Thief, 1981 - DVD

This is, by far, the most self indulgent film I've ever seen in my life.

For just over two hours, I was dying for this film to be over. And I dig Mann, I dig James Caan, I dig James Belushi.

But I could not, for the life of me, enjoy this film.

First off, this picture is after prior to Mann's success, Miami Vice. It's prior to The Keep and his hit Manhunter.

So, some time after Starsky and Hutch (where he was a writer) and Vega$ (where he created, wrote and directed), someone said "Let's give this guy a couple of million dollars to shoot a film."

Mann was not only the writer, but he was also the executive producer on the film (one of the money men). The film is produced by Ronnie Caan (brother of James) and Jerry Bruckheimer, one of his earlier produced films.

Ok, so you've got Mann taking charge of the entire project, creatively. You've got James Caan, who's worked on The Godfather, A Bridge Too Far, Rollerball... a name. And you've got his brother producing the film with one of the most successful producers to ever work in Hollywood.

At the time, Bruckheimer had some winners under his belt, including American Gigolo.

Ok, he had one winner.

But still, you've got a good amount of talent in the producing section. You've got an accomplished actor. You've got James Belushi, brother of the multi-talented John Belushi (who would die the next year), in his first feature film. You've got WILLIE NELSON... I mean, where in the hell did he show up from? Was he a favorite singer/songwriter of Mann's?

Tuesday Weld was a sex symbol in her own right and added a bit of glamour to the film. Robert Prosky added that old time feel to it, and was by far the best actor in the entire film.

You've got all of these things... and the first time feature director... and it all spells doom to me.

There are certain qualities to the film that make it semi-worthwhile. Some of the action scenes were well done. Some of the character development was well done, but spotty. The overall plot was pretty ridiculous, and I find it impossible to believe that someone as 'smart' as Frank, who's been to prison, been working for himself for however many years, who's a smart thief... would tie himself into the world of a guy who runs the entire fencing racket (Prosky).

It made no sense.

Add to that Frank's sense of 'caring about nothing', and that's what you get. Nothing. You get a film that had no real reason to be made, with characters, by the end, you don't care about. You have a plot that's held together by circumstance. And the antagonist is someone no real thief would trust in a million years.

Now, I think this is a perfect example of a production that ran away from the writer/director. Here's a guy with little to no experience making a feature film, and he gets his shot. He's got control, he's got professional help... but the story is something that he must not have shown any other professional screenwriter. The character of Frank, I can see how it appealed to Caan... he was half-way interesting, until he became a sap.

But I find it hard to believe, with Mann having writing experience before hand, how he thought this edgy thriller (for 1981) was a successful story first and foremost. Using style and action to propell the script and story just did not cut it with this picture, and that's what helps it fail as a film.

I will say that this has proven to be a very successful stepping stone for Mann, who has gone on to make some pretty entertaining films... he seems to have learned a lot from this first feature, and I salute him for that.

I've enjoyed Mann's films since. Manhunter, Heat, The Insider... and I'm looking forward to his latest film Collateral.

There is one part of the film that I was impressed with, and it has to do with a bug that Frank puts on a bus to Des Moines. I found that camera work and set-up to be very well crafted... but doesn't make up for the rest of the film.

I found some of the supporting cast to be more interesting than the main characters, including a young Dennis Farina and John Santucci, reportedly an actual criminal who was a consultant on the film. I found Santucci's acting to be more interesting than most of the cast.

I think this film is formulaic, before plots of action films from the mid 80's and early 90's started becoming formulaic. The 'last big score' film has lost its luster... but this film uses the plot in a way that is unbelievable.