The Big Heist 101

  1. Next list
  1. TonyPolito
  2. TonyPolito

There's tons of macho and suspense in James Caan's widely overlooked "Thief" (1980).

MIA: The Alpha Caper (1973, made-for-TV), starring Henry Fonda.

Page Views
257
Comments
0
  TonyPolito's Rating My Rating
1
The Great Train Robbery 1903,  Unrated)
2
White Heat 1949,  Unrated)
3
The Asphalt Jungle 1950,  Unrated)
4
The Lavender Hill Mob 1951,  Unrated)
5
Du Rififi Chez les Hommes (Rififi) 1955,  Unrated)
6
Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler) 1955,  PG)
7
To Catch a Thief 1955,  Unrated)
8
The Killing 1956,  Unrated)
9
Ocean's Eleven 1960,  Unrated)
10
Seven Thieves 1960,  Unrated)
11
Goldfinger 1964,  PG)
12
Topkapi 1964,  Unrated)
13
Gambit 1966,  Unrated)
14
How to Steal a Million 1966,  Unrated)
15
Bonnie and Clyde 1967,  R)
16
Who's Minding the Mint? 1967,  Unrated)
17
Grand Slam 1968,  Unrated)
18
The Thomas Crown Affair 1968,  R)
19
The Wild Bunch 1969,  R)
20
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969,  PG)
21
The Italian Job 1969,  PG)
22
The Sicilian Clan 1970,  PG)
23
Kelly's Heroes 1970,  PG)
24
Le Cercle Rouge 1970,  R)
25
$ (Dollars) (The Heist) 1971,  R)
26
The Hot Rock 1972,  PG)
27
The Getaway 1972,  R)
28
Charley Varrick 1973,  PG)
29
Bank Shot 1974,  PG)
30
11 Harrowhouse 1974,  PG)
31
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 1974,  R)
32
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot 1974,  R)
33
Dog Day Afternoon 1975,  R)
34
Murph the Surf 1975,  PG)
35
The Brink's Job (Big Stickup at Brink's) 1978,  PG)
36
Straight Time 1978,  R)
37
The First Great Train Robbery (The Great Train Robbery) 1979,  PG)
38
Thief 1981,  R)
Thief
Arguably Caan's greatest and most gripping performance, though "Rollerball" (1975) contends for that title. Caan himself calls it his best work other than Sonny Corleone.

The title doesn't refer to Caan, the high-end jewel-house crook. No, Caan EARNS his keep through sweat, planning, risk and stigma. But he's surrounded by thieves - cops wanting a taste o' honey, crime boss Leo (Prosky) wanting to milk Caan's talent, juvie warehousing that stole Caan's childhood. By Act III, Caan's throttle is wide open, making sure no one -but no one- takes what belongs to him.

Director Mann grips his viewers at Minute One. The stylistic cinematography is extremely satisfying: dark shadows, intense neon colors and wet road reflections that yield neo-noir atmospherics. Dialogue, realistic gritty street-solider stuff, engages; when Prosky informs Caan of his only remaining option, his brutal monologue is terrifying. The then-innovative Tangerine Dream synthesized score amps-up the intensity. Transfer & commentary average.

BACKSTORY: Loosely based on a 1975 tell-all novel by jewel thief John Seybold, who also served here as technical advisor (under assumed name, given outstanding FBI warrants). Dirty Chicago Detective Urizzi is played by John Santucci, yet another jewel thief incorporated into Caan's characterization; Santucci actually pulled the big West Coast heist here depicted. Santucci's wife cameos as a diner waitress. Leo's based on two Chicago Syndicate mobsters: Seybold's real-life crew-chief Leo Rugendorf and also Milwaukee Phil Alderisio. And Caan's actual safe cracking is real; he was trained how to use the awesome 8000-degree oxy-lance-torch to get 'er done. Most tools seen were actually borrowed from Seybold & Santucci.

RECOMMENDATION: Given the true-enough detailing, Caan's powerhouse delivery and Mann's skilled camerawork, this is serious juice. If you scored with Mann's DiNiro/Pacino showcase "Heat," you should queue this one up.
39
The Heist 1988,  R)
40
Point Break 1991,  R)
41
Reservoir Dogs 1992,  R)
42
Sneakers 1992,  PG-13)
43
The Getaway 1994,  R)
44
Dead Presidents 1995,  R)
45
Heat 1995,  R)
Heat
Pacino and DeNiro, after decades of cinema success, finally paired-up in this 1995 quick-footed 'hunted versus the hunter' bank robbery action thriller.

The film will likely endure in most viewer's memories due to the savage semi-automatic shoot-it-out scene embedded at the end of Act 2, which clearly inspired the true-enough AK-47-fueled 1997 North Hollywood BoA robbery. Still, it's the running five-star cat-and-mouse psych-out between Pacino and DeNiro that is the far more worthy content, the juice that put this film on fast-track to Special Edition & Blu-Ray.

Director Michael Mann understood only too well the significance of the pairing and so contrived a mid-film face-to-face scene, where the duo stand each other down, armed with only brainy dialogue, while tabled inside a Wilshire Boulevard coffee shop. Except for the 2008 flub-up "Dangerous Kill," there is no other celluloid shared by the two anywhere in the vaults - and fortunately Mann's here directed up a juicy scene for cinematic posterity.

The twisty-enough plot suspends the viewer while copper Pacino runs two steps behind DeNiro as he plots/executes his ATM withdrawal. Then the viewer is glued put while Pacino attempts to deliver DeNiro the ATM receipt he's left behind. And that delivery's unsure, all the way to fin.

"Heat" also earns kudos for nosing into the personal lives/dramas of the protagonists. In doing so, Mann is subtly revealing the character flaws/issues that effect the duo's small mis-steps that, in turn, define the ultimate outcome.

What a feast - the historic dramatic head-to-head pair-up, one of cinema's most aggressive gunplay scenes, the plot/chase confounded by personal flaws - all while the viewer roots for both characters, still knowing that only one can win.

RECOMMENDATION: Grab a steak knife, a bottle of A-1 and dig in. For another dose, check out Mann's old-school outing with James Caan in his most dramatic delivery, "Thief" (1981).
46
Ocean's Eleven 2001,  PG-13)
47
The Score 2001,  R)
48
Swordfish 2001,  R)
49
The Good Thief 2003,  R)
50
The Italian Job 2003,  PG-13)
51
Inside Man 2006,  R)
52
Flawless 2007,  PG-13)
53
The Bank Job 2008,  R)
54
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 2009,  R)
55
The Maiden Heist 2009,  PG-13)

Comments (0)

Post a comment

Recent Comments