To play a safecracker in Michael Mann’s Thief, James Caan learned from the best: By working with a team of convicted thieves who served as technical consultants on set, teaching Caan how to operate the machinery for a real-life heist.
Backed by Tangerine Dream’s atmospheric techno score, the film’s opening scene sees Caan crack a real safe on camera, hefting a near-200lb magnetic drill in order to punch through its thick steel door. During this wordless sequence we come to understand the rare skill and perseverance of Caan’s character Frank, a man whose expertise lies in an area that most viewers will never encounter. As he penetrates each layer of metal, the camera cuts between close-ups of the safe’s enigmatic interior mechanism, and shots of Frank himself, working with furious efficiency in a boiler suit and safety goggles.
