Thief (1981)
07/11/22 • 16 min
RIP to James Caan, one of the more legendary American actors to emerge from the stellar crop of the 1970’s. ☹ He has delivered many a strong performance in many strong movies including The Godfather where he played Sonny Corleone. Over his impressive 50+ year acting career, his starring role as the eponymous thief in this crime drama is considered by many (himself included) to be his best overall performance.
He plays Frank, a seasoned safe-cracker living in Chicago looking for that one “last big score” and he just have found it.....working with local crime boss Leo (the late great Robert Prosky) which might present more issues than just pulling off a difficult caper. All the while, Franks is also trying to build a relationship (and family) with Jesse (Tuesday Weld) while also trying to help his mentor Okla (Willie Nelson) who’s still in prison – needless to say, Frank has a LOT going on and various complications ensue. This was also the feature film directorial debut of Michael Mann who would eventually go on to direct several CLASSIC dramas including The Last of the Mohicans, Collateral, and.....one of my personal favorites, Heat.
Host: Geoff Gershon
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon
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RIP to James Caan, one of the more legendary American actors to emerge from the stellar crop of the 1970’s. ☹ He has delivered many a strong performance in many strong movies including The Godfather where he played Sonny Corleone. Over his impressive 50+ year acting career, his starring role as the eponymous thief in this crime drama is considered by many (himself included) to be his best overall performance.
He plays Frank, a seasoned safe-cracker living in Chicago looking for that one “last big score” and he just have found it.....working with local crime boss Leo (the late great Robert Prosky) which might present more issues than just pulling off a difficult caper. All the while, Franks is also trying to build a relationship (and family) with Jesse (Tuesday Weld) while also trying to help his mentor Okla (Willie Nelson) who’s still in prison – needless to say, Frank has a LOT going on and various complications ensue. This was also the feature film directorial debut of Michael Mann who would eventually go on to direct several CLASSIC dramas including The Last of the Mohicans, Collateral, and.....one of my personal favorites, Heat.
Host: Geoff Gershon
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon
https://livingforthecinema.com/Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/
https://livingforthecinema.com/Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/
Previous Episode
Stripes (1981) Re-Release
For the week of July 4, 2022, we will be taking a break due to the holidays and to get our proverbial batteries recharged - we'll be ok and be back to releasing new episodes next week! ;) In the meantime, enjoy this remastered episode of my review of a comedy classic.....
This movie was directed by the late, great comedy legend Ivan Reitman who would give us Ghostbusters a couple of years later. This movie also stars two comedy legends – Bill Murray and Harold Ramis – as two shlubby dudes who decide to join the army to be all that they can be before they turn 30.
How does the humor hold up? Is it actually as subversive as it seemed at the time? Let’s enlist and find out!
Host: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon
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Next Episode
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
The son of Odon returns in his fourth movie within the Marvel Cinematic Universe once again starring Chris Hemsworth as the titular her and directed for the second time (after the previous one, Thor Ragnarok) by Taika Waititi. This time, he has a dangerous new enemy who is out to kill ALL gods (himself included) played by Oscar winner Christian Bale. He is also reuniting with a former love – returning from the first two films is Oscar winner Natalie Portman playing the earth-bound scientist Jane Foster, only this time she seems to be in possession of Thor’s favorite hammer. Also joining us for this new adventure is Oscar winner (!) Russell Crowe as Zeus who....well the less said, the better. What results is a mad-cap adventure with heart which spans several different planets including ours where New Asgard is located – gratefully New Asgard is overseen by returning character Valkyrie, still played winningly by Tessa Thompson. So the gang’s all here (minus Loki) as has the fun returned as well? Let’s find out and at least, we get to hear a lot of Guns & Roses along the way.....
Host: Geoff Gershon
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon
https://livingforthecinema.com/Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/Letterboxd:
https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/
https://livingforthecinema.com/Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578Instagram:
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Living for the Cinema - Thief (1981)
Transcript
THIEF - 1981
Directed by Michael Mann
Starring James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Jim Belushi, Robert Prosky, Dennis Farina, Tom Signorelli, and Willie Nelson
Genre: Crime Drama
RIP to James Caan who just recently left at the age of 82 – he was a truly singular talent who could combine strength and vulnerability in a manner that few others could even approach on-screen over the past 50+ years since his breakout role in the highly acclaimed television drama, Brian’s Song. Si
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