I watched this a few nights back, having meant to get round to it for years. It's 35 years old now but still looks and feels amazing.
It was the directorial debut of Michael Mann, who as we know went on to more lucrative things in the following years. James Caan plays a high-end safecracker who gets dragooned into doing a huge bank job for the Chicago Outfit. Robert Prosky, who ended up in Hill Street Blues, plays the crime syndicate boss with an air of chilling vileness.
Mann would become renowned for making films that always looked great even if sometimes the plot wasn't up to much, and Thief is full of sumptuous little pieces of cinematography (my own favourite was near the end, a sea of night-time neon being reflected in a car bumper as Caan is driving across town). But even if you stripped those things away, it would still be a compelling story expertly told and acted.
The only thing wrong with Thief is that Mann makes the fatal mistake of setting the final scene to horrible slow-motion AOR muck (the music, by Tangerine Dream, is otherwise excellent). Otherwise a terrific thriller.
It was the directorial debut of Michael Mann, who as we know went on to more lucrative things in the following years. James Caan plays a high-end safecracker who gets dragooned into doing a huge bank job for the Chicago Outfit. Robert Prosky, who ended up in Hill Street Blues, plays the crime syndicate boss with an air of chilling vileness.
Mann would become renowned for making films that always looked great even if sometimes the plot wasn't up to much, and Thief is full of sumptuous little pieces of cinematography (my own favourite was near the end, a sea of night-time neon being reflected in a car bumper as Caan is driving across town). But even if you stripped those things away, it would still be a compelling story expertly told and acted.
The only thing wrong with Thief is that Mann makes the fatal mistake of setting the final scene to horrible slow-motion AOR muck (the music, by Tangerine Dream, is otherwise excellent). Otherwise a terrific thriller.