‘Thief’
Michael Mann’s directorial debut is a gritty neo-noir crime drama starring James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Jim Belushi, and, character actor Robert Prosky. Based on a novel by real-life criminal John Seybold, Thief follows ex-con/jewel thief Frank (Caan) as he struggles to finance his life with comely cashier Jessie (Weld), with one final score for mob boss Leo (Prosky). When Leo double-crosses him and threatens his family, Frank faces down Leo and his goons in a thrilling climax, heightened by a tense, pulsating synthesizer soundtrack from Tangerine Dream (who also scored William Friedkin’s Sorceror). Thief is smart, moody, authentic and endlessly cool.