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Post by hi224 on Jun 9, 2019 18:35:50 GMT
And thoughts as well.
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Post by mortsahlfan on Jun 9, 2019 19:40:03 GMT
One of my favorites with James Caan. A "thief" with ethics, and a story... None of that CGI crap.
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Post by wmcclain on Jun 9, 2019 19:44:05 GMT
Thief (1981), directed by Michael Mann. He spent his youth in prison, surviving by being unattached and not caring whether he lived or died. Now he's out, a successful businessman and master diamond thief in a hurry. He wants a life: wife, child, everything he missed. That's the tragic flaw: attachments make you vulnerable. The problem with crime is the people you have to deal with, and when they try to use his "life" as leverage to control him, he has to burn it all down and go back to what he was before. And kill those who made him do it. A stunning first film from Michael Mann. You seldom see the mechanics of safe-breaking so intimately displayed. (Maybe in Rififi (1955)). Their consulting criminals provided the real tools of the trade and real cops and crooks appear in the film, often switching character roles. A small criticism: the shootouts feature Peckinpah-style slow motion violence. For me, that's interesting in one or two movies, but an irritating gimmick thereafter. First film for Robert Prosky, Jim Belushi, William Petersen and Dennis Farina. Mann wanted a blues soundtrack but got Tangerine Dream instead, which I think is fortuitous. I complain about 80s synthesizer scores but here it's done right. Today the music would be rap-influenced, urban and inclining to violence. Instead we get a driving, soaring, techo anthem that celebrates men, their tools, and their stealing. I had the soundtrack album long ago, and other TD music from that era was similar. It got a "Razzie" nomination that year for worst music; I don't know where those people are coming from sometimes. Great Chicago locations; filmmakers love the Green Mill jazz club. Criterion Blu-ray with a fond, spontaneous commentary track by the director, Caan and I'm not sure who else; I can't always tell who's talking. Caan says the long diner conversation with Tuesday Weld is his best performance. Is this a different cut? I don't remember the scene with the fisherman after the opening heist. 
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Post by hi224 on Jun 9, 2019 19:48:38 GMT
Thief (1981), directed by Michael Mann. He spent his youth in prison, surviving by being unattached and not caring whether he lived or died. Now he's out, a successful businessman and master diamond thief in a hurry. He wants a life: wife, child, everything he missed. That's the tragic flaw: attachments make you vulnerable. The problem with crime is the people you have to deal with, and when they try to use his "life" as leverage to control him, he has to burn it all down and go back to what he was before. And kill those who made him do it. A stunning first film from Michael Mann. You seldom see the mechanics of safe-breaking so intimately displayed. (Maybe in Rififi (1955)). Their consulting criminals provided the real tools of the trade and real cops and crooks appear in the film, often switching character roles. A small criticism: the shootouts feature Peckinpah-style slow motion violence. For me, that's interesting in one or two movies, but an irritating gimmick thereafter. First film for Robert Prosky, Jim Belushi, William Petersen and Dennis Farina. Mann wanted a blues soundtrack but got Tangerine Dream instead, which I think is fortuitous. I complain about 80s synthesizer scores but here it's done right. Today the music would be rap-influenced, urban and inclining to violence. Instead we get a driving, soaring, techo anthem that celebrates men, their tools, and their stealing. I had the soundtrack album long ago, and other TD music from that era was similar. It got a "Razzie" nomination that year for worst music; I don't know where those people are coming from sometimes. Great Chicago locations; filmmakers love the Green Mill jazz club. Criterion Blu-ray with a fond, spontaneous commentary track by the director, Caan and I'm not sure who else; I can't always tell who's talking. Caan says the long diner conversation with Tuesday Weld is his best performance. Is this a different cut? I don't remember the scene with the fisherman after the opening heist. whats your favorite shot.
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Post by mslo79 on Jun 10, 2019 0:14:53 GMT
Basically a average/forgettable movie overall.
5/10 (Thumbs Down)
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Post by koskiewicz on Jun 10, 2019 1:33:00 GMT
The score by Tangerine Dream is to die for...great film!!!!
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Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on Jun 10, 2019 1:34:41 GMT
Top-notch crime thriller. Well acted, well written, and stylishly directed. Nice electronic music score by Tangerine Dream
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jun 10, 2019 1:36:49 GMT
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 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 
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Post by movielover on Jun 10, 2019 1:47:20 GMT
I've seen it. Got to love that music by Tangerine Dream.
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Post by darksidebeadle on Jun 10, 2019 1:48:38 GMT
In my top 10 films of all time
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Post by mstreepsucks on Jun 10, 2019 2:01:11 GMT
it great.
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Post by poelzig on Jun 10, 2019 7:31:32 GMT
Yes. Numerous times. James Caan's best role. I have stolen that "I am the last guy in the world that you wanna fuck with." line several times. Frank is a straight up full on bad ass. That final blow up the world scene is the shit. That Tangerine Dream score is spot on too. So intense.
8/10
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Post by mortsahlfan on Jun 10, 2019 11:39:41 GMT
Caan is a "bad-ass" without being silly or pretentious.
"I risk my life, sweat" (only to be further entangled) --- sounds like society!
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Post by Bad Snorkasaurus on Jun 11, 2019 6:44:16 GMT
On my DVR! A great movie. I love the opening scene and music and the whole rainy night atmosphere.
I like Caan in Slither (1973) too.
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