Thief (1981) Part 2

Part 2 of "Thief" from 1981. In this episode, Frank meets his fence to get paid for his most recent bank heist. Everything seems like another normal day for Frank, until he gets a call that his fence was suddenly wacked...and know one seems to know where the heist money is. So Frank pays a little visit to his fence's underworld employers, at one of their legit establishments. Things get REALLY interesting in Part 3, stay tuned.

As I mentioned in the last clip, this was Michael Mann's first film. And I would argue, it may be his finest one. If you are a fan of "Heat," I definitely want to hear your thoughts about how you think this film fairs with that one. Frankly, it's highly derivative of "Thief," except that "Heat" is more evenly balanced in showing both the criminal and law enforcement angles of the same heist story. And of course, "Heat" is packed with acting talent. I personally didn't "get" that film, and having seen "Thief" before "Heat," I really just didn't think it held a flame to this movie you are now watching. But hey, that's just me. The only other film of Michael Mann's that I really, thoroughly enjoyed was "Collateral" from 2004. Now that was one hell of a film!

FYI, this copy that I have on DVD, which is admittedly a little old, must be what used to be called the "Theatrical" version of the film. There is a 1 minute and 30 second clip that you don't normally see on the cable version of this film, where James Caan meets a guy buy the lake early in the morning and shoots the breeze with him. Until around the mid-80s, a lot of movies had longer versions of their films in the theater, which could only be seen in the original theatrical runs of the film, or maybe in the first couple of prints when it first came out. Basically they have some clips that were in the original film, but were eventually cut out because they were deem unnecessary. I have a copy of "The Blues Brothers" that is chock full of such scenes, some of which actually should have been kept because they help explain some continuity errors or problems that I used to noticed when I watched the film on The Movie Channel way back in the 80s as a kid. Yeah, I saw that film so many times, it's ridiculous...hence the reason why I caught those "theatrical" cuts in the DVD version of the film I have.

Anyway, enjoy this clip!

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Thief
• James
• Caan
• Michael
• Mann
• Jim
• Belushi
• Willie
• Nelson
• bank
• robbers
• crime
• drama
• heist
• tangerine
• dream
• part
• 1981
• Tuesday
• Weld
• Robert
• Prosky
• Dennis
• Farina
• cops
• Chicago

[BillionDollarZombie]

Da fucks part 1?

[20thcenturyfilmdocs]

@BillionDollarZombie Should be on my main page, just look for it...it sez it is blocked in some countries, but I can still view it

[myVideoPerscription]

watch drive

[20thcenturyfilmdocs]

@myVideoPerscription Drive is extremely good, but in a completely separate way...in fact, it borrows heavily from crime capers like "Thief," so for that alone, it can NEVER be better than "Thief." NEVER, my friend.

[moviefreak2011]

Okay, just reading your description, the only other Mann film you like is Collateral. What about Manhunter? I thought thats a very good film. Also, I can see where you're coming from with Heat which does borrows from Thief. I said before that I love both films equally. Heat to me is a more tragic story than Thief.

[moviefreak2011]

@MsRauy That's the whole point about Drive. Brad Jones (The Cinema Snob) made a point about the film that pretty much sums it up. Which that is if Michael Mann directed The Transporter. If Mann made Drive between Thief and Manhunter, it would be pretty much what it is today and thats a good thing. It reminded me that great movies from this generation can be made while we are plagued with crap like Twilight and Transformers 3. If they decide to make more movies like Drive, I be very happy.

[moviefreak2011]

@MsRauy Miami Vice was okay for the most part. I'll watch it if I'm in the mood to see it. It has everything of a Michael Mann film that it needs to be but it's honestly, it was kinda boring. And I'm trying to figure out why that is. It's not there with the other Michael Mann films.

[MsRauy]

@moviefreak2011 Completely your opinion, although you're definitely missing "Miami Vice" in your list, "Public Enemies" not so much, though (well, it was not that bad, but...).

[MsRauy]

@myVideoPerscription In fact "Drive" reminded me of "Thief" in many parts, too. Especially the whole atmosphere in conjunction with the use of the soundtrack.

[proni1]

jim belushi is a douche

[moviefreak2011]

Honestly I dont think Thief is better than Heat and vise versa. I think they're both are great in my list along with Manhunter and Collateral. I've yet to see Public Enemies (I've seen bits of it and looks good).

[jrms999]

@20thcenturyfilmdocs You find in the DVD offered here in the UK the waterfront scene isn't included. Bastards....