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Tickets are sold through Odeon Cinema Stavanger.
Directed by Michael Mann. USA, 1981
Starring: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, James Belushi, Robert Prosky
2 hrs 3 mins. English dialogue, no subtitles. Age rating: 15
A stylish heist thriller from the filmmaker behind Heat. With razor-sharp dialogue, atmospheric music by Tangerine Dream and a powerful performance from James Caan, we are drawn into Chicago’s criminal underworld.
This breakthrough film from Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider, Collateral) is a gripping and tightly wound thriller about a group of criminals in Chicago, led by Frank (James Caan). Frank has spent eleven years in prison, where he was mentored by the seasoned thief Okla (Willie Nelson). Now out for four years, he has established himself as a fearless and independent safecracker, working alongside his partner Barry, played by James Belushi. He also begins a relationship with Jesse (Tuesday Weld), hoping to settle down with her after one final, spectacular job.
Thief is an action film in which some of the finest scenes are dialogue-driven, much like in Heat. The late-night diner scene where Frank and Jesse talk about life is one of several highlights in this intensely charged film.
James Caan has said this is the film he is most proud of, alongside The Godfather. Although Michael Mann directed the TV film The Jericho Mile two years earlier, Thief is regarded as his true feature debut and the beginning of a remarkable career as one of Hollywood’s finest directors of the past 40 years.