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The Good ThiefRating:
Release Date: 19 August, 2003 Retail Price: $14.98 OUR Price: $12.99 You SAVE: $1.99! Cast: |
The Good Thief Reviews
He Doesn't Want Money. He Wants What Money Can't Buy!
Nick Nolte plays Bob, a former high-end thief, now a drugged-out loser living in Nice, France. He still retains the loyalty of his friends, however, and this includes Tchiky Karyo, the cop who has busted him time and time again, and who worries about Bob. He is especially worried that Bob will return to crime, because that would mean prison for the rest of his life. Sure enough, Bob is seduced into One More Gig, a complicated heist of valuable paintings.
There are remakes, and there are remakes. There are depressing desecrations like The Haunting, and then there are marvellous entertainments like The Good Thief. Nolte is terrific, his cragginess rarely more expressively deployed. His banter with Karyo is not just amusing, but also shows the genuine friendship that exists between the two men, and furthermore allows Jordan to bounce back and forth off the original film, as well as working in some distinctly US-France humor (Nolte's comments about French rock star Johnny Halliday being a case in point). Also worth noting is newcomer Nutsa Kukhianidze. Blessed with a voice that makes Lauren Bacall sound like Betty Boop, Kukhianidze's aggressively self-confident sexuality (and Nolte's gentlemanly restraint) saves their relationship from developing Entrapment- style creepiness
Both sides of the disc have Neil Jordan's commentary. He is an interesting speaker, and he explains in detail how he structured his film in relation to the original, as well as discussing both thematic and practical concerns. He does engage in a bit of unnecessary description of the action on-screen, but by and large this is a strong commentary. The other extras aren't anything to write home about. The widescreen side has 7 deleted scenes (some mere seconds long) with optional commentary by Jordan. The fullscreen side has the "To Film a Thief" featurette, which is the usual promotional material (yawn). Having to flip the disc over for such slim pickings is irritating, and I can't see why both versions of the film couldn't have been included on a single side. The menu (sporting a very spiffy introduction) has animated and scored intro, main page and transitions.
A good commentary compensates for the otherwise unimpressive extras, but a top-flight film and transfer compensate even more. Marvellous stuff.
Volume of Dialogue and Editing Nearly Ruined it for Me
Nick Nolte stars as the gambling, heroin-addicted, former thief extraordinaire, Bob Montagnet living in France and trying to go on the straight and narrow. But one last heist has been tickling his itchy fingers, and now Bob plans to go out with a bang. Or at least that's what he wants the local authorities to believe.
Using double and triple fakes, Bob throws the police into a frenzied chase to find out exactly what he's up to, who's being double-crossed by whom, why he's spending all of his time with a pretty young immigrant named Anne (the lanky but lusty Nutsa Kukhianidze), and where he plans to be on the night of the big theft.
Of course he's right under their noses, with tons of witnesses and cameras. Nobody could've planned it better than Bob Montagnet.
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A great cast and good acting by all made this a very watchable heist flick.
Although the plot has been over done in Hollywood (good thief going straight after one last job), Nick Nolte's characterization of Bob and all his follies made for an enjoyable flawed character study (someone who's getting old, still shoots heroin, fights with local club owners, but has a heart of gold).
Problems with the film are relegated to the film's editing and terrible level of volume during some pivotal moments. It was often times difficult to hear Bob talking with one person or another, especially during the planning stages of the heist, which made it very frustrating for me. I wanted to know WHAT was going on without turning my TV up to full-blast.
As others here have mentioned too, the editing of the film has problems. I'm not sure if this WAS an editing problem or a transfer to DVD issue, but at the end of each scene there was a half-a-second freeze frame that became maddening to watch.
Still an interesting film, though. And the music is extremely interesting to listen to also.
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