Crime

Thriller

Drama

Thief

Mann/Caan Productions

United Artists

United States of America

English

James Caan

Tuesday Weld

Robert Prosky

Willie Nelson

Jim Belushi

Tom Signorelli

Dennis Farina

Nick Nickeas

W.R. Brown

Norm Tobin

John Santucci

Gavin MacFadyen

Chuck Adamson

Sam Cirone

Spero Anast

Walter Scott

Sam T. Louis

William LaValley

Lora Staley

Hal Frank

Del Close

Bruce A. Young

John Kapelos

Mike Genovese

Joan Lazzerini

Beverly Somerman

Enrico R. Cannataro

Mary Louise Wade

Donna J. Fenton

Thomas Giblin

Willie Hayes

Conrad Mocarski

Benny Turner

William Petersen

Steve Randolph

Nancy Santucci

Nathan Davis

Thomas O. Erhart Jr.

Fredric Stone

Robert J. Kuper

Joene Hanhardt

Marge Kotlisky

J. Jay Saunders

Susan McCormick

Karen Berger

Michael Paul Chan

Tom Howard

Richard Karie

Oscar DiLorenzo

Patty Ross

Margot Charlior

Dov Hoenig

Michael Mann

Donald E. Thorin

Frank Hohimer

Jerry Bruckheimer

Ronnie Caan

Mel Bourne

Vic Ramos

Mary Dodson

Richard Brams

Jodie Lynn Tillen

Scott A. Hecker

Don MacDougall

David B. Cohn

Jerry Stanford

Robert Glass

Larry Carow

Samuel C. Crutcher

Robert 'Buzz' Knudson

Michael Molly

Chris Jenkins

Joe Acord

Johnny Lattanzio

Robert R. Rutledge

Barton M. Susman

H.P. Evetts

Jack Lee Gary

James Zenk

Bob Badami

Sidney Beckerman

Russel Hessey

Craig Safan

Michael J. Maschio

David M. Ronne

Lisa Clarkson

Dennis Fill

Patrick Markey

Florian Schereck

Larry Rapaport

John B. Schuyler

Craig S. Jaeger

Donah Bassett

Dick Bernstein

Norman Blankenship

Craig Denault

Sandy King

Bill MacSems

Gary A. Hecker

Alan R. Disler

Bo Falck

Arnold Goodwin

Michael Genne

Stanzi Stokes

Art Schaefer

Wilbur Hopp

Paula Cain

Joseph A. Ippolito

George H. Anderson

Daniel R. Jordan

Aubrey Head

Lisbeth Wynn-Owen

Robert Werden

Scott Maitland

John M. Dwyer

Frank Griffin

Peter Bogart

Edie Panda

Gene Levy

Kathe Swanson

Richard Graves

Lillian Neidenberg

Robin Alan Knight

James Blanford

Craig Harris

Duffy Rutledge

Don Cahill

James Sharp

Julie A. Chandler

J. Paul Huntsman

Billy Martin

Wendell Powell

Richard Hart

Ronnie Baker

Larry Hand

Carol Eastman

Dan Gianneschi

Frank Miller

Larry Whitehead

John Stagnitta

Edgar Froese

Christopher Franke

Johannes Schmölling

Tangerine Dream

You are making big profits from my work, my risk, my sweat. 

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 everyman 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

Seen this one before but decided to do another watch at random. Really great crime-thriller with James Caan perfect alongside Michael Mann's masterful direction and writing. Not quite to the level of something like Heat but probably just below. One of the best heist films ever of the ones I've seen. **4.5/5**

Best Movies

Thief

Cast & Crew

Videos

Cast

James Caan

Tuesday Weld

Robert Prosky

Willie Nelson

Jim Belushi

Tom Signorelli

Dennis Farina

Nick Nickeas

W.R. Brown

Norm Tobin

Box office

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