Michael Mann’s debut feature Thief, a 1981 neo-noir heist thriller has received an upgrade to 4K Ultra HD by The Criterion Collection. The film was previously released on Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection in 2015.

Mann–who based his script on The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar by Frank Hohimer–supervised and approved the new 4K digital restoration of the director’s cut from the 35mm original camera negative. The additional Willie Dixon fisherman scene was taken from a 35mm internegative made from a 35mm print. Thief is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a 5.0 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. The 4K UHD disc presents the film in Dolby Vision HDR. The Blu-ray disc includes both the film (high-definition SDR) and bonus features. Nick Davis penned the essay included with the release.

The 1981 film features the first feature film performances of Dennis Farina, William Petersen, James Belushi, and Robert Prosky. Three of the four actors have ties to Chicago.

Synopsis

The contemporary American auteur Michael Mann’s bold artistic sensibility was already fully formed when he burst out of the gate with Thief, his debut feature. James Caan stars, in one of his most riveting performances, as a no-nonsense ex-con professional thief planning to leave the criminal world behind after one last score—but he discovers that escape is not as simple as he’d hoped. Finding hypnotic beauty in neon and rain-slick streets, sparks and steel, Thief effortlessly established the moody stylishness, tactile approach, and drama that would also define such later iconic Mann films as Heat, The Insider, Ali, and The Last of the Mohicans.

Bonus Features

• Audio commentary featuring Mann and actor James Caan
• Interviews with Mann, Caan, and Johannes Schmoelling of the band Tangerine Dream, which contributed the film’s soundtrack
• Trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Michael Mann
CAST: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Robert Prosky, James Belushi, Tom Signorelli, and Willie Nelson

United Artists released Thief in theaters on March 27, 1981.

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