Music is by Tangerine Dream and cinematography by Donald Thorin. It stars James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Robert Prosky, James Belushi and Willie Nelson. Thief is written and directed by Michael Mann, who adapts the screenplay form the novel 'The Home Invaders' written by Frank Hohimer. c) When Frank shoots Carl, he falls back (in three cuts) into the bushes. b) When Frank is shot by Carl (Dennis Farina), and you can see the window break on the car and Frank falls to the ground - all this has been sped up. a) When Frank shoots Attaglia, the body appears to hit the ground faster. Confrontation Shootout - Mann used a video post-production technique to speed up several shots/frames during the final shootout. This is only very slight and probably only noticeable if you watch both side by side.

Screen appears to blow-out to white in the Director's Edition that looks different. House Exploding - when comparing the Theatrical and Director's Edition, there seems to be better clarity in the explosion. Then Mann just slows down the images of the waves (to make up for the time lost) before the camera pans up to Frank. b) In the Special Director's Edition - Mann cuts a few seconds from Caan's victory nod - then cuts to the Beach Scene *before* the music cue change. Perfect match of Tangerine Dream's music and visual cut. a) In the theatrical cut, we clearly see Caan light up the cigarette, then he nods his head a few times - then on the music beat change - cut to the Beach Scene. In order to make up for the lost seconds, Mann make two editorial choices that end up hurting the original music/visual flow of the film. The whole shot is only about 7 seconds long - but it is nowhere to be found in the 'Special Director's Edition'. First she is smiling, then looks over at Frank with a sort of melancholy expression. Beach Scene - Mann removed a slow-motion shot of Tuesday Weld walking with the baby. A slow dissolve has been added that transitions to this new scene (normally the film cuts directly to Frank at the car lot) 2. Scene takes place directly after Caan's car drives away from the opening heist. There is a new scene with Wille Dixon on the bank on the Chicago river.

Differences between this version and the theatrical version are as follows: 1. For 16 years, this was the only home video release of the film in the US until Criterion's 2014 edition. In 1995, Thief was released in a new LaserDisc set billed as the 'Special Director's Edition', which was carried over to the film's 1998 DVD release.

Thief 1981 box office