UW Cinematheque | “Thief” (1981)

In his finest lead performance, Caan plays Frank, a home-invading safecracker and ex-convict living and working by a strict code. He has a reliable partner in Barry (Jim Belushi) and a mentor in the still-behind-bars Okla (Willie Nelson). When a Chicago mob outfit recruits Frank for some high-end heists, the thief finds his entire way of life in jeopardy, especially his new marriage with Jessie (Weld). Writer/director Mann’s first theatrical feature, with its neon-lit nightworld pulsating to the music of Tangerine Dream, is one of the most exciting and stylish debuts of the 1980s.