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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Frank Hohimer (novel)
Michael Mann (screen story)
more
Release Date:
27 March 1981 (USA) more
Tagline:
Tonight, his take home pay is $410,000...tax free.
Plot:
Becoming closer to his dream of leading a normal life, a professional safecracker agrees to do a job for the mafia, who have other plans for him. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
Heat Blu-ray Review
(From TheHDRoom. 9 November 2009, 10:12 AM, PST)
The Collector: Icons Interview!
(From Icons of Fright. 31 July 2009, 3:58 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Michael Mann's best movie, with James Caan' best performance. 'Thief' is a hardboiled crime classic not to be missed! more (74 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| James Caan | ... | Frank | |
| Tuesday Weld | ... | Jessie | |
| Willie Nelson | ... | Okla | |
| James Belushi | ... | Barry | |
| Robert Prosky | ... | Leo | |
| Tom Signorelli | ... | Attaglia | |
| Dennis Farina | ... | Carl | |
| Nick Nickeas | ... | Nick | |
| W.R. Brown | ... | Mitch (as W.R. [Bill] Brown) | |
| Norm Tobin | ... | Guido | |
| John Santucci | ... | Urizzi | |
| Gavin MacFadyen | ... | Boreksco | |
| Chuck Adamson | ... | Ancell | |
| Sam Cirone | ... | Martello | |
| Spero Anast | ... | Bukowski |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Violent Streets (UK)
more
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
122 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Finland:K-18 (cut) | USA:R (certificate #26144) | Iceland:12 | Brazil:14 | Australia:R | France:-12 | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:16 (1981) | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 | UK:X | UK:18 (video rating)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
James Caan badly injured his hand during the Los Angeles heist scene when Frank is breaking through the roof with a crowbar. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: Late in the film, when Frank gets out of his car to plant the bomb at his bar, the Green Mill, the lights used to illuminate the scene are clearly visible in the car door as the door's angle changes. When he opens the car door to get back in, the lights are visible again. more
Quotes:
Frank:
You are making big profits from my work, my risk, my sweat. But that is okay, because I elected to make that deal. But now, the deal is over. I want my end, and I am out.
Leo:
Why don't you join a labor union?
Frank:
I am wearing it.
Mitch:
Frank, don't.
Attaglia:
Do it slick.
Frank:
My money in 24 hours, or you will wear your ass for a hat.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Free Enterprise (1998) more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (74 total)
Message Boards
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'Thief' is one of the most underrated movies of the 1980s, if not of all time. Made in the early 80s by TV veteran Michael Mann, and co-produced by the future "king" of action blockbusters Jerry Bruckheimer, this movie can almost be seen as the transition from 1970s character based crime DRAMA to 1980s flashy but brainless 1980s crime ACTION. In that sense 'Thief' is the last great 1970s movie of the 1980s. Mann made at least two great movies after this ('Manhunter' and 'Heat'), but I still think it is is his best and most satisfying work. James Caan believes that the movie contains his finest performance and I'm inclined to agree with him. Caan is dynamite throughout. He oozes charisma and is impossible to take your eyes off, but also gives a subtle and complex performance. The film works both as an exciting caper movie, and as a human drama. In many ways it is the best crime film to pull that off since Dassin's 'Rififi' in the mid 1950s. Cann is helped by a superb supporting cast, who on the surface may seem a motley bunch, but all are very good - Tuesday Weld ('Who'll Stop The Rain'), Jim Belushi (his movie debut), a memorable cameo from country legend Willie Nelson, and especially a fantastic turn from Robert Prosky. Prosky is probably best known to most viewers as the kindly father-figure he played in 'Hill Street Blues'. His turn here as a ruthless gangster is a complete eye opener! Prosky delivers one of the most vicious lines ever heard in a movie, which is a bit too extreme for me to quote here, but believe me, you will never forget it when you hear it! Many people seem to find Tangerine Dream's dated synth score to be extremely irritating but I actually enjoyed it and thought it helped build the mood. 'Thief' is a hardboiled crime classic and is highly recommended to any fan of the genre, especially those made in the 1970s. It is wildly underrated and deserves to be rediscovered by a larger audience. 'Thief' is simply one of THE great "lost" classics of the last thirty years.