The Movie: Theif is a film by Michael Mann which stars James Caan in the age-old role of the criminal looking to do just one last big job before going straight and cruising into an easy retirement. Having spent most of his professional safe-cracking career working as an independent contractor, he goes against his better judgment and decides to take an assignment from a mob boss who promises a very large fee upon which James Caan can fund his retirement. James Caan agrees under the condition that this be the last job he ever does. Unfortunately, the mob decides to change the deal at the last minute and he's stuck with no apparent way out.

This film was interesting to me in that there are many similarities with Heat (1995), also directed by Michael Mann. They both have the theme of the criminal looking to do one last job before settling down, they both deal with thieves, and of course, they both deal with plans not going down the way they are supposed to. Of course, Heat to me is one of the best movies to come out of the 1990's, while Thief disappeared into 1980's crime drama mediocrity.

That's not to say there weren't any other similarities. There were in fact a number of plot points that made Thief seem almost like a rehearsal for Heat, particularly when it came to the attention to detail to the actual tools of the thieving trade. Apparently, Michael Mann hired real ex-thieves to consult on the film, and it definitely did lend a level of authenticity that most films in this genre seem to lack.

So in that sense, Thief turned out to be a more interesting film than it would have been if I didn't look at it as being like a proto-Heat, comparing the two films and noting their similarities and differences actually added considerably to my enjoyment of this film considerably.

So if you're looking for some cheeseball 1980's crime flick, or are interested in seeing something that probably heavily influenced the development of a truly great film like Heat, it just might be worth a look, otherwise... well, it's a cheeseball 1980's crime drama through and through. Sdf

The DVD: The non-anamorphic video transfer on this DVD was plagued with crushed blacks which was annoying due to the film having so many dark, underexposed scenes. Excessive edge enhancement processing plus starting out with a dirty print (who knows, maybe it was a print that was actually used in a theater!) added up to a pretty dismal video transfer, worse in some parts than others.

The audio quality was poor by today's standards, with the poor frequency response that you'd expect from a film of this era, but certainly not as bad as the worst I've heard on DVD. Special features include a commentary track and a trailer, and that's about it.

Overall not a DVD I'd really recommend to most people, except maybe the most hardcore fans of Heat who might be interested in seeing some of the similarities and differences between the two films.