Cheap The Good Thief (DVD) (Nick Nolte) (Neil Jordan) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Good Thief

The film opens with Bob down on his luck and needing a reversal of fortunes if he is to maintain his lifestyle as a playboy gambler in France. Bob has given up a life of crime, but is drawn in to what appears to be a pefect score against a major casino at Monte Carlo.

Bob is the brains behind a motley crew of thieves and his plan to take down the casino seems well thought out and well planned. He is being watched closely by a french detective who likes Bob and respects his ability to mastermind a major heist. Bob leads the detective on a merry chase that is fun to watch.

In fact, The Good Thief is good fun from beginning to surprising end. Director Neil Jordan keeps the plot moving with enough surprises to satisfy those viewers looking for a caper film that is more than nonstop action and violence. Nick Nolte turns in a solid performance as a chain-smoking, world weary thief who knows his friends and respects his enemies. Ralph Fiennes adds his talents in a bit part as an art dealer swindled by Bob to finance the caper. Neil Jordan gets good performances out of a large supporting cast mostly unknown to american audiences.

The Good Thief was more than good enough to be distributed to theaters across the country and I'm not sure why the producers decided to release it instead directly to video. Fortunately for us this film is now available on video/dvd and deserves to be seen by a wide audience.

Those viewers who enjoy this film are also likely to be entertained by Bob Le Flambeur, the french film on which The Good Thief is based.

smooth, satisfying caper film
***1/2 Set on the scenic French Riviera, Neil Jordan's "The Good Thief" is a remake of 1955's "Bob Le Flambeur," a Gallic film that enjoyed a successful re-release in this country a few years back. This new version is a stylish caper film about an aging master criminal who comes out of retirement to help lift some priceless paintings from a Monte Carlo casino.

In terms of plotting, there is little that we haven't seen in this type of film before. First, there's the idea for the heist, then the wooing of the reluctant "reformed" criminal, then the gathering of the other participants, then the intricate planning and rehearsing for the job, followed by the inevitable double dealing and double crosses, and ending with the sly turnabout ending to set our heads spinning and make us question everything we have seen heretofore. But Jordan has a knack for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary, and this he accomplishes with a complex screenplay, a strong sense of atmosphere, a host of well-developed characters, a sly sense of humor and an assortment of first-rate performances from a talented cast. Nick Nolte is superb as Bob, a shrewd, world-weary thief who is also a compulsive gambler and drug addict. Needless to say, the role seems tailor made for the star. Most of the rest of the cast is made up of French or Eastern European actors, all of whom do a fine job in their assorted roles.

Actually, the only complaint I have about the film is a direct result of that largely international cast. Much of the film's dialogue is hard to understand due in large part to the very thick accents emanating from most of the actors. Even the one native English speaker, Nolte, is difficult to comprehend at times, but that's just because Nolte is simply being Nolte and we expect to miss half of what he is saying anyway.

Apart from that, "The Good Thief," less polished and slick than movies like "Ocean's Eleven," offers top-notch entertainment for the hardcore heist film aficionado.

Marvelous tribute to Bob le Flambeur!
At last Neil Jourdan made a free adaptation of that fundamental movie of the purest New Wave spirit film of Jean Pierre Melville , Bob le flambeur .
This remake is very well made , charming and elegant and if it lacks the bitterness of Bob le Flambeur , the characters are very well depicted and loaded of black humor and double twist jokes .
Kusturica as Vlado is outstanding , and the same adjective goes to Nick Nolte . Jourdan handles the camera with legendary masterful . The story never leaves you quiet , it's kinetic and dynamic .
Filmned with very broad gusto in this beautiful paradisiac coast: La rivera francesa .
A triumph all the way!