Thief Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		5.0

Thief Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 16, 2015

Nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or Award, Michael Mann's "Thief" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include new video interview with James Caan; audio commentary with Michael Mann and James Caan; archival episode of the French television series Cine regards; examination of the film by author and critic F.X. Feeney; and more. The release also arrives with a 14-pages illustrated booklet featuring Brad Stevens' essay "Stealing Back to Thief" and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"I am the last guy in the world that you want to mess with."

Frank (James Caan, The Godfather, The Killer Elite), the main protagonist in Michael Mann’s directorial debut, 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 always 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 all of their financial problems.

The name of the man that will make Frank and Barry’s retirement possible is Gags (Hal Frank, Class). He is a dealer with powerful friends 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.

With a bit of luck, Frank discovers that the cash might have ended up in the office of a connected crook (Tom Sgnorelli, Death of a Salesman). Initially, the crook refuses to discuss the cash, but later on agrees to return it in the presence of Leo (Robert Prosky, The Natural, Hoffa), a big-time crime boss who knows how to help a man get rich quick.

Soon after, Frank meets Leo and rather reluctantly agrees to do a six-figure job for him. While preparing for it, Frank also convinces Jessie (Tuesday Weld, The Cincinnati Kid, Once Upon a Time in America), a beautiful single girl whom he has been trying to seriously date, that they have a future together. They quickly move in 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 the fact that it was shot in Chicago, the director’s hometown. In this film the city is the only other character whose style rivals that of Caan’s enigmatic thief. During the day it could look calm and friendly, but at night it becomes bleak and dangerous. The heavy neon lights are captured in such a way that each time they emerge on the screen the intensity 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 the city also has multiple identities.

Some real troublemakers from Chicago were chosen to play important characters. Real thieves were also invited to serve as technical consultants during the shooting of the key break-ins. Mann also insisted that real tools are used in these sequences. Even the big vault Caan’s crew worked on was real. Needless to say, Thief is not only an incredibly stylish film, but a remarkably realistic one as well.

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

Thief Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michael Mann's Thief arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new HD master was provided by The Criterion Collection and delivered by MGM via Hollywood Classics. The transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Northlight film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative. Director Michael Mann's original 35mm answer print was used as a color reference, and Mann supervised and approved the entire transfer. The added Willie Dixon fisherman scene was sourced from a 35mm interpositive made from a print. All picture restoration work was completed by The Criterion Collection.

The original stereo soundtrack was remastered to 5.1 surround at 24-bit from 35mm 4-track magnetic audio stems, and approved by Mann.

Transfer supervisors: Lee Kline/Criterion. Michael Mann.
Colorist: Gregg Garvin/Modern Videofilm, Burbank."

Please note that the screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures #1-14: 4K Restoration/Director's Cut.
2. Screencaptures #16-31: MGM Transfer/Theatrical Cut.

4K Restoration Transfer/Director's Cut

The technical presentation is very impressive, but this is hardly surprising considering the fact that the release uses as a foundation the excellent recent 4K restoration of the film which was introduced by Criterion in January 2014. (You can see our review of Criterion's release here). Clarity and detail are outstanding. Image depth is excellent as well. In fact, the most dramatic improvements are precisely during the darker sequences where image depth is far superior now. Color reproduction is excellent. As noted in our review of the Criterion release, there is an entirely new range of nuanced colors that are crucial for the film's stylish neo-noir look. Color stability is outstanding. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Rather predictably, from start to finish the film has a very pleasing organic appearance. Finally, there are no encoding or compression anomalies to report in this review. Also, I have done some direct comparisons between the Region-A and Region-B releases and they do in fact look identical. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

MGM Transfer/Theatrical Cut

The high-definition transfer for this shorter cut of the film has been struck from a dated source and it clearly shows. Detail and clarity, for instance, fluctuate quite a lot. Image depth is also inconsistent, with a number of the indoor sequences looking notably flat (compare sreencaptures #14 and 24). Grain fluctuations are also easy to see (see screencapture #21). The biggest discrepancies, however, are in the area of color reproduction. Here the variety of nuanced cold colors from the Director's Cut are effectively replaced by a generic mix of warm reds and pinks which have destabilized color saturation in a number of different sequences. (See the enhanced pink/reds in screencaptures #27 and 28). In many cases entire color identities are altered as well (see the left side of screencapture #25 where the yellow color of the taxi has been altered). Finally, there are no large damage marks, cuts, or debris, but some tiny specks remain. Though inherited, light shimmer is also visible (see the final shootout). All in all, while some viewers may find this shorter cut of Thief interesting to analyze, in my opinion its basic technical characteristics are unquestionably flawed. (Note: The shorter cut of the film is placed on a second Blu-ray disc, which is also Region-B "locked").

Thief Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0 (Stereo). For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the new 5.1 mix which has been approved by director Michael Mann. I can only echo the comments I left in our review of the Criterion release -- depth and especially fidelity are outstanding and large portions of the film now have an entirely different vibe. If you still have the old non-anamorphic R1 DVD release of Thief, test the long opening sequence with the old lossy track and the new 5.1 mix and you will see how dramatic the difference is. You can also experiment with the LPCM 2.0 track that is included on the Theatrical Cut of the film. The dialog is crisp, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

Thief Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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

• The Art of the Heist - in this audio piece, author and critic F.X. Feeney discusses the production history of Thief (there is some very interesting information about the initial encounter between director Michael Mann and James Caan), the film's unique visual style, the main protagonists and their identities, some of the key similarities between Thief and the rest of the films in the American director's body of work, his working methods, etc. The piece was recorded in October 2014 and produced by Red Shirt Pictures. In English, not subtitled. (67 min). In English, not subtitled. (67 min).

• Hollywood USA: James Caan - in this archival episode of the French television series Cine regards, James Caan explains how he decided to become an actor, and discusses some of the challenges he faced during the pre-production, the important relationship between acting and attitude, his fondness for women, etc. In English, with printed French subtitles. (25 min).

• Stolen Dreams - in this new video interview, James Caan discusses the preparation work he did before shooting Thief with Michael Mann and some of his character's unique qualities. The interview was recorded in September 2014 and produced by Red Shirt Pictures. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• The Directors: Michael Mann - this archival episode of The Directors television series from 2001 offers an in-depth look at Michael Mann's career. Included in it are interviews with Jon Voight, James Belushi, Dennis Farina, Christopher Plummer, Tom Sizemore, William Petersen, Madeleine Stowe, and Diane Venora, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (60 min).

• Audio Commentary - this audio commentary by director Michael Mann and James Caan was initially included on MGM's R1 DVD release of Thief. It was recorded in 1995. In English, not subtitled.

• Cover - reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by maarko phntm.

• Booklet - 14-pages illustrated booklet featuring Brad Stevens' essay "Stealing Back to Thief" and technical credits.

• Isolated Music and Effects Track - presented as LPCM 2.0 (Stereo) track on the Theatrical Cut of Thief.

Thief Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I think that fans of Thief residing in Region-B territories will be thrilled with this release as it gives them the opportunity to own a copy of Criterion's terrific 4K restoration of Michael Mann's Director's Cut of the film. Also included as a bonus on this release is the shorter Theatrical Cut of the film, but I personally find its color scheme to be quite problematic. The supplemental features are different so some fans of the film that already own the Criterion release might want to consider picking up Arrow Video's release as well. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.