Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		5.0

Thief 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 18, 2025

Michael Mann's "Thief" (1981) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary with Michael Mann and James Caan; archival program with James Caan; archival program with Johannes Schmoelling, former member of Tangerine Dream; vintage trailer; and more. Region-Free.

The mechanic

The main protagonist in Michael Mann's directorial debut, Frank (James Caan, The Godfather), is a single professional thief living in Chicago who has wasted a good portion of his life serving a sentence in Joliet Correctional Center. Because he does not like feeling lonely, he is constantly on the move.

Barry (James Belushi, Red Heat) is Frank's trusted partner. The two have worked together for years and managed to put some money aside, but not enough to retire and enjoy life. And they both know it, which is why they have just completed a risky job that will solve their financial problems.

The name of the man who will make Frank and Barry's retirement possible is Gags (Hal Frank, Class). He is a connected dealer, who has agreed to trade Frank and Barry's stolen diamonds for cash. But shortly after Frank hands the diamonds to Gags, he 'accidentally' jumps through his window and the cash goes missing.

While following his instincts and with a bit of luck, Frank discovers that the missing cash might have ended up in the office of a very shady crook (Tom Sgnorelli, Death of a Salesman). Initially, the crook refuses to discuss the cash, but later, after feeling the heat, agrees to return it in the presence of Leo (Robert Prosky, Hoffa), a big-time crime boss who knows how to help a man get rich quickly.

Soon after, Frank meets Leo and reluctantly agrees to do a six-figure job for him. While preparing for it, Frank also convinces Jessie (Tuesday Weld, Once Upon a Time in America), a beautiful single girl whom he has been trying to date seriously, that they have a future together. The two quickly move into a brand new house and with Leo's help even adopt a baby boy, but then an unexpected event forces Frank to reconsider his retirement plan.

There are a couple of reasons why Mann's Thief is unlike any other American crime film from the early '80s. One is that it was shot in Chicago, the director's hometown. In Thief, Chicago is the only other character whose style rivals that of Caan's enigmatic character. During the day it could look calm and friendly, but at night it becomes bleak and dangerous, an urban jungle where life is cheaper than a can of Coke. Its heavy neon lights are captured in such a way that each time they emerge on the screen, the intensity of the drama immediately goes up a notch. In other words, Mann knew exactly where to go, what to look for, and how to shoot it to convince the viewer that like the thief, Chicago also has multiple identities. (More than four decades later, this remains true).

Mann hired some real troublemakers from Chicago to play several important characters. Real thieves were also invited to serve as technical consultants during the shooting of the crucial break-ins. Mann even insisted that real tools are used in these sequences. The big vault Caan's crew worked on was real, too. Unsurprisingly, Thief is not only an incredibly stylish film, but a remarkably realistic one.

The bold electronic soundtrack is what glues everything together. Created by the legendary German electro/ambient rockers Tangerine Dream, the music does not just enhance the terrific atmosphere, it is used in particular ways to create dimensionality which the visuals alone could not have possibly introduced. Also, there are entire sequences where the music (or the unique industrial sounds) essentially replaces what would have been traditional dialog.

Thief 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Thief is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Thief made its high-definition debut with this Blu-ray release in 2014. The Blu-ray presented an exclusive 4K restoration of the director's cut of the film, which was supervised and approved by Michael Mann.

The 4K Blu-ray release again presents the director's cut of the film, which can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision. I only sampled a few areas of it with HDR.

Before I loaded up the 4K Blu-ray in my player, I expected the native 4K presentation of the director's cut to be great, but not dramatically better than the 1080p presentation of it on the Blu-ray. Even though it was produced more than a decade ago, the Blu-ray release offers a mighty fine presentation of the director's cut of the film that is much better than many very recent 4K restorations. However, less than fifteen minutes into the native 4K presentation, I could comfortably declare that the director's cut of the film now looked noticeably better. Also, much to my surprise, the native 4K presentation excelled in multiple areas, too. For example, I routinely observed sharper and better detailed visuals, with an often stunning dynamic range, especially in parts where Mann's camera captures neon lights/lighting. On a large screen, the superior fluidity of these visuals is very easy to appreciate, too. I tested several segments on the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray and on the former fast moving images with cuts and zooms simply look smoother. It is a very obvious improvement. However, on my system, the most striking discrepancies between the native 4K and 1080p presentations were in the area of color reproduction. In native 4K, the visuals routinely boast spectacular ranges of lush and impeccably balanced nuances, and while parts of the film with neon lights/lighting may be the most vibrant ones, there is a lot happening in daylight and indoor footage that looks superb, too. I was very impressed. The Dolby Vision grade handles darker and nighttime footage exceptionally well, too. If you are concerned that it may flatten some of this footage, do not be. All of this footage looks great. Image stability is excellent. I did not notice any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Thief 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

If you have seen Thief before, you already know that it has a tremendous electronic soundtrack, created by the legendary German electro/ambient rockers Tangerine Dream. For this reason, if possible, it is always preferable to view Thief with the volume turned up a bit more than usual. While revisiting it, this is precisely what I did. The lossless track, which more than a decade ago was also remastered under the supervision of Michael Mann, sounds terrific. I did not encounter any anomalies to report.

Thief 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary with Michael Mann and James Caan initially appeared on the R1 DVD release of Thief. It was recorded in 1995.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary with Michael Mann and James Caan initially appeared on the R1 DVD release of Thief. It was recorded in 1995.

• Michael Mann - in this archival interview, conducted by Variety chief critic Scott Foundas, Michael Mann recalls how Thief came to exist, and discusses the film's visual style (and specifically the unique treatment of light and shadow), casting process, and its cult soundtrack. Mann also mentions some of the real thieves and gangsters from Chicago that inspired key characters in his film. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2013. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• James Caan - in this archival program, James Caan recalls his collaboration with Michael Mann on Thief. Caan also explains how select sequences from the film were shot and discusses his preparation efforts for his character, Frank. The program was produced exclusively for Criterion in 2013. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Tangerine Dream - in this archival program, Johannes Schmoelling, who was a member of Tangerine Dream at the time when Thief was shot, recalls how the film's cult soundtrack was created. The program was produced exclusively for Criterion in 2013. In German, with optional English subtitles. (16 min).

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Thief. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Booklet - illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Nick James.

Thief 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

They don't make them like this anymore. If you keep bumping into older film collectors who frequently use this statement and think that they are exaggerating, book a date with Michael Mann's Thief. When you are done viewing it, ask yourself when was the last time you saw another film like it at your local theater. If you still need proof that the older film collectors are speaking the truth, right after Thief, view William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. It was a terrific decision to release Thief on 4K Blu-ray. Even if you already have Criterion's Blu-ray release of it from 2014, which offered a fantastic presentation of a beautiful 4K restoration, make room in your collection for the 4K Blu-ray. It brings a mighty fine upgrade. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.