Thief (1981)

• Year: 1981
• Released: 27 Mar 1981
• Country: United States
• Adwords: 2 wins & 6 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083190/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Thief
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/thief
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
• Runtime: 123 min
• Writer: Frank Hohimer, Michael Mann
• Director: Michael Mann
• Cast: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson
• Keywords: loss of loved one, neo-noir, chicago, illinois, thief, convict,

	7.4/10
	78/100

Thief Storyline

Frank is the owner of the Rocket used car dealership and the Green Mill cocktail lounge. These businesses, however, are just a front for how he makes most of his money, which is through high stakes jewelry heists. He has a small, dedicated team, but he insists everything in his life, including the capers, be done on his own terms, often bucking criminal convention. He wants to make enough money to get out of the life so that he can settle down into what he considers normalcy with his new wife, Jessie. Believing he can achieve that goal immediately through this offer, he reluctantly agrees to do one last jewelry heist for Leo, a high level fence. That reluctance is primarily because he can’t be his own boss and doesn’t want Leo’s criminal ego and high profile to interfere with the actual business of robbing and fencing the merchandise. Beyond the complexities of the job itself, Frank has added pressure in doing the job right. These pressures include: trying to eke out a regular life with Jessie, the two who want to adopt a baby; trying to get the release from prison of his ailing friend and mentor Okla, who doesn’t want to die in prison; and dealing with a bunch of crooked cops on the take, who know that Frank is up to something big that they want their cut from for looking the other way. Leo tries to help Frank out with many of these matters, but Frank is unaware of at what cost.

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Thief Movie Reviews

Mann is the man!

I came across this movie because of my boyfriend, he swore that this ending was one of the best endings in a movie he had ever seen. But being the ultimate film buff and being a fan of James Caan, I wanted to see the whole movie, so we watched it together. This is a tight and suspenseful thriller that is like a little gem of 1981. James Caan is such a terrific actor, so I was interested in seeing him in a lead role to see if he could carry a movie by himself and he did do an excellent job. Michael Mann, this is one of his first movies, so it’s really cool to see where he has come from and even back in 1981, he had this definite talent that has taken him so far. The story may be a bit basic, the rise and fall of someone who has hit the top, but once they want to pull away, it starts to crumble. But if told in the right way, we can get a terrific film and Thief proves itself to be a good thriller.

Frank is an expert jewel thief and hard-boiled ex-convict with a set structure to his life. With a pair of successful Chicago businesses as fronts for his very lucrative criminal enterprise, Frank sets out to fulfill the missing part of his dream: a family beginning with Jessie. After taking down a major score, Frank’s fence is murdered. He finds out that the man responsible is a Mr. Attaglia, a shady plating company executive for whom the fence was working. Attaglia is in possession of money that belongs to Frank, who demands it back. This leads to a face-to-face meeting with Attaglia’s employer, Leo, a high-level fence and crime boss, who wants Frank to work for him, offering him “boxcar” profits. Frank is reluctant at first, but wanting to make his dream come to fruition faster, he agrees to do just one job. But after the job is done, Frank soon realizes that Leo is not so easy to let him go.

The only complaint is pretty minor, I was a little stumped by the movie’s soundtrack, it did throw me off a bit. But I think that’s all part of the 80’s films genre, very odd music in the background. It’s all good, we have a terrific supporting cast with Robert Prosky, James Belushi and Tuesday Weld, even Willie Nelson pulls in a good strong supporting role. The whole atmosphere and the strong direction by Mann pulls this movie together very well. I’d say one of the strongest scenes is the face off between Frank and Leo, when Frank is excited that he’s completed his last assignment and Frank wants to just mainstream into a normal life but Leo is not going to let him go, the tension was so high and created so well by the actors. It’s a very dark and suspenseful film that I have to admit that I enjoyed over all, I would recommend it.

9/10

Who’s worse? The crooks or the cops?!

“Thief” is an unusual film in that there are no heroes….only thugs. The lead is the anti-hero, Frank (James Caan), a career thief who is great at his job…but who also is a loner. The rest of the folks in the film, including the cops and a judge, are crooks and cannot be trusted. But at least with Frank, what he says he will do, he will do…and so he’s honest…in his own way.

While Frank is doing great on his own committing various high value robberies, he is approached by a mobster who seems to have everyone in his pockets. Leo (Robert Prosky) has a proposition…to rob a seemingly impenetrable safe. Frank agrees…but insists it’s his last job, as he’s retiring to a life as a husband and family man.

Amazingly, the actual robbery goes off very quickly and well…and the film actually spends very little time on what you assume will be the big finale. But instead, there is some misdirection…and 30 more minutes to the story after this deal is complete. Why? What is next? See the film.

Normally, stories with no heroes are very hard to watch and enjoy…but the story works so well with so many fine performances, direction and a great script that it manages to overcome the lack of likable people in the film. It’s taut and exciting….and well worth seeing even if nearly everyone in the story is scum.

By the way, for 1981 the story is pretty rough and is NOT a film I’d recommend you see with kids or your mother. The language is very tough and the story is at times quite violent.

Michael Mann begins a masterful career

Michael Mann had done some work in cinema for a few years before he made his directorial debut with 1981’s “Thief”. And what a debut. There are a couple of things to note about it.

This is a gritty crime drama like Mann’s later “Heat” (the first movie in which Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro got to appear onscreen together). Set in Mann’s native Chicago, it depicts the Windy City as a sleazy, rain-soaked, neon-illuminated bastion of scum, regardless of which side of the law they’re on. James Caan’s character may be trying to go straight, but even he finds himself drawn back into the world of crime. Tuesday Weld’s character is the only one that isn’t an absolute lowlife.

This movie has some of the sharpest dialogue that I’ve heard in a movie. And coming out of James Caan makes it all the more so. That man can make anything sound tough. The other cast members also do their part, of course.

The electronic soundtrack by Tangerine Dream drives the plot. It creates an eerie feeling, without resorting to anything horrific-sounding (inexplicably, it got a Razzie nomination).

Finally, the ending. We like to think that things will go back to normal…but will they. The movie deliberately leaves it ambiguous, just like John Sayles did in “Limbo”.

All in all, it’s one fine movie. Along with this one and “Heat”, Mann also did great work with “The Insider” and “Ali”. I understand that his next movie will be about Enzo Ferrari. He executive produced “Miami Vice”, but I’ve never seen that.