage to film noir and Mann a skilled and worthy student of the genre. And the best was yet to come.

Rating:
Summary: The Power and Passion of a Dream
Review: I first saw this film soon after it was released, having no idea what to expect except that it was filmed in my home town (Chicago) and that it starred James Caan whose work I had admired so much in The Godfather. I neither knew nor cared who directed it (Michael Mann) and had no idea which group provided the musical soundtrack (Tangerine Cream). Wow! I enjoyed Thief so much I returned to see it again the next evening, dragging along some friends who knew even less about it than I did only 24 hours before. In my opinion, this is Caan's finest performance as Frank, a middle-aged jewel thief who is obviously determined to make a long-cherished dream come true: Retire from his criminal life, marry, start a family, and live happily ever after. He carries a photo collage in his wallet as a daily reminder of that dream. He shares it only with Jessie (Tuesday Weld) because she is the only person with whom he wants to share his life. Meanwhile, Frank has established contact with Leo (Robert Prosky) who seems to take a paternal interest in Frank but only to gain his trust so that Frank will agree to an assignment for the mob. Of course, Leo has no intention of allowing him to retire. Once involved with the mob, Frank will have no way out except death. After he and Jessie marry and move into a lovely home, they are frustrated in their attempts to adopt a child so Leo provides one ("Boy or girl? Whatever you want.") and much of Frank's dream has come true. One last lucrative theft and....

Under Mann's direction, all of the performances are outstanding. I was especially interested in the care with which the major theft is planned and then executed. When Frank then realizes that he cannot free himself from the mob, he reacts with prudence (to protect his wife and child) and then with rage and vengeance. The soundtrack and cinematography are brilliantly integrated within the narrative. The editing by Mann and Dov Hoenig is lean and sharply-focused. When I saw Thief again recently, it had lost none of its dramatic impact; moreover, I recognized this time around certain nuances of character and plot development which I had missed before. I include it on my list of great films which have never been fully appreciated, probably because -- until the VHS and CD versions -- so few people had been able to see it. No excuses now.

The DVD version includes a commentary by Mann and Caan, deleted scenes, and footage not shown in theaters. I also strongly recommend the CD of the Tangerine Cream soundtrack which evokes so many memorable images from the film but, for those who have not as yet seen it, one which offers great listening in its own right.

Rating:
Summary: Nobody Owns Me
Review: Not only one of the best film noirs of the 1980's, it's one of the best of the genre, period.

James Caan co-produced. It's easily his best work.

His character is complicated but his code is simple. If you've got nothing to lose, then you can fight and survive because you won't give a damn whether you live or die.

He's a professional safe cracker who has spent most of his life in jail, who is now out on the street, making halfhearted efforts to get away from his past.

After all, he hasn't much of a life. He slugs his way through the day as a used car salesman. A job which doesn't exactly fill him with joy. He cares for only two human beings in the world: A father figure he idolizes, who taught him the mastery of his 'trade', who is still behind bars--and has just been told by the doctor he has only a few months to live.

The second is a waitress who has also been around the block and roughed up by life. The combination of sexual attraction, past dissappointments, and the desperate need to hope bring them together.

(These supporting leads are brilliantly cast: Willie Nelson as the 'Father' and Tuesday Weld as the waitress. They really deliver the goods.)

And now comes the plot twist: The promise of a huge and final score put together by a mobster becomes Caan's shot at The American Dream: A new life, a wife, a house, and---courtesy of the mobster--an adopted child.

The family and life he always wanted.

One small problem. Though Caan makes it clear from the start that this is his last heist, the mobster wants him for the long haul.

Come payday, he shorts him, but promises him better and better deals to come. It's time to join the corporation. Now that he's 'family' and can no longer maintain the 'I've got nothing to lose attitude.' The mobster knows--or thinks--he's got him. Time for Caan to compromise, join the corporation and play ball, just like everybody else in this world.

Comparisons are supposed to be facile or somehow in poor taste.

Too bad. To name just two 'masterpieces', "Thief" is far superior to "Heat" or "Reservoir Dogs", And rightly deserves the recognition it's finally getting.

Great film, Great script, Great direction and Great acting.

Rating:
Summary: James Caan At His Peak
Review: James Caan does a spectacular job of portraying a thief caught between the mob and starting a new life. Jim Belushi is introduced in this film and does a wonderful job in his role as the theif's partner. I saw this movie when it first came out and it has never left my memory. A welcome addition to my collection.