Thief: 45th Anniversary!

The State Theatre is bringing Michael Mann's Thief back to the big screen on Sunday, August 16, as part of the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series. It's a 45th anniversary screening of Mann's 1981 debut feature, a diamond-nabbing neo-noir that holds up as a sharp piece of crime cinema. James Caan stars as Frank, a professional thief whose meticulous attention to the tools of his trade and the art of anonymity drive the story. The supporting cast includes Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi, and Dennis Farina.

Mann based the film on a novel by real-life jewel thief John Seybold, and he drew inspiration from French cinema legends Jean-Pierre Melville and Robert Bresson. If you're familiar with his later crime epic Heat, you'll recognize the same preoccupations here: the procedural details of the job and the steady rhythm of a professional's routine. The whole thing is carried by the moody, atmospheric soundscapes of Tangerine Dream.

It's also worth knowing where you're watching. The screening is presented by the Paramount and Stateside Theatres, and the Paramount itself has stood on Congress Avenue for over a century. Built in 1915, it's Austin's oldest surviving theatre, a City and State Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and one of the few remaining 'hemp houses' in America, still working with ropes and sandbags. It operates alongside the State Theatre next door under The Austin Theatre Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

Doors open at 6 PM and the show starts at 7 PM. It's one night only, so if you want to see Thief on the big screen, Sunday, August 16 is the date.