Thief – The Criterion Collection (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1981
Director: Michael Mann
Writer: Michael Mann
Cast: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi, Robert Prosky, Tom Signorelli, Dennis Farina, William Petersen

Release Date: March 11th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 124 Minutes 52 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (4K UHD), 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Blu-ray)
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (UHD), Region A (Blu-Ray)
Retail Price: $49.95

"The contemporary American auteur Michael Mann’s bold artistic sensibility was already fully formed when he burst out of the gate with Thief, his debut feature. James Caan stars, in one of his most riveting performances, as a no-nonsense ex-con professional thief planning to leave the criminal world behind after one last score—but he discovers that escape is not as simple as he’d hoped." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Thief is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Supervised and approved by director Michael Mann, the new 4K restoration presented on the 4K Ultra HD disc was created from the 35mm original camera negative. The additional Willie Dixon fisherman scene was taken from a 35mm internegative made from a 35mm print."

Thief comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 87.6 GB

Feature: 85.4 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look correct, color saturation, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Thief comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.7 GB

Feature: 33 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio sounds excellent; dialogue comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds are well represented, and Tangerine Dream’s score sounds appropriately robust.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an archival audio commentary with director Michael Mann and actor James Caan.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 53 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with Johannes Schmoelling of the band Tangerine Dream, which contributed the film’s soundtrack (15 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with removable English subtitles), an interview with James Caan titled Making Something Reel (10 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Michael Mann titled Truth-Telling Style (24 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an archival audio commentary with Michael Mann and James Caan.

Other extras include a 10-page leaflet with an essay titled Where Nothing Means Nothing written by Nick James, cast & crew information, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Frank, a career criminal with a skill for breaking into safes, particularly those containing high-profile diamond jobs, has grown weary of his current lifestyle. And after several years of pulling off similar heists and serving one long term in prison, he finally decides that he wants to lead a normal life that would include a wife and kids. From there he sets a financial goal that he needs if he ever wants to see his dreams of being a family man come true. Now with a firm idea of what he needs to do, Frank suddenly finds himself at a crossroads. He can go on working like he has been, or he could go for the much larger score that he is being offered by a gangster that wants Frank to work for him.

In the 1980s, Michael Mann was primarily recognized for his work in television, producing shows like Crime Story and Miami Vice. The latter, in particular, showcases many stylistic choices that have since become synonymous with Michael Mann. Though his more recent films have prompted a reexamination of his three theatrical feature films from the 1980s, there was a time when those three films were not well received. Out of Mann’s theatrical output from the 1980s, no film has benefited more from said reappraisals than Mann’s feature film debut, the neo-noir thriller Thief.

Thief was adapted from a novel titled The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar, authored by John Allen Seybold, a jewel thief who wrote under the pseudonym Frank Hohimer. Michael Mann is a director who is known for wanting realism in his films, and for Thief, he would hire John Allen Seybold as a consultant. Another way that Thief instantly grabs you and pulls you in is that it takes place at real locations throughout Chicago.

The narrative is tightly constructed with a great amount of detail paid to the safe-cracking sequences. Thief is populated with well-defined characters, and their motivations are crystal clear. Also, there is an intensity that is established in the opening moments, and this firmly sets the tone for the rest of the film. When it comes to pacing, things move along at a brisk pace that is in step with the protagonist's need to keep moving forward to his ultimate goal.

Thief would mark cinematographer Donald E. Thorin’s (An Officer and a Gentleman, Tango & Cash) only collaboration with Michael Mann. The visuals are a textbook example of how a neo-noir should look. Whether it be the striking use of colors like red and blue or other subtleties that heightened the mood, there is never a moment where Thief does not look exquisite. The score for Thief was composed by Tangerine Dream, whose other notable film scores include Sorcerer, Risky Business, Legend, and The Keep, which was also directed by Mann. Their pulsing synthesized score does a remarkable job reinforcing the mood.

As excellent as all of the performances are, it is James Caan’s (The Godfather) portrayal of a jewel thief named Frank that stands out. He totally immerses himself in the character, and by the time the film ends, it is impossible to think of another actor who could have brought more to the role. That said, he delivers what is arguably the defining performance of his career. Other performances of note include Tuesday Weld (Looking for Mr. Goodbar) in the role of Jessie, Frank’s girlfriend/wife, and James Belushi (The Principal) in the role of Barry, Frank’s partner in crime. Cast members of note include Dennis Farina and William Petersen; these two actors would reunite with Michael Mann for Manhunter. Ultimately, Thief is a captivating crime drama that revolutionized the genre and had a significant impact on crime cinema in the 1980s.

Thief gets an excellent release from The Criterion Collection that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer