Transcript of 70mm’s Thief (1981) Episode.
SLIM Hey, it’s your old pal Slim and this is 70mm, a podcast for film lovers just like you. Every Monday, I chat about recently watched movies with my close friend and artists Danny Haas.
DANNY I don’t know what the walk that James Caan does, but it really looked like someone was holding his pants up from behind the whole time.
SLIM And our own spiritual adviser and movie insider, Protolexus.
PROTO Back in 1973. John Carpenter said there would be no more than 17 Halloweens, so that’s where we’re at.
SLIM our feature discussion later in this episode is a break from our normal themed format, and is Michael Mann’s Thief from 1981 with James Caan. We also have a special guest this episode cartoonist and co-host of the Bat & Spider podcast, my favorite podcast by the way, Chuck Foresman.
CHUCK I’m like, “Alright, Anthony Michael Hall!” and then it’s just my face slowly melting for the next two hours. Like, “Oh… Anthony Michael Hall… Cool.”
SLIM Feel free to use the chapters in your podcast app to skip right to our discussion about the movie. Can you love a film and not love the main character? Does having a score by Tangerine Dream automatically make a movie of five banger let’s find out now.
[70mm theme song ramps up, plays alone, fades out]
SLIM Halloween Ends hitting this October. Big major news that we had to share right off the top of the show. It’s too big for us not to get too we have a special guest with us we’re gonna get to him just in a mere moments. Halloween ends we had a big Halloween episode Halloween kills. Halloween we did a double feature EPS when the biggest shows that were done huge success. They just announced that it’s ending the third part. But not only is it ending in theaters, it’s ending on peacock simultaneous release proto How do you feel you don’t even have to leave the house to watch the end.
PROTO That’s was one of my favorite movie watching experiences. Last year when that was released on Peacock, I could just sit on my couch and watch a brand new Halloween. God, was there anything better right in the middle of October where you’re in the Halloween-fever and you get a freshie right there? [Slim laughs]
DANNY What?!
CHUCK Is this a joke?
SLIM Let’s recover from what Proto just said on this show. We’ll let the legal team sort out. But we have a guest he is he’s one of the foremost Halloween experts. He’s had heated opinions on the Halloween franchise thus far. Evil dies tonight. Chuck Foresman of the baton spider pod cartoonist and more importantly, one of our best friends. Chuck, welcome to the show.
CHUCK Oh, thank you. Thank you so much for having me back. Big fan of all of you, individually. Big fan.
SLIM But not collectively.
CHUCK Yeah, I prefer one-on-one relationships. This is okay. [Slim laughs]
SLIM So Chuck, tell us your feelings on Halloween Ends. And if you could just give us a taste of your opinion on that last one. Right. You had emotions.
CHUCK It was a very troubled experience last Halloween I was you know, the firt the first one, two or three years ago, it felt like it was like Force Awakens for for me. I was like alright, Halloween is back. I’m letting it I’m letting the hype wash over me. I’m gonna just let go of all my inhibitions and do it. And the first one I enjoyed quite a bit. The second one. It was the first time I think I was in a theater since COVID. So I was like, very tense. Triple Mazza. And there was there was I think I sat next to someone who was just talking like just chatter answering phone the whole time. So it was like no God. I was just like mad the whole time and couldn’t hear can hear the movie and I was like, what, what’s going on? But at the same time I was having this terrible experience with the film in front of me.
SLIM Was it the hospital scene that set you off? That long storyline in the hospital remember that?
CHUCK It was Anthony Michael Hall like like Come like alright Anthony Michael Hall and then it’s just you know my face slowly melting for the next two hours. Michael Hall. Cool.
SLIM Well, maybe maybe Halloween ends is gonna bring you around
CHUCK on me. Maybe I mean I’m glad it’s on peacock because I’m not crazy about buying the ticket.
SLIM $20 ticket
PROTO probably where you live between tickets and gas.
SLIM Danny, what do you think? Halloween Ends?
DANNY I’m very excited. I still watch the trailers yet not by any reason just have just keep forgetting about it. So I’m looking forward to one last ride. Yeah, me too. I can’t when it’s over forever. No more holidays. The
SLIM last one.
DANNY That’s it contractually confirmed. Yeah.
CHUCK It’s like when Motley Crue played their last show. And they said they’ll never talk and they all signed on the dotted line back in
PROTO Back in 1973, John Carpenter said there would be no more than 17 Halloweens. That’s where we’re at. [Slim & Chuck laugh]
SLIM Okay, so if you’re here for thief, you can use the chapters to skip ahead. That’s our feature president who want to Chuck’s faves. But normally when we have a guest, we like to look up their letterbox profile, check out there for phase, see if they can walk us through their their brain hot, you know, let’s get a vibe for who this person is. If you’ve never met Chuck, you’d never listen to Bat & Spider. It’s my favorite pod, by all means do it. But your first one on Letterboxd. One of the hosts of this show watched this week, river’s edge.
CHUCK If you plan on talking about this pro, I do not want to step all over you. So I’ll keep it brief. But River’s Edge is a magical teen movie that is very dark, but it it it just inhabits a very strange, special dark place. And it just reminds me of like hanging out with the bad kids when I was a teenager, you know, the danger in the air. And that feeling of you know that nihilism of when you’re that age and it’s like, well, especially in the 90s We’re all we’re slackers you know, most of us 2010 We’re in this mode, you know, Kurt Cobain died. And it’s like, What else was there to look for? Oh, my, so River’s Edge is like that sort of. It’s in that milieu for me. It’s and the guy hit you know, the director didn’t do anything else. Really? Right. It seemed like one of those flash in the pen magical moments.
SLIM Was it a magical moment for Proto as you watched it this week?
PROTO Yeah, I was really impressed by the depth of like the storytelling in this movie, just, you know, kind of a brief summary of it. It’s like it’s a bunch of high school kids and one of them is this isn’t a spoiler it happens. Very first thing in the movie, he kills his girlfriend, and then kind of goes around telling everyone about it and then the events of the movie or like the next 24 hours of kind of what happens yeah, I yeah, there’s something about it, where it just it the movie had so much heart and it like really capture it felt like it really did capture something of the times when I in my review, I said it reminds me a lot of Badlands where that movie really felt like of the time and like captured something in a profound way. I feel like this movie kind of does the same thing. So I was I was really I was really like affected by it and just kind of just stayed with me. And there’s a lot of cool different things in it. Like the acting is really fascinating because I wouldn’t say like there aren’t like the performances aren’t amazing so that you could say it’s like kind of rough the acting but it’s really compelling. I would actually say it’s probably counted one of Keanu Reeves better performances. I thought he was great. But Crispin Glover in this is like something else. I don’t even know. I don’t know. You just add it. You just have to see it. To understand.
CHUCK It’s like trying to describe the weird friend in your group. You know? Yeah, can’t really put it into words. We know the answer. Yeah.
PROTO Was he wearing a wig? Was that a wig on him?
CHUCK don’t know. Because it was it was under a handle a lot of the time but yeah, it felt like a wig job a little bit.
DANNY When I saw this pop up on letterbox reminded me I thought it was My Own Private Idaho. So I thought River Phoenix was sitting that screencap with him. This the Keanu looks exactly the same in both movies.
SLIM Yeah, not to be outdone when he talks about amazing acting Drop Dead Fred, your number two movie on Letterboxd four faves. It’s the backstory here.
CHUCK Trump did Fred. Yeah, that took me probably 30 years to finally watch. I remember. I must have had a videotape where the trailer was on so I had that kind of memorized as a kid but I only saw it and I think last year I finally watched it and it’s incredible. I mean, I mean Phoebe Cates love her and the the Crazy guy from Rik Mayall. It was in that show I think he was on the EastEnders over in England. But yeah, it’s it’s it’s sort of like a comedy psychological thing about this girl has an imaginary friend that just, you know is still around. Even though she’s almost an adult, I think. And it’s hilarious. It’s It’s crazy. It’s a it’s a real treat. It’s a good Night at the Movies.
SLIM Proto, you did not watch Drop Dead Fred this week?
PROTO I haven’t. No, putting it on the watchlist. Chuck has never steered me wrong.
SLIM Never. Here’s one that I was actually surprised with. I thought it would have been the other one from this era, but you’re number three movies Kickboxer from 1989, Jean-Claude Van Damme.
CHUCK Yeah, controversial. I know Bloodsport is the one that is you know, that’s the one everyone loves, but I’m a kickboxer guy. It’s just It’s just who I am. It’s the one I connect with more, even though it’s you know, the very similar movies. But I think it’s the training stuff that he does in the jungle at that old man’s house, kicking his shin against the bamboo tree over and over. Can’t get enough. Him stretching. Well, I think he always does. He always has someone stretching his legs open his
SLIM loins? Yeah. Just pushed to the limit. Yeah.
PROTO His body on this poster is insane.
SLIM He looked like he’d hadn’t, he was dehydrated himself for weeks before they took that photo. No water in his system whatsoever. Your last one, this one I’ve been interested in watching for quite some time but I’ve never been able to Ishtar, Elaine May, from Mikey and Nikki. Which you had mentioned the last time you’re on the show. So Ishtar, was this a first time recent watch?
CHUCK Yeah, last year or two. I watched it for the first time this was this was famous when it came out because it became the subject of Hollywood press as this huge budgeted movie that was just eating up money. And it was one of those things you know, it happens with like, it still happens nowadays where like a movie gets condemned before it gets it comes down and it’s just doomed to failure. And that’s kind of what this Halloween where it was that was the Sci Fi with John Carter from Mars. I feel like it happened to that one too.
SLIM Yeah. Red planet was probably number one, right? Wasn’t that just
CHUCK Everyone was against. And the same thing is true. It just became famous for being over budget and reshoots and stuff but and like Elaine May being difficult, but I finally watched this thing. It’s hilarious. It’s like musical comedy of these two guys who want they want to be famous for writing songs being a songwriting duo Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman. And they’re terrible. They’re so bad at it. And it is so funny to watch and they get swept up in this international adventure. While they’re trying to write songs and play this gig I think in in Egypt, I think somewhere.
SLIM This feels like a Proto movie. This could be like a five star blu-ray purchase from Proto.
PROTO This has Isabella Johnny from Possession. owe me your curl
CHUCK Charles Groden St. Charles grown fans.
SLIM I know they all signed off for the night they’re long in their sleep in their recliner. So I was listening back to her the last time you’re on the all or nothing episode. Yes, eons ago, two years my god tears. But you had mentioned Mikey and Nikki and then since then I have watched it. And they filmed the cemetery scene at the cemetery by my house. It’s literally five minutes from here, which is wild. I had no idea that these homes really like in the Philadelphia area.
CHUCK Whoa, take a selfie.
SLIM I’m going to do tonight I’m going to take your Nike t shirt on my rocking Platon Mikey and Nikki. Our sweet friends in Ohio from Rocky Mountain. Let’s see Let’s say hello to some patrons who joined us this week. Tommen, Bjorn and Matthew all joined got access to our VHS village discord uncut episodes, discounts on Danny’s merch. And we haven’t mentioned that by the time this episode posts will have already done our meetup. It will already have happened. Hopefully it went well. You know, we’re still alive, presumably from this raucous party that we had, this movie screening. Danny’s designing secret merch, just for people that are at the meetup. And it looked great. Feels great. I’m wearing it right now.
CHUCK But as you guys might tell me what the secret movie is when we’re off air, and so I can ward it.
SLIM I’ll just mention real quick too, we talked about Bat & Spider, but one of my favorite things about you and Dale Dale, our producer MRA This is the Saturday show you guys just relaunched the Saturday show so usually have a show during the week. But then there’s like a little fun. Saturday bonus show and previously you guys have gone through the Tales from the Crypt series. I mean, who knew that they had 20 seasons that you guys finally wrapped up watching the episode but you’re doing this hammer house of horror which renforth I guess one season 13 episodes and what his hammer is hammered like the the name and horror from the 70s or that era. What’s the story with them?
CHUCK Hammer started in the 20s I believe there are British studio and they weren’t account until till about this TV series about 1980 I think they went bankrupt. But they you know, they started out doing conventional movies. But I think about in the late 50s early 60s They started dipping their toe in in horror and started doing reinterpretations of Frankenstein and Dracula and the mummy without stepping on universals toes, so they had to like kind of make their own design monster designs, but they they just became sort of, you know, really good kind of schlocky fun, horror font, you know, madness, you know, and they did a lot of other you know, the pirate movies and action movies and murder mystery movies. But the Yeah, they became sort of the name and in horror. Back when, like, you know, it was cool to have like a studio that was almost dedicated to.
SLIM Is that like, um, hash Blumhouse our new hammer
DANNY trying to get you to walk off the show to
SLIM troll comments, can I get one episode shot before I break him?
CHUCK But anyway, so yeah, they they went bankrupt. And one of the guys running the show is like, hey, let’s make some money out of this name and make a TV show. And so Dale and I found this and we were watching all 13 episodes. It’s fantastic so far, so yeah, every single
SLIM streaming in a bunch of places on like to be Pluto. So, so available. Yeah. The first episode was like an hour long. I was watching it the other day. Yeah, yeah, they’re our lives. That’s better. We’ll have a link in the Episode Notes. Like I said, if you’re in the mood for low rent horror exploitation discussion, then it’s all yours. Danny, did you watch anything this week? You want to bring up?
DANNY Yeah, I did watch one movie since we’re recording earlier this week. Because of thief and Tangerine Dream. I had to look up what other soundtracks that they had done. And I came across 1980 threes wavelength and gave that a watch today. And it’s first of all Tangerine Dream score for it’s incredible. You no one had to question that. It’s a it’s a good movie. I had to watch it on YouTube. Because there’s no official like real release for it. Gorgeous poster. It’s a rad story to a couple goes out to the cabin for the weekend finds this like underground like laboratory that the government has. And they’re there. They’re studying three alien children. Oh. And so telepathically they connect with the girl the and it all kind of hits the fan after that. Visually it looks a mess on YouTube. It sucks that there’s a bad quality of this because this feels like ripe. I say to my review to ripe for like an era video release of this. But I enjoyed it really cool story quick story. And Tangerine Dream scores incredible for
SLIM I was looking up Michael Mann’s filmography earlier. And has anyone seen the keep from 1980?
DANNY The Nazi store last?
CHUCK That’s the last man I think I need to see.
SLIM The last man My God, what a greatest man biopic title.
CHUCK It’s, uh, you know, it’s everything I hear. It’s a mixed bag.
SLIM Yeah. So it’s the second movie after thief. And Brandon has it at one star. Derek has a two and a half star a few other supporters have it at like two stars like but the bitches Nazis takeover an ancient fortress that contain some mysterious entity that wreaks havoc and death upon them.
DANNY Right. Sounds awesome. Sounds great.
SLIM Yeah, no? Posters great too. And I’m pretty sure Tangerine Dream does the music for that as well in sci fi. That sounds like Lo Fi sci fi to me.
DANNY We’ll have Chuck back in two years to do it. Oh, I can’t wait the journey.
SLIM All or Nothing, Thief and then The Keep for Michael Mann. Pro anything you want to chat about. Before we get into our main event.
PROTO I’ll just mention that I checked off a Ghibli studio movie that I hadn’t seen. One that had slipped through Castle in the Sky. I had never watched this one. And I think it was Saturday morning. I put it on with the kids. I would I would describe it as it’s like a mix of Nausicaa Porco, Rosso and house Moving Castle. And it’s just a complete delight. I gave it five stars. That was just, that’s just another magical story from Studio Ghibli and you got to watch it. It’s fantastic.
SLIM The I did want to point out one more product review Schenectady, New York is probably one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. So there is a little insight into mate Charlie Kaufman’s oddball weird ass movie.
PROTO I did watch that. Yeah, I’ve been meaning to watch this movie for years. And finally, I saw that it popped up on streaming on Hulu. So I put it on. Yeah, I mean, I don’t even know what you could how you would even talk about this movie. But you know, Charlie Kaufman, if you’ve seen one of his movies, it’s just more of the same from Charlie Kaufman, really. But Philip Seymour Hoffman amazing performance in this movie. Yeah, I loved it had a great time. laughing my ass off watching that.
SLIM Every week we give out a free year of letterbox pro gets rid of those ads, you get access to stats. So just share the show on social media. you’re automatically entered in. Maybe it was last week or a few weeks ago, I vilified one of the co-hosts of The Movie Mixtape Podcast because he shared a screenshot and it had one of those ads and I was just like, Derek, what are you doing? So he shared the show on on IG and the end quote sharing so I can win a free year of Letterboxd Pro thank you in advance 70 mm pod. So I want to absolve Dirk from the shame that he might be feeling from that moment. So Dirk, you just won a free year of Letterboxd. Dirk, we love you. You know that. All right, it’s time to get into the movie thief. Special Event style episode has nothing to do with our previous theme or a future theme. But it’s been on our list for a very long time. We said like two years ago, that we wanted to wait to watch it so that Chuck could be on and we found some time for the four of us to be together on a Tuesday night LS part of what’s this movie about?
PROTO Frank is an ex convict who sells cars by day and steals jewelry by night. He has made his own way and played by his own rules, where nothing means nothing, and he is willing to throw it all away in a moment. But he does have a vision for his life and the missing piece is a family of his own. He finds Jessie and hopes to close out his thieving by making a big final score. In doing so he breaks out of working for himself and takes a job from Chicago mob boss Leo for the biggest score of his life. But breaking his own rules has consequences and the life Franke dreams have begins to dissolve as if it was never there to begin with.
SLIM Imagine combing the hair on James Caan shoulders as he preps for the job.
DANNY Casey’s thinking about it.
CHUCK Have one of those horse brushes.
SLIM Casey horse brushing his shoulders before his big gig. Cripes. We’ve talked probably at length about how we’ve wanted to watch this movie so maybe we won’t go into individually our histories with hearing about this movie it’s just always been sort of like on my radar ish with like Michael Mann movies. I still haven’t seen Man Hunter so that’s still want to lose. I’d love to watch. But since Chuck had been on last, we’ve changed the format a little bit where each host you know jots down three main things that we’d love to bring up during our discussion and eventually show our final thoughts and letterbox reading was Willers Chuck doesn’t give letterbox readings anymore on letterbox. So maybe we’ll break there the first time So Chuck when you’re thinking about thief, where does it slot in terms of like your history with a movie? I feel like you have more of a storied history than maybe the three of us what a thief
CHUCK I honestly don’t remember when I first I actually probably about 10 years ago first time I saw it and I don’t know if you guys feel the same but as soon as I saw I mean in the middle of it I was like why is this not up higher on the list when people talk about Michael Mann because I had such a strong reaction to this movie just it just grabs you from seeing one and and yeah I just like you know I love man hunter he you know all you know all the man’s the keep love the keep?
SLIM What’s the number one thing you thought of in this field that you wanted to bring up in our discussion for thief?
CHUCK Well, let’s get it out of the way cuz now it’s gonna say a Tangerine Dream. So I do all background, punting on on this. And Michael Mann. I watched an interview with him today. And they asked him about the soundtrack. And it’s pretty iconic. And he was still I don’t know, when this was shot, probably like 10 years, he was still conflicted about the choice he made. Because he was like, I he’s from Chicago. He grew up there. He’s really into Chicago, jazz and blues. And that soundtrack was supposed to be all blues, like local Chicago guys. But he made the choice. I’m gonna do an all electronic score because I think, you know, it was more in fashion. But I think he, the way he described it was it was it was going to be easier for people. It was like a strange sheen over this like dark crime gritty city movie. And it was going to help amplify everything and get people into this world. And maybe, maybe a blue soundtrack would maybe that was like too known. It was too organic. It was too like everyone has their associations with it. Were electronic music was probably you know, was much newer. Back in 1980 81. So yeah, it’s I don’t know how you guys reacted to the soundtrack. But like, as soon as like, you know, the UA logos coming up and you hear the scents come in. I am like, it just rolls you in and it kind of like puts you on Michael Mann’s speed, his tempo that he’s setting and it’s just it just does so much heavy lifting for me, getting me into the mindset of Frank
PROTO Yeah, I mean, I liked it a ton too. I think that’s a good point. I think if it was like a blues score, it could have been, it could have made it feel like too heavy, or too serious, too Noir. Because even while I was watching this, I think it had it had of course it has like a lot of Noir elements. But I think the soundtrack like you’re saying kind of elevates it out of that were almost by the end of it was like, if it would have been a blue soundtrack it would it might have been like felt like pretty heavy handed. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. But maybe this is like the one thing that he kind of like flipped on its head to kind of just give it you know, a different dimension in terms of what you might expect from a movie like this.
SLIM Yeah, I mean, the score. the original soundtrack is on YouTube. It’s not like in the US I guess available on Spotify or elsewhere. But you can find like the 40 Minute score on YouTube and just from the get go I’m all in the buckle up it’s like Dale shared a GIF in some other discord of like that dude, he’s just levitating like across the country. That’s the one the scores flying and not only that, and maybe we’ll get into later but like the final song, the final encounter track odd like Are you freaking kidding me? We’ll talk about that later. But Danny, what do you think of Tangerine?
DANNY I think it’s a very bold choice and I I connected right away as well. The first shot of that alleyway in the rain with the fire escapes in that long you know, deep electronic sounds. I mean, it’s it’s quite perfect and hearing Chuck say that it might have been this bluesy score I may have checked out sooner if it did not have this Tangerine Dream score for sure.
PROTO Did you see that this was nominated for a Razzie? The score?
CHUCK Oh, yeah. That’s the thing. It’s like, I bet you at the time and a little bit after, you know, when synths went out of fashion, people would pop this on be like, Oh, this score. It’s so dated. You know. It’s funny how we watch it now. And it’s, you know, it’s Blade Runner looms large, so
SLIM Proto, what’s your number one note for Thief?
PROTO My number one is really the character Frank. And how surprised I was at how unlikable he was to me. I mean, I think when I was thinking about it, though, like James Caan, when has, he really played a role where he’s like, a likable character, like he kind of, I guess he is always has like this edge, like this gritty, you know, rough, you know, character. So he fits the role really well. But I guess, just seeing this, it’s, it’s not every, you know, it’s not every day that you watch a movie, where the protagonist doesn’t really have like, many likable characteristics. Like, he’s just not very much a likable guy. Like, he’s very, like, he, he rubs against everybody. He gets in people’s faces, he blows up quickly. He doesn’t like think things through he’s, you know, he’s, he’s a rough character. But I think that’s, that’s a really cool, you know, star to have, you know, the lead to be this complicated, kind of a, you know, just rough dude, who you would not want to spend any time with as your lead.
SLIM Yeah, even when his like, early interactions with Jess, remember, he was odd and uncomfortable when he goes to that bar and is like, bossing her around, and like forcing her to like, go to the diner at the other scene. But man, I thought the same thing. For the majority of this movie, I was like, This guy sucks. And but that’s just like the way but you eventually kind of start to see where he’s coming from, like his backstory, he tells that long story about prison, which shaped a lot of his thinking in life and business, but through the whole thing. I’m like, back, like, by the end of the movie. I’m like, patting him on the back. I was like, hell yeah, let’s do it, buddy. People. But yeah, I came around
CHUCK that scene where he, you know, he man handles Jessie and pulls her out of the bar. That’s like, very indicative, like, you know, they, they wanted to create a character. You know, to show what happens when you’re in prison for a decade or plus, you know, where society and like, the rules and everything moves on, but you come out, you’re still that guy from the last time you’re free. So like, things like the way you treat a woman, you know, he doesn’t, he doesn’t understand these modern ways, you know? So that’s like, perfectly and he’s also like, you know, he’s in prison. So it’s like this, everything is like, I know what I want. I have to do it. Do this. I’m not, you know, there’s no blessing around.
SLIM The only thing he learned in prison was how to make a collage.
CHUCK Why don’t they print up posters of that thing?
SLIM Put that in a boutique criterion, yeah, lease or some kind of poster,
CHUCK Folded up, Franks collage.
SLIM Danny, your first point?
DANNY My first point is a little bit of a negative for this. And it also surrounded not really surrounds James Caan as much, but it’s hard to watch this because I know heat is after this movie. This isn’t this is post, this is pre heat, pre heated. But for a movie that has pretty much the same beats of thief who’s trying to do the last score to get out to move on for his life. It really is hard to compare it now it’s when we did the heat. So recently, but what the thing that bugged me about this movie was there’s outside of James, there wasn’t much for me to grasp on to like, James pretty much carries this entire movie on his shoulders. And his performance is great, but like with heat, we have both De Niro and Pacino going at each other with this. I don’t feel like there’s there’s the bad guy. You know, there’s like there. It’s you have James Caan, you have Frank, and then you have him either the cops are kind of irrelevant. The bad guy, the bad guy is his new boss. That isn’t really it till the end. So you have this whole movie of just kind of James figuring out his life and I kind of kind of I don’t know, I didn’t connect as well with it. And it and then like getting to the climax of the movie with Balu she’s death. I didn’t feel the weight of that death, at least not for Frank because blue. She’s so little in this film. And I don’t know I had hard time like really connecting a lot. With this movie, at least emotionally to any bits, or any characters besides James Caan’s character that also looked like someone was holding up the back of James’s pants as he walked around the entire time
CHUCK Are you saying he has no butt?
DANNY I don’t know what the walk that James Caan does, but it really looked like someone was holding his pants up from behind the whole time. [Slim laughs]
PROTO The tightness on his pants in that final scene, I was like, don’t you have a pair of sweatpants? Like if you’re coming in to kill some dudes, don’t you want to be a little bit more mobile?
DANNY Put some joggers on or something man.
SLIM Does anyone wearing cowboy boots at a certain point to probably. have any of the four of us ever worn cowboy boots before? Oh no,
PROTO no never I wish I don’t know if they’re
SLIM called driving these dudes on the on the range where while time they’d make it look like they’re the most comfortable thing ever but I don’t know well see her
CHUCK feet are sitting in puddles of blood in those because they’re just uncomfortable
PROTO I’m launching a full on investigation into cowboy boots. [Slim & Danny laugh]
SLIM blood Washington’s oh god yeah, I can see that I can see Danny your point about how there’s not really because you’re right. He works for the bad guy. And oh my god those cops are those loser douche do on me when it I feel like I could take those guys out those guys. They did not even look like they had acting credits. They will almost like local little local boys brought in Yeah, maybe they’re real cops. I don’t know the main
CHUCK the main scumbag? Well, some of them are real cops. The main scumbag guy though was a real thief that they hired as a consultant. But he got the part is that that shitty cop Johnson Tucci and all the really Oh yeah. All the tools tools that Frank uses to bust up in the safes there his tools that he used in real jobs.
DANNY Yeah, also the investigation he didn’t open proto is we need to bring Chris Nolan under light and how much he rips off. Michael man and his business. Yeah, that’s fine. Frank Frank cracking into that safe as a shot from dark night. Right in the beginning uses same exact drill thing in the very beginning of dark night. I need my I need Christopher Nolan jailed.
SLIM I’m file I’m getting my dues. Finally, the light has been shown on the fraud. That is Christopher Nolan. And those.
CHUCK I’ve had it. I’ve had Chris
PROTO and him. Now that slim has the Batman, he sees
CHUCK forsaking all the whole trilogy.
SLIM That trilogy at a year. I don’t need it anymore. My number one I’ll talk about is it Robert Prost ski, the met his the dude that he goes to work for, you know, the crux of how the story plays out as he tries to get these diamonds or jewels fenced, gets taken from him, he finds out who probably has them and he, you know, threatens them, give me this money in 24 hours, you’re dead. And then that guy’s boss, and then that guy’s boss come to hand him the money and it works. And he is like the ultimate badass. But then the guy is like, toxin was like, hey, you know, you can make a whole lot more money if you come work for me. And I love that scene, he the conversation is so well done. He convinces James Caan to come work for him at the onset of the conversation. It’s like the most insane idea that he would never consider. But over the course of like five minutes, or whatever he brings him over. And he does come to work for this guy with the promise of big gigs. That he’ll get a large percentage of, and that like, Oh, this is his like, oh, I can finally retire after those few jobs of this. But I just love that I love the dynamic of that guy, the CD businessman who is giving him information on where to do a safe cracking job. He gets some little bits and pieces of information and then you get a cut of what you bring me. I thought that guy was one of my favorite bad guys in any of the movies I’ve seen over the last like year or so for sure.
PROTO Especially the way that he turns because he’s he’s such a sweet talker, the first half of the movie. He’s like your family out to what do you do when you want a kid? I’ll get you a kid, whatever, whatever kind of kid you want, you know, and then when he when he flips and yeah, he kills Belushi. That scene, man. It’s like he’s a different person. So yeah, I felt the same thing. He was really great. And just like that, that can complete flip of the script there with him and just the way he related to Frank. What was great, although I was a little surprised that like Frank didn’t think this was going to happen.
SLIM I mean, he’s gotten he’s like, weaseled his way out of so many things by this point, like, I can get out of whatever comes next. I feel like that will be my thinking though.
CHUCK Yeah, I think you know, that’s that’s the thing, though. It’s like, like, I think Frank knew exactly. To clear what he’s getting into but the the the lore of that big score and him having the the reach of getting out and setting up his life with Jesse was too strong for him to resist at a certain point you know when you’re looking at those dollar bills but but man yeah deal with the devil worst you know it’s like a It was like watching a job interview negotiation there in the car
DANNY I was talking about when James gets pistol whips after blue she gets killed and his line flattens back in the shot of the boss man upside down. Oh, and it stays that way as he’s talking to them. It’s so unnerving like that. I just feel unsettled having to watch it upside down that it really that seemed like killed because of it. But a choice
SLIM but the meat coming off Balu she’s body after he got shot. Oh, hey, can we get a round of applause for
CHUCK Belushi for doing that stunt? I was impressed.
DANNY He tackles his wife on the beach. That was nice.
SLIM I thought her yeah, she was gonna have a broken leg. That was very dangerous. Yeah. Holy cow. Yeah, that’s the stunt where he gets shot on blasted. I saw like guts fly off of him. It was
CHUCK like he threw himself against the van and onto the ground. was great. Good job.
SLIM In my head. I have like this vision of Belushi this timeframe. But when he was running that beach, he had a football players body. Oh, like there was like, it almost looked like he had no body fat on him. He was built like a brick as house run it on that beach.
DANNY He ended his wife’s football career. Incidentally. Her knees are gone.
SLIM blown out. Chuck, what’s your number two point for thief.
CHUCK Um, it’s a simple one. It is watching it. It’s one of my favorite things in movies. of this ilk is watching people do things. And it’s this very simple thing. But watching James Caan and his crew. Plan, get intel figure out the score, and then do the job silently, professionally. With no problems. It’s there’s something endlessly satisfying for me to watch. Just people doing stuff on screen. It’s it’s like, just Yeah, Art said competency porn. It’s exactly. There’s just something endlessly fascinating about watching people who are obsessed with what they do. Do that thing.
DANNY And especially when it’s something you don’t know, like, I don’t know how to crack a safe. But also I don’t know how to crack a safe with a blowtorch. And a magnetic drill. And like lowering myself through a elevator shaft. I mean, that whole both scenes the opening shot the 10 minutes, however long the opening bid of him cracking the safe. All in then the second, the second safe those watching both of those scenes. I was like, I need to crack a safe this weekend. I need to try this.
CHUCK James Caan like he trained for doing all that stuff. And I watched this interview today. He said his sister had a house that had like a safe in the floor and she was freaking out because she didn’t have the keys or whatever. And she called him over. And he’s like, I don’t know how to do this. She’s like, Yeah, you were in that stupid movie. And he’s like, oh, yeah, I need I guess he drilled into the safe and got it open. So she’s
SLIM Yeah, that magnetic drill. Oh my god, that thing was so cool. Yeah. thing. Oh my god
DANNY pounds. Yeah, yeah.
CHUCK He had that saw up there. Yeah. And that he did that. I think that was like one like it was cut up in the movie. But he just did that. Like, in one take like he was really cracking a safe. And he said it. Yeah. James Caan I was watching the interview when he got when he opened the safe. And then there were the there was the doors with the little locks. He was like, he’s like, Oh, crap. I don’t know what to do here. He just like looked at the tools like, well, I guess I’ll just try and reverse through. And it worked.
DANNY That’s amazing.
PROTO Yeah, there’s little things like that make it feel so much more real to like last week, I watched blowout for the first time. And that’s like the same thing, seeing somebody do like, you know, a technical job, something you never seen before, especially something old that like they don’t do it that way anymore. It is so it’s so much fun to watch. It’s like you’re just like watching a little documentary in this movie about how somebody does their job. Yeah.
SLIM Also when they were like reading the wires 20 Marble he drilled through that plate and he was like, I don’t know if he had a radio line or a phone line. Oh my god, that was so cool. For number two,
PROTO I’ve been thinking about this a lot as this year I’ve been watching a lot of movies from the 70s. And what I’m beginning to really appreciate is movies that are older, that are based in the time period when they were made, rather than, you know, like a historical setting, or, you know, a movie set in the future or whatever, like, those are great too, but there’s something about a movie like this, where it’s like you’re peering back in time. You know, where they can then shoot a movie on, you know, on the streets with all the cars that were there, whatever technology was there. It’s like a little time capsule, you know, from this period. And, and I just love that in the same way, like Chuck, you were just saying about seeing somebody to do their job just seeing the world from a different time period. It’s just so cool. And especially like this, like the you know, 70s 80s I just, I just cannot get enough of it. And just the their clothes, the cars the way they communicate the you know, the the colony chatter on the phones, just all of it is so is so great. And I just I love I love that about movies, and I love movies that just do that so well. And I think this movie does it in spades.
SLIM Seven years, the greatest decade of all time per
PROTO Confirmed we’ve confirmed this. Yes.
SLIM The one note one call out so people will say this really smart thing and then I’ll say this really dumb thing. That’s usually what I do. Guarding the safe Did you see the bell bottoms? That one guy was wearing? Holy crap. Oh, good. Got he was styling and profiling his ass off. Danny, what’s your number two?
DANNY My number two is Jim Belushi. I when I watched this, I realized I have never seen a Jim Belushi movie. I know him as a person, as whatever TV show he did for like what felt like 30 years total goof he’s a goof but I liked him in this. And I was really wanting more of his of his character. I wanted more of him with Frank. I thought him and James together were like a really good team, at least acting off of each other. But I was actually a little bit bummed how little Jim was in this movie. And I just I honestly really wanted more of him. I really wanted more of him. I wanted more of that relationship between the two of them because it seemed like it was super close. We have both families together cooking out going to the beach. You know, it felt like a little bit more than just a business relationship. And then I don’t know if there’s any more serious Jim Belushi movies like are there? Are there roles because I always feel like he’s like a Chris Farley type
SLIM person. Cat has got a lot of movies on letterbox.
CHUCK Have you ever seen canine where he have it? No, no.
DANNY Movie so I was
CHUCK his partner’s a cop or his partner’s a dog.
DANNY Perfect. That’s what I’m looking for.
SLIM Yeah, I agree. I loved him in this role. I have seen him in a ton of things, but maybe it’s just mainly TV and Jingle All the Way. I mean, Last Action Hero he’s in red heat with Arnold. Hello. He’s Yeah, he’s in a lot. But yeah, they all do feel like, you know, 80s Comedy ish for me. Oh,
PROTO this is crazy. Canine and Turner and Hooch both came out in 1989
CHUCK really fast with both? Yes,
DANNY we’re doing a double feech
SLIM Is it time to settle the score?
CHUCK But back to your point. I agree. Danny, I do. There’s there is something that you wish you had a little bit more to their relationship. At the same time, I think I think Roger Ebert review called out that he wished there was more to me and Ebert or the Okhla to the Oakleigh relationship with a Willie Nelson character that you said that was sort of a missed opportunity for this movie to have a little more depth in that that stuff he and I want you know, I don’t know. I mean, who knows what stuff got cut out. To maybe just service the hyper hyper focus on France character. Yeah.
SLIM When Chuck was referencing an Ebert review, I thought he was going to reference Evers canine review and I was crapped my pants. Alright, my number two before anyone else takes it is the final act. I do want to get to and I do want to call out Alex’s comment in chat. This is my first rewatch the thief and this time I was vibing on how Frank talks about the lesson from prison being you need to act like you’re already dead. And that same experience gets mirrored when he gets screwed by Leo and then he goes on a rampage. The finale I was like waiting for like the casino moment tap into James Collins me I was like man, he is just gonna get annihilated. Right? Like this is how the movie ends. It’s gonna be really sad. But was really I was enjoying the movie and then once he goes To LEA is at Leo’s house, Robert Roski and the music kicks in that like, final guitar piece of the score. I was like, blown away. I was so in love with everything in that scene. He’s annihilating everyone. This is his last shot. He’s shooting people in the street he’s chasing them out into the street. It’s just I was about to say broad daylight it just so lit up at night. He’s wrecking people. I love that then he gets blown up by the shotgun blast and then the music I love it. I was so enthralled by the final act this movie it’s the combination of what was I was seeing on screen and then just the amazing score it was like unbeatable in my opinion
CHUCK Yeah, I don’t know any musical actual musical terms, but that’s like that. That piece of music it’s like that one of those It’s like a magic trick where it feels like it’s building for like five minutes but it’s there’s just kind of playing the same riff over and over again but it feels the energy just keeps building and building Yeah, it’s it’s this propulsive thing. God yeah, he just walks off into the night too, dod damn. Beautiful.
SLIM Proto, what did you think?
PROTO I think that’s I think that was like — well first, this is probably my favorite mission in Grand Theft Auto. Felt like
SLIM Tangerine Dream is in GTA five. I really mean some people have heard Tangerine Dream. You don’t even realize it.
PROTO There’s got to be a mod of somebody who just recreates this whole movie in GTA. I’d play that.
SLIM I mean how much of GTA is from Thief, Heat, you know assorted other. Miami Vice. Yeah, Miami Vice the entire show.
PROTO Yeah, I was definitely surprised by the way it ended with him. Well, I totally thought he was gonna get blasted like he would they would all just die and he would clean out or whatever, but the way he walks off into the night. That’s really cool. I really liked that ending. I thought like, Oh, this is like I because it just imagined like he just went on living just I don’t know, went to a different city kept doing what he did. And and that, you know,
SLIM sell it off until then he became Robert De Niro. And he you know same character. Yeah.
CHUCK I mean, they could go either way. You know, like Leo’s the guy in charge of Leo. You know, could come get him or Yeah, he starts over you know,
SLIM he just walks off in those tight s jeans float and
CHUCK his blood flow tight as His blood is
SLIM at J tight a. Danny What do you think of the finale at that point?
DANNY Well, that yeah, that was one of my other notes. But the one bit that you didn’t talk about the blowing up all of his possessions? His house? Oh, yeah, his bar, his his car dealership. Like that whole segment. So just destroying your entire existence. Felt great, like the build up to even more proto was saying I thought he was gonna die because everything was just being destroyed. His life is destroyed. He’s about to destroy himself. What a build up to this finale, like absolutely incredible. I just loved it. I loved him walking around his dealership with the gas cans blowing up the cars. I mean, it looked like he probably burned himself on set, but it was incredible.
CHUCK Yeah. Pull up his dream collage on that dream collage.
SLIM God. By that time I’d forget I’d forgotten even had a car dealership. I like
CHUCK the car dealership.
SLIM We will check you brought up feet and bloody feet and boots. How about the things Leah was doing with his feet as he was reading the paper? Did you catch that? He was like my hand on camera. Like he’s gone like this was fun. I was like, God damn,
CHUCK I love that scene of him reading the paper and his you know, one of his lackeys going oh oh, do you want to milk? That might have been my favorite line in the movie. Mohawk oh man, you want to milk
SLIM Chuck What’s your final point for a Thief let’s see look at the screenshot on me imitating us that was a screenshot and accurate to I feel like I nailed it
CHUCK Yeah, I have about 50 Other things to say about this gonna be but I like I really I liked Michael Mann in an interview mentioned how he you know that he did thing in this movie where he kind of had something to say about something. Whereas he’s like, I would never do that in a movie now. But I think that something he had to say was he he’d spent a lot of time and with prisoners researching a movie he’d made called Jericho mile, which was a TV movie set in prison. And he used a lot of that for Frank’s character of the experience of being prison being away. And, you know, how that transforms the trans foreign to you and, and what it’s like reentering society and dealing with how things have changed. And I really, that’s one of the things about Frank’s character, really appreciate it because I think it it treats him with, you know, I don’t want to say respect, but But it’s, it’s, it’s, you know, he understands like Frank, at the same time understands the plight he’s in like, he doesn’t have even though he’s out he still doesn’t have the freedoms like he, like the biggest example he used to adopt a kid and it’s just like, it’s a no go because he was a con. But he understands that and he it’s like watching a guy you know, he can’t really go straight. Like whatever part of him won’t let him do that and watching him just go against the current and keep pulling off jobs to try and get more and more money so he can just like get out of the the straight game completely and build a new life with Jesse. That whole thing just I felt like it was so finely tuned and real. And I liked I liked I liked that aspect of what it’s like coming out of the prison system. That was a big important thing for me.
SLIM Sort of like a recurring theme of man’s movies to have that like dude well outside of like dudes being dudes that was like one of my honorable mentions like the finale is just feels like I feel like more of a man than I’ve ever felt in my life watching the end. But it’s like Jamie Foxx is trying to get away in collateral you know, he has that photo almost like a collage like he has in this movie. He obviously which we covered it’s kind of like full of dudes trying to escape that sort of life as best they can. So definitely has a theme that he’s trying to nail
PROTO Yeah, I guess you know not you say that. It’s thinking of him doing our li of like guys who have a chip on their shoulder. I mean, Muhammad Ali definitely had a chip on his shoulder so that kind of fits now thinking of it of just in terms of stories that he likes to tell
SLIM What movie would Michael Mann want to talk about on 70mm?
PROTO Turner and Hooch.
SLIM That’s right, I remember I added I added him on Twitter, because I’ve read articles that he loved avatar, so I saw like Michael come on the show
DANNY and really, oh my gosh,
CHUCK he probably just said that because he like goes over to Cameron’s chat. Don’t
SLIM ruin this for us. Don’t do it.
CHUCK He sees James at the country club. He asked to say that come on.
SLIM Yeah, he’s changed his word. He’s like motocross, a t shirt. Drive fit t that he wears at the country club. Pro Number three final point
PROTO We covered most of it but I really love the dialogue in this I think there’s so many memorable lines and it’s really just the way like the just different conversations are structured and the way that he James Khan’s character relates to other people like when when they when those cops pull him over and he just basically tells them the you know, piss off the way he doesn’t like guns the engine is so cool.
CHUCK What’s with you are in goes with the territory.
SLIM you want to pinch me you pinch me.
DANNY I’ll be out in 10 minutes. If not get the fuck off my car.
PROTO But then he also has this he has when he picks up Jesse and he’s like trying to describe like who he is. And he like he has this like Ron of all the things that he that he owns the silk shirts. You look at me I’m wearing these $800 suits. You see this gold watch? I love that. Oh, the one of the funniest things he said to me. He says let’s cut the bullshit and the mini moves and get on with the big romance. Yeah, what a lie. Yeah. Yeah,
SLIM I wrote down a few too. If I want to meet someone, I’ll go to the effing Country Club. My money is in your pocket from the yield of my labor. I love that. Yeah.
CHUCK Oh yeah, union, union! He says go join a fucking union though. Yeah. Khan made the decision to not use any contractions. So he never says like, can’t or won’t, because like, he him and man decided that this character wouldn’t. He would want to speak as efficiently as possible and have no, no a bill no give no opportunity for someone to misunderstand what he’s saying. So he he speaks like as plainly and clearly as possible.
PROTO And that scene where he goes to get his money from Leo, what does he call his gun? That line was badass, too. I can’t remember what he says. I’m gonna chat
DANNY Drop it in right here, Slim.
SLIM Why don’t you join our labor union? I’m wearing it.
CHUCK There’s a lot of great lingo in this movie.
SLIM Danny, number three,
DANNY that we’ve covered a lot. One of the things so for this for this movie there feels like Yeah, well, while it doesn’t hold in a very much emotional wait for the story for me. We talked about Tangerine Dream and James Khan’s performance, but the cinematography and this is it’s one of the bests that I’ve seen in a while it and I looked up the gentleman that did it all. And he hasn’t, he hasn’t done much else that I can, I’ve seen or at least Phil’s memorable but there’s so many shots in this that from the get go just the up close of the of the drill and going through the hole that he built. The shots in the bar with James on the phone are walking in and out of the bar. There’s a great panning shot when Frank is walking through his car lot. vowed to burn it all down. There’s just there’s this is a this is like a really gorgeous movie. Like just to even look at, you could just listen to the score and just watch this thing. And still have a great time. We’re having
SLIM like loc Lord of the Rings, you know, concerts, where’s our Tangerine Dream? Oh my god or whatever thief, you know, on the on the lawn or whatever they call that? That’d be great. Yeah, the I looked up the cinematographer Donald Thorin. Other than thief, the most popular one, it’s sensible woman, but also Purple Rain. Woman,
CHUCK you know, owl was up for Frank’s character at one point. Do you imagine. But Danny, to your point, they’re an example of this. He he he does a shot in this movie that he used reuses in the Miami Vice pilot, which my favorite shots ever. It’s just the shot of I think in this it’s Frank’s car, the hood of his car with a Tangerine Dream plane. And it’s just the reflections on the hood of the car as a stretch. He doesn’t say yes, yes, yes. And the Miami Vice pilot and it’s it’s just like, oh,
DANNY yeah, I mean, the wet streets driving around Chicago. It’s it’s it’s perfect. I mean, it’s film so great.
SLIM Yeah, I think Amanda made a sarcastic comment on that one shot of the car hood, which is the music playing some kind of sarcastic Nice. What are you watching? This is one of those artsy movies you’re watching. My third point before we get into honorable mentions and follow writing. So Chucky, if you have some rapid fire once we can get to that in a second. And I’ll be quick about this one my third note, how about them just getting that baby? Like, Leo just gives him a baby. And it’s like nothing 1981 You just own this baby. Where’s the paperwork? I guess that was already taken care of. But it was just so crazy how I can get your baby. You want a baby. And then they and then James Caan, like starts almost like getting emotional at that table. It’s like I got you a son. Oh god, I’m gonna. I’m a father. I’m a father. Oh my god. It’s like you’re stealing a child. You’re not really a father. I just thought that was so hilarious. And then when they’re when they’re at dinner, they take the baby to dinner in one shot, and the waiters like that’s a nice baby. Who the hell says that?
DANNY you got a good one.
SLIM Hey, that’s a nice baby. You got there. Oh, okay. It’s a $20 tip right there. I think you
DANNY described it. It felt like a puppy mill. It didn’t tell you these women were just giving birth. I’m out. Right? Yeah. And you see her hand the baby off. It was. I was I was little take. I can’t stop.
CHUCK I don’t think that was the mother in my head. That was now I don’t think that was the mother. I thought I think that was like an intermediary.
DANNY Okay, okay, okay.
SLIM But there’s like a room of 30 mothers at various stages.
DANNY It’s stressed me out. I stopped myself from googling if this was a real because I didn’t want to know I wanted this to be fake.
SLIM All right, so rapid fire any other notes, Chuck for Thief and maybe if you’re comfortable final rating for the film?
CHUCK Oh, sure. Just one other quick thing, one scene that cracks me up. So Okhla oak gets his body. He’s like, Hey, get me out of prison. I’m dying. I don’t want to die in here. Frank’s like, Okay, you got a buddy. And in my head like I hadn’t seen this in a few years and I was like, Is there a person breaks even this like Franken ago or gonna, you know, figure out how to break him out of prison physically. And then we get the courtroom scene. Oh, yeah, the lawyer is negotiating with the judge in open air by the number of fingers their their face to how much the bribe is going to be. To get him out of jail. Dollars. What is so funny. I loved it. Love that top
SLIM Secret negotiating tactics in 1981 you hold up your fingers to signify the 1000s of dollars you want for this deal?
DANNY Man. Is the Lawyer sitting like that with his hands on his face? It’s so rude. I know. And then it shows the judge and he does that I’m like, oh shit, they’re negotiating. Oh, what a see.
CHUCK But yeah, five stars easy.
SLIM Oh, honorable mentions final thoughts.
PROTO Honorable mentions anything else? Oh, another like little scene. It was it was when blue sheet goes to catch though, though the word the secret code word to turn off the fifth alarm. And just like that the fine details that man used of like, just zooming in on the radio and the dial and all that. I loved all I could
CHUCK see the dirt under Jim’s finger. Yes.
PROTO Final rating. Um, I mean, it’s a gorgeous movie. It looks so great. I think I did struggle with Danny was said at the beginning of just the arc of I think like the story and like, where this character was going if there was like any kind of, I don’t know, change or result like resolve at the end, it kind of felt like not much really happened. And in some ways that I think that by the end of it, I felt kind of like I didn’t have much to go on or, or take from it. But as we’ve been talking about it and just thinking about like how much I really did enjoy, have just enjoyed watching between the soundtrack and the way it was shot and everything Michael Mann did dialogue. I’m at four stars for this great time or
SLIM okay. For superstars. Danny,
DANNY yeah, this movie checks all the boxes for me. But it just lacks something some sort of emotional connection with James and a friend James and his wife, I just or Frank Excuse me. So it only falls short a little bit, because I don’t know what I expected. But I miss some sort of emotional weight in this film. I do feel like on rewatches it just it really might just end up changing. But for now I’m at a four stars.
SLIM I thought you’re gonna say all that and then still be five stars.
DANNY I mean, the conversation pushes it a little bit. It makes me love the film a little bit more every time. But I feel like I feel like knowing this film now. And just sitting with it and watching it and vibing with it again. I really could. You know, it could come around back as a five star again, easily.
SLIM Wait until everyone sees the art. You’re over.
DANNY I’m sorry, sir. Oh my god, I love that. You’re killing me.
SLIM My honorable mentions final thoughts. Maybe one of my favorite scenes in a movie over the last several years was when James Caan is in the bar and then he leaves and then they get the phone call from Bucha. And then they call a random dude to go get James Caan from outside to come in for the phone call. What? That is so weird. I loved it. It was just so bizarre and almost like slice of life ish that just keep it in the movie. I loved it tickles
CHUCK like what was that guy’s like? The bartender’s like Hey, Ernie. Good Frank.
SLIM Doesn’t the perspective doesn’t change. It’s still like a bar and then James Caan comes back in
CHUCK the thing I did you guys catch. I didn’t know Frank owned that bar. I didn’t
DANNY know that either. The only way only the only thing that led me to believe that way right away was the bag of whatever. He just had the bartender set aside next to the cash register. I’m like, why is giving you a sack of shipping anyway? Yeah, yeah, I was like, Oh, he has something to do with this bar.
SLIM Going through my other notes, see if I missed anything, when he gets the code word For the safe they like you know it’s that’s a report back when the alarm goes off a that’s got to be super annoying to do every day. Any shifts you have much like then they break in and then the alarm goes off and he radios it he says the code word. Shouldn’t that tip off the like security that he’s talking to 4am Everything all right up there. You want us to come up? Like why you need to give us the code.
CHUCK Mexico was wondering because like this is like it was too early to have like a computer listening to that right? Person. Yeah,
SLIM I don’t even consider that.
CHUCK Unless maybe the maybe the person’s at the security company. That’s like, other side of the city. Yeah.
PROTO Yeah, it’s just like an 18 year old sitting at a desk all night.
DANNY graveyard shift you might be right. Yeah.
SLIM But I loved it. I love watching this. The finale is tops at four and a half stars for three mazing time mazing time Awesome. Well, it’s just a pleasure to be able to for us finally knock this off.
DANNY I know I’ve been wanting to watch it. Since we brought it up with Chuck two years ago. There is
SLIM Some bonus print materials in the thief criterion that I’m going to read after this episode. I don’t read any of it. oh nine my sort of booklet included in the criterion. Yes. Am
CHUCK I gonna get that? I gotta get this disk file. Oh, yeah. Not have it.
SLIM You gotta get that. All right, we have some emails to get to tonight. Before we reveal next month theme, you can leave us an email 70 Mm pod@gmail.com Or just use the links on 70 Mm pod.com Let’s see here. We got here is comment comes from a Matthew. Hello, Matt. Hey, 70 mm first time writing in after listening to the show for a few months and just today as of writing, joining the VHS village. For great bonus episodes and access to the VHS village discord, you might say. Wanting to thank you for the great time I’ve had listening to the back catalogue of episodes and for introducing me to loads of new movies or forcing me to reprise old favorites or least favorites. I have been loving the animated summer it reminded me how much I love Tintin despite the fact it’s only half a film. And it started me on my current Jubilee. Watch. Oh, yes, I’ve never watched any before. Despite not loving Princess Mononoke a Gnostic on the other hand, perfection. Nothing is as good as nasaka discovering the hidden underground caves isa forest, where the arm lifting nasaka of like the hero from the story, just great stuff before I finish this email, Chuck, what’s your favorite G Billy movie?
CHUCK I want to say Ponyo. Oh, I saw that in the theater. And it was just such a pure happy experience. But a button also but what’s the one with the big guy the big Caturra todo todo? It’s the Total Row is like hard to beat. But those two are like my yeah, those are two.
DANNY Now I want ramen again. Got that ramen seen Antonia
CHUCK Gets flack could be a cartoon eating ramen I would.
SLIM Anyway, before I finished up I wanted to ask if any of you have ever seen Doctor Who and if so what are your opinions? Maybe an idea for a future TV pilot episode. Also we need a last Jedi episode just have a valid to rewatching gush over it. Thanks for making the only podcast about film that’s from Matthew June 2021 hater quote signatures. Oh
DANNY my God. What a signature
SLIM printer Do you have any thoughts on Doctor Who
PROTO I did turn Doctor Who on once. I think it was the whole gone David Tennant was the doctor can barely understand what anyone was saying I turn it off.
SLIM I have a story. Troll history with Doctor Who over the years. Let’s get it all just feel like there was a period of time where I couldn’t look one direction without seeing a telephone booth in my face or whatever the aliens are called in that thing in and chat. That’s one of my favorite pastimes spelling it Dr. Who? They hate that? I think Dirk a few times with that one. But I don’t know that was a long time ago. I don’t have any particular opinions about the show. We’ll see if we’ll do a pilot episode. Chuck, what do you think about Dr. Rowe?
CHUCK Same I like I like making fun of it. But I really know
SLIM that RGD to rip off is that from the shell doctor who was
DANNY from like the 40s. So who was doing comic conventions for so long doctor who was definitely shoved down your face. That’s when I gave it a try. It was during the Matt Smith era. So when I when I started to watch Doctor Who I started from the beginning and I hated Chris Eccleston right away. So I stopped and then I started watching some of David didn’t really vibe with it and I’m like well I think I’m not a Who fan movie and but then I started watching Matt because he was current he was what it was on TV at the time and fell absolutely in love with Matt Smith’s Doctor binge that whole season and then while I was in love with Doctor Who then eventually went back and watch Tennant and Eccleston and I do enjoy those a lot and David’s great. Love for Me Matt’s my doctor. Love me Love me somehow
CHUCK I’m at the beginning of that, that journey. I might try it someday but I watched one Eccleston like the first one and I don’t know who all your members are. He was like hiding in a pile of mannequins and
DANNY mannequins. Yeah, I turned that off too right away
SLIM Remember him and gone in 60 seconds never rains the poles
DANNY Do a look like an asshole.
SLIM And in 28 days later he was in wasn’t eating he played that like military.
CHUCK Yeah, yeah, it’s good stuff in that drill sergeant.
SLIM Brand and emails in subject line meet up. Oh, hello friends. I’m currently working very closely with spiritual advisor to the community portal access on a way to astrally project myself from Iowa to an undisclosed location in the greater Philadelphia area this weekend. We are desperately seeking a breakthrough in the next two to three days from the event. We can’t crack it. I just want to say I love you all. Please travel safely and have the best time. My heart will be so full this weekend seeing pictures of the revelry and knowing the bonds of friendship in the village are only growing stronger. Have a blast and I will catch you all the next one. That’s Brandon.
PROTO If anybody has a meteorite that fell during a new moon I could use it
CHUCK I wish I could be there guys. I wish but it’s up there at the beach actually so I’ll be at the beach but
SLIM didn’t know you go to the beach. But
CHUCK Maybe I’ll maybe I’ll download canine because I know you guys will be what?
PROTO It’s lab chalk chalk. No.
CHUCK Sorry. Thank God this isn’t live.
SLIM Can you imagine the noise really? Everyone turning their head around the doors. I’ll see you guys in two hours.
CHUCK Jim Belushi walks in.
DANNY The three of us are excited to get there.
SLIM He wasn’t invited. He just saw the movie title playing on the marquee All right, the thief email comes from Thomas snacks. Hello to prote Danny slim and special guests Chuck Foresman. Thank you all for covering thief. It’s currently number five on my favorite favorites list. And the episode comes with perfect timing as I just finished a hashtag journey that culminated in a thief rewatch last weekend. The one note I wanted to mention is how quickly this movie sets its tone less than one minute in I can safely say that I’m watching a Michael Mann movie. This feels wild for a director to accomplish his first feature. Yeah, that’s just another thing. We didn’t really talk about too. Too much. But man, your first movie she’s. Yeah, what? I know questions like this can be tough on the spot. But I’m wondering if y’all have any particular favorite debut features off the top of your heads. Thanks as always for making a wonderful podcast for film lovers. And I hope everyone has a great time at the meetup comes from Thomas favorite. First time films, directors. Oh my god. I feels like that’s another box list. Probably our first gab says Olivia Wilde. Easy.
DANNY Well, that’s a good one.
SLIM Some of the just jump in this list. Reservoir Dogs Quentin Tarantino. 12 Angry Men Ex Machina is first that was his first direct I was gonna
CHUCK say Terminator, but I just looked it up. He camera directed Purana to the spawning.
SLIM No one ever talks about Being John Malkovich. Badlands also on this list.
CHUCK Oh, that’s a goodie. I’ll take Badlands that’s my answer.
SLIM Yeah, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.
PROTO Oh, I like this one blood sample from the Coen Brothers
CHUCK brothers. Oh, yeah. Damn. That was Yeah. Imagine seeing
SLIM what the mayor did on that. We’ll get some answers next week. For me anyway. Data you didn’t get one did you?
DANNY No I didn’t.
SLIM Nolan’s following isn’t too bad from Paul Paul want to get a timeout on his birthday? Bringing out it’s crazy. Shaun of the Dead Jada kiss points out Jason email. Hey guys haven’t got much to say other than I watched thief last night with dinner and what a night Have y’all ever tried playing Hot Dogs before? completely nude inside the bun first time not putting sauces on them for dinner and I’m a changed man. Feasting on naked dogs with Tangerine Dream blasting out of the TV. It absolutely transcendent experience. movie was great. And James Khan’s chest hair was unforgettable. Thanks again for the great pic and the insane guests for this EP 70 mm that comes from Jay. Sure. Nice. Can we talk about a naked dog? Let’s talk about it. That’s my preferred hot dog. Everyone knows that.
CHUCK Oh, I thought I mean, that’s why he wrote all that. Right, because you’re okay.
SLIM Do you put anything on your weenies Chuck?
CHUCK Oh, yeah, I go to town. I get ketchup mustard and relish if it’s around.
DANNY Relish? Yeah. Melissa.
SLIM She picks you, right?
CHUCK She’s like, is that true pickles? I like pickles. Yeah, she’s into like Chicago style. She led us on there and tomato, you know, make it like a whole sandwich. I love Chicago, by the way. Before Melissa sends her love to you guys. For the old listening.
SLIM We miss her now we miss you and love you. She loves you too. Part of what’s your preference on a vegan dog?
PROTO I’ll take a dog anyway. Yeah, dog anyway, buddy. My love. I love condiments. Yeah, I mean, whatever’s there, baby. Put it on
DANNY Some diced onions.
SLIM And you’re willing to eat up those onions. Gaseous to
CHUCK find a relish. That’s not super sweet though. Feel like ooh, most relish the bias. It’s too sweet. Too much sugar in there like this back off that a little.
PROTO A savory relish.
SLIM You can also just slice that dog put a strip of bacon in between that dollar and spicy pickles. I don’t like spicy. I like regular pencils.
CHUCK Do they still make cheese dogs? Oh, do I remember when I was a kid? That was the thing right? The the top dogs Yeah, that’s still a thing?
DANNY I don’t think so. You that’s an 80s thing.
SLIM Sounds like technical when you say it like that cheese infused. How are they good at a new deconstructed dogs. Our final email the night from my close personal friend our Hello friends. Thanks for having Chuck back. Hi, Chuck. All right. Hey, since Chuck is here, remember October 2021 70. Amendment baton spider. Did those two crossover apps for the old the new versions of the fly? I know you do. Gosh. What tear do I have to subscribe to for that to happen again? Not to produce but I mean, imagine crossover apps on the old and new versions of Willard, the 1971 with Bruce Davidson and 2003 with Crispin Glover, crepes alive. Cheers. Your pal art.
DANNY Producer
CHUCK art I officially sign on. If there was a place for me to put my name. I’ve loved my gosh. I just watched the original Willard the other day. Or not the other day but a few months ago
SLIM is levitating across the Moab desert right now. You know that’s guy that was the episodes were a lot of fun. Those feels like a millennium ago.
CHUCK 22 years ago. Yeah.
SLIM Feels like 10 years ago we did those episodes.
PROTO Wow. Aren’t when you when you said Willard? Dale put his tongue up on the class.
SLIM So we’ll see what happens in the future for baton spider x 70. Mm. But before we go, we’re running. We’re running real late. I know. We have to announce our next theme.
DANNY Oh my god. You know,
SLIM this is it. This is the one the big one September. They said it couldn’t be done. Should we per you? Should you be the one to announce it? Please?
PROTO I guess I could walk us through. I thought we already announced it. I think I said it earlier.
SLIM We teased it earlier but that’s it.
PROTO Okay. Yeah, we are doing Lo Fi sci fi for the month of September.
DANNY Mamma Mia.
PROTO It’s my first pay. I got first pick. I’m a little conflicted though, about what to pick here. I’ve two movies. I thought I knew what I wanted to do. Then something else popped up
CHUCK before you decide what’s Lo Fi sci fi? I don’t think I’ve ever heard this term. Is this a
DANNY flick? I’ve started
SLIM calling movies that are that have some kind of like sci fi aspect but it’s not the main thing. It’s not like overtly sci fi. It could be like a drama could be a horror could be in comedy but there’s like some science fiction aspects of it so I have a list let me see if I can pull it up real quick. I don’t know if Pearl looked at that list.
DANNY So they’re not like big budget sci fi films. They’re in your face sci fi very much backseat.
SLIM So I have just from this little list that I started collecting on ones that I wash I’ll add it to this list altered states I considered Lo Fi sci fi which we love
DANNY alternatives right behind Chuck’s had
SLIM other air there it is my God. coherence, the endless recent watch that I had seconds John Frankenheimer. So those are just like a few small examples. I’d actually probably put Vanilla Sky on there. It’s not it’s not a pic spoiler for me, but it comes to
DANNY mind. Yeah.
PROTO So the one movie from the 80s is a movie that I’ve seen, I kind of grew up with very familiar with I neither of you have it logged. So that was my original gut feeling. But then then I was thinking, Well, should I pick a movie that you know, it’s more modern. And it’s also a movie that none of us have seen? Oh, and it’s a movie that I have had on my watch list. So I’m really conflicted as to which which direction to go. And I was hoping for some kind of sign from somewhere some something. But I guess it’s all up to me.
SLIM Lightning Strike is something
of a strong opinion.
DANNY Charred and let shocked by surprise
SLIM Art has an DMDM to lead you into Megamind
DANNY Megamind links. Yeah.
PROTO All right. Well, should I just say I’m both and then chuck, you can pick Oh,
SLIM This has never happened in the history of this show. Never
DANNY happened.
CHUCK What if I’m super unfamiliar with them, though? And I’m, well, you could change stuff once you see. All right. Choices.
PROTO All right here. I’ll put them in the chat. First Choice. This is a movie that I’ve seen a bunch of times. And I thought about doing this before this. It’s called somewhere in time starring Christopher Reeve. Oh, and Jane Seymour.
DANNY Goodness, my god are just shot to the moon
PROTO The other movie is as from 2007 I’ve had this on my watch list. I’ve heard great things called time crimes. What
CHUCK Man the pressure part has been doing work.
PROTO So these are these are my two movies. And I’m I’m not sure it’s Chuck. Yeah, I need your guidance in this moment.
SLIM I’ll read the timeframes. One just to add in a man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour fighting himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences. And somewhere in time is a Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour John, which I only know about because I think someone had linked to a story where Jane Seymour was like in love with like they fell in love filming this or something.
DANNY Oh gosh. How could you not?
SLIM Chuck. Have you made your decision?
CHUCK I have all right. I’m gonna go Somewhere in Time.
DANNY Oh, wow. What a choice.
SLIM Wow, someday in the past he will find her. young writer Richard Collier is met on the opening night of his first play by an old lady who begs him to come back to me. mystified he tries to find out about her and learns that she is a famous stage actress from the early 19 hundred’s, the sounds and self hypnosis that he uses to travel backwards in time. Where’s the streaming
CHUCK to be tagged to be army rise up rise up?
PROTO There is
SLIM That other movie streaming on HBO? Max? I knew he was not gonna select it.
CHUCK I love HBO. Max. Are you talking?
SLIM All right. Lo Fi sci fi off on the good foot with Christopher Reeve and jeans Seymour Christopher Plummer. What a cast the streaming on to be a great poster to on letterbox Chuck, thank you, thank you so much for coming on to talk to us. It was a delight. Thank you, Chuck. Thank
CHUCK you. It was a it was an honor and a pleasure. Oh, wait, wait, wait. Oh, by the way. I did. I listened to your Brother Bear episode this afternoon. So thank you for all the kind things he said. But also proto the Mackenzie brothers you’ve never seen strange brew. Has anyone seen strange brew in here? No.
DANNY Never heard. No. Wow. Strange, bro.
SLIM Do you make that movie that a Canadian thing?
CHUCK Yeah it’s so the Mackenzie brothers started CTV and then they made strange brew which was you know, it’s like they’re two idiots who call each other hosers and break you know they go into a beer factory claiming they found a mouse and a bottle to get free beer and yeah there’s a lot of
SLIM Weird stuff was never gonna watch that
CHUCK no I don’t I don’t I don’t know if you’d like it
PROTO can’t like everything I’ve tried that’s where
CHUCK those goofy bears came from.
SLIM There you go he still wouldn’t like this character is also talking about your all time backfires he said twice during that segment that Chuck would never hear me say this and I ended up ends up listening to that’s on me let’s everyone listened to that and spider to my favorite podcast web link in the Episode Notes proto any gonna take us out this weekend to Lo Fi sci fi?
PROTO Oh yeah, everyone be more like Frank. Go make your own vision board. It make your dreams a reality and carry it around in your wallet.
[70mm theme song ramps up, plays alone, fades out]
