Thief

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Thief-720P

Thief-360P

Thief-480P

Thief-720P

Thief-360P

I've always been impressed by Micheal Mann's films. Starting with The Insider, I was intrigued by his camera-work and the use of music to compliment a scene. With Thief, his directorial debut, he shows what movie fans will be in store for over the 30 years. Of course some of the techniques to steal are dated, but I loved the glossy, yet gritty atmosphere of the film. Tuesday Weld, was also quite good as Caan's love interest. It has an amazing ending as well. The film is Waaaaaaay ahead of its time. And I was genuinely impressed with James Caans performance. This film is an underrated gem and should be viewed by Mann fans who liked Heat and Collateral. 8/10

Thief(1981) contains the best performance of James Caan as a professional thief in a rare leading role. He is complex and three deminsional as the protagonist, Frank. Thief(1981) is similar in many ideas to the Dustin Hoffman film, Straight Time(1977). One of the best directorial debut as Michael Mann gives a realistic portrayal of the hardships in being a professional thief. The movie does a good job in showing the corruption that Frank has to go against. Its much better than Heat(1995) because it focuses on one person instead of trying to interweave in confusing detail the lives of two people who are opposite in job but the same in spirit. Willie Nelson is terrific in the small of of Frank's mentor, Okla. Robert Prosky is impressive as the father like crime boss, Leo. The heist scenes are the highlight of the film. Thief(1981) has to be one of the best movies to come out during the 1980s and is definitely the director's top film.

Thief is written and directed by Michael Mann, who adapts the screenplay form the novel "The Home Invaders" written by Frank Hohimer. It stars James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Robert Prosky, James Belushi and Willie Nelson. Music is by Tangerine Dream and cinematography by Donald Thorin. Frank (Caan) is a tough ex-con and expert jewel thief. He's working his way out to a normal life, but after being lured to a big job for the mob, he finds plans on both sides severely altered. For his first full length theatrical feature, Michael Mann announced himself to the film world with some distinction, and in the process showed everyone what style of film making makes him tick. Thief is a film of stylised grit, visually, thematically and narratively. Set and filmed in Chicago, Mann, aided by Thorin, shoots the story through pure neo-noir filters. At nighttime it is all a beautifully neon drenched haze, where the streets shimmer with dampness, a dampness brought about by the rain and god knows what else! By day there's a sweaty hue, a feeling that the heat is well and truly on, that even in daylight Frank isn't safe, his dreams may be a touch too far to reach. And no matter what the scene or scenario, Tangerine Dream are laying over the top a throbbing pulse beat, it's like The Warriors trying to get back to Coney Island, the music has a sense of dread about it, that danger is at every corner. This part of Chicago stinks, it's a vile and corrupt place. Dirty cops everywhere, underworld criminals ruling the roost - Hell! You can even buy a baby if you want one. Is it any wonder that Frank just wants to settle down with a wife and child, to walk barefooted in the sea, to have domesticity? But Frank, as smart, tough and savvy as he is, seems to thrive on the edge of things, with Mann giving him earthy and honest dialogue to engage us with, marking him out as an identifiable every man protagonist who just happens to be an exceptional thief. Mann's attention to detail is on show straight away, none more so than with the two key safe cracking jobs that are undertaken. Using genuine jewel thieves as technical advisers on the film, these sequences ooze realism, from the tools used, the pre-planning and the execution of the takes, it smacks of reality and does justice to the genuine feel of the characterisations brought alive by the superb cast. And finally Mann delivers a finale of ambiguity, a noir shaded piece of abruptness, an ending that perfectly fits the whole production. 9/10

Don't you hate films where the technically impossible (or ludicrous) is offered up for your consumption by directors too lazy to do research? You know the movies I'm talking about...conspiracy buffs remotely tap into cameras that aren't even connected to a WAN, fixed video cameras automatically pan and tilt to follow the action, computer viruses easily jump from operating system to operating system, visible pencil-thin laser beams in place of photoelectric detection systems, and so forth, and so on... Part of my job is to design security and surveillance systems. In fact, I even teach courses on alarm system history and the fundamentals of alarm systems. So take it from me, this film is about as accurate as it gets. ******MINOR SPOILERS!******** Take, for example, the scene where Jim Belushi is bypassing the local alarm system(s) during the first heist. The method he is using to bypass a Direct Wire alarm monitoring circuit is absolutely correct, as are the readings on the ammeter dials. It is essential that they balance the monitoring circuit to within +/- 3 mA of current in order to keep the Central Station from responding. The fact that the local alarm system has no sounder is also accurate and typical for that time and place. The method of differentiating between alarm circuits and normal POTS (plain old telephone service) lines in the final score is also dead-on, including the voltages they measure and their significance. The cable construction is slightly wrong, but this does not make any significant difference in the overall method they employ. ******END SPOILERS!******* Are there flaws? Certainly, but this is still a vast improvement over previous attempts to depict an actual big-time heist. And as for some of the other reviewers' comments....well, I don't know how you get elevator cars with hydraulic systems into a shaft nowadays, but I know that you used to put them in from the roof through an opening at the top of the elevator shaft. Then you built a little structure or penthouse that could be easily removed if you needed to bring in a lift or crane to do some heavy repair work. **** out of *****