I just finished watching 1981's Thief. This was director Michael Mann's first big screen effort.

I got this DVD out from the Saskatoon Public Library, and it had problems at times. My DVD player balked at playing it about midway through the film. This fits in with my suspicion that DVDs will in the end turn out to be more expensive for rental places and libraries than VHS cassettes were because they won't wear as well. For some reason people seem to treat them poorly, as can be seen at the amount of scratches that quickly accumulate on some disks. I'd love to know what people are doing with them. Using them as coasters?

Its interesting that Tuesday Weld is James Caan's romantic interest in the film. Even then many films often would team an up and coming young actress with a somewhat older male lead, and its probably gotten worse over the last 25 years. Instead we have a veteran actress who comes across as a woman who has experienced life, not some engenue who isn't convincing in the role she's asked to play.

If you enjoyed Mann's 1995 film Heat you'd be well advised to watch Thief.