Thief (Blu-ray) (1981)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Crime	Theatrical Trailer Audio Commentary-Director Michael Mann and actor James Caan Alternative Version-Both Theatrical Cut and Director's Cut are included
Rating
Year Of Production	1981
Running Time	124:39
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Michael Mann
Studio Distributor	ViaVision	Starring	James Caan Tuesday Weld Willie Nelson James Belushi Robert Prosky Tom Signorelli Dennis Farina Nick Nickeas W.R. Brown Norm Tobin John Santucci Gavin MacFadyen Chuck Adamson
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Tangerine Dream

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 English Audio Commentary DTS HD Master Audio 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Frank (James Caan) is a safecracker in Chicago specialising in stealing diamonds with his work crew Barry (Jim Belushi) and Joseph (William LaValley). After a successful robbery Frank turns over the stolen diamonds to his fence but before he can collect his money the fence is killed by the Mob. Frank is determined to get his money so visits Attaglia (Tom Signorelli) who runs a front business for the Mob. Through Attaglia Frank meets Mob boss Leo (Robert Prosky) who gives Frank his money and, in addition, offers to set up scores for Frank. Frank is reluctant; until now he has relied on his business as a successful used car dealer to remain under the radar of the police but Frank has just met Jessie (Tuesday Weld) and wants a big score so he can get out of the game and start a normal family life with her.

     Frank’s association with Leo, however, brings him to the attention of corrupt police officers including Sergeant Urizzi (John Santucci), who want in on his next score. Frank refuses so is harassed by the police and his house and car bugged. However despite the heat, Frank, Barry and Joseph successfully complete a major score in L.A. set up by Leo. But when Frank wants his share of the proceeds so that he can quit thieving and be a family man, Leo has other ideas. Leaving the Mob can be very hazardous indeed.

     Thief, by screenwriter / director Michael Mann, is based upon the novel The Home Invaders by Frank Hohimer; he was a real life professional thief who was in prison while Thief was in production. One of the technical advisors on the film was John Santucci; he plays a policeman but was himself a professional thief who supplied a lot of the safecracking equipment that was used in the film. This “technical advice” and genuine equipment, not props, gives the film an authentic feel. Thief was Michael Mann’s first theatrical feature and is in many ways a trial run for the fabulous Heat (1995). Like that film Thief is a film where the development of the relationships between the characters is paramount. There are scenes that are domestic and every day, almost banal, for criminals have families and relationships too, and there are sequences with sparse dialogue which play out slowly without quick editing. In Thief there is even a long dialogue scene in a diner between James Caan and Tuesday Weld to rival the one in Heat. The action, when it occurs, is quick and explosive and in the climax, again as in Heat, the criminal pushes his loved one aside.

     The cast of Thief is impressive. James Caan is excellent as the tough guy with a rather too short fuse, not unlike his Oscar nominated tough guy in The Godfather (1972), while Tuesday Weld is a believable foil. Weld received an Oscar nomination for Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) but might be best remembered for her role in Once Upon a Time in America (1984). Also in the cast are Jim Belushi, in his first credited feature screen role (he is currently up to 153 according to the IMDb) and Willie Nelson as the elderly and dying mentor to Frank. Another noteworthy thing about Thief is that one of the producers was Jerry Bruckheimer, at this point very early in his career.

     Michael Mann has some fabulous films on his CV with The Last of the Mohicans (1992) and Heat (1995) right up there. Since the mid-2000s his star has waned somewhat but this Blu-ray release of Thief is a chance to watch him when his star was ascendant.

     There are two versions of Thief in this release, each on its own Blu-ray. The Theatrical Cut is by itself on disc 1, the Director’s Cut, audio commentary and Theatrical Trailer are on disc 2. For the differences between the two cuts follow the link here.

Video

     Thief is presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     This is a good Blu-ray presentation of a film that is over 35 years old. It was shot on film, obviously, which shows with pleasing depth of field and nice grain. There are quite a few scenes at night, in rain or in dark lighting but in all blacks are solid and shadow detail very good – see the cityscape at night at 24:20 in the Theatrical Cut for pristine blacks and the crystal clear white city lights. Elsewhere, detail is strong and colours clean and natural. Skin tones are fine, brightness and contrast consistent.

     There was a blue vertical scratch at 118:15 in the Theatrical Cut (which does not occur in the Director’s Cut) but otherwise I did not notice any artefacts or marks.

     English subtitles are provided in a clear white font.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The Theatrical Cut audio is English DTS-HD MA 2.0. The Director’s Cut audio is DTS-MA HD 5.1 and the English commentary track is DTS-HD MA 2.0. The film was released theatrically with stereo audio.

     The 2.0 audio of the Theatrical Cut is surround encoded with ambient effects in the rears such as the rain and the wind, plus the music. The effects, such as the explosions, were predictably a bit flat. The 5.1 audio of the Director’s Cut was also front oriented with pretty much the same ambient sounds in the rears but effects were crisper and the explosions had more oomph, plus support from the subwoofer. In both audio tracks some of the dialogue, especially from James Caan, was a bit mumbled and hard to hear when the subtitles helped.

     The score by avant-garde German collective Tangerine Dream was intrusive on occasion and does tend to date the film.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     Two cuts of the film are available:

• Theatrical Cut (123:10): DTS-HD 2.0 stereo audio.
• Director’s Cut (124:39): DTS-HD 5.1 audio.

Audio Commentary

     Director Michael Mann and actor James Caan sit together to watch the film. They laugh a lot, talk across each other, there are quite lengthy silences and they talk in short, often unconnected, sentences but they do provide anecdotes about the shoot, locations, the cast, using real equipment and safes rather than props, Frank’s character traits and dialogue, weapons training and the ‘technical advisors’. They do manage to give insights into the making of the film but, sadly, they don’t discuss the different cuts.

Theatrical Trailer (1:54)

     The Region A Criterion US release of Thief has only the Director’s Cut and the commentary. The Region B Arrow UK release includes both cuts of the film, the commentary and a wide range of additional extra features. Region B UK wins.

     If you are a fan of Heat take a look at Thief, Michael Mann’s first theatrical feature that features many of the techniques and themes that came to fruition 15 years later. In any case, fans of Michael Mann and / or crime dramas will find a lot to enjoy in Thief.

     The video and audio are good. The commentary is decent but the main draw of this release is that it contains both the Theatrical and Director’s cuts of the film.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall