Thick as Thieves

Starring:Alec Baldwin, Andre Braugher, Michael Jai White, Rebecca De Mornay, David Byrd (II), Bruce Greenwood, Richard Edson, Robert Miano, Khandi Alexander, Erich Anderson, Reginald Ballard, Bradford English, Janeane Garofalo, Ricky Harris, Gavin Polone, Julia Sweeney, Sandra Cusimano, Al Sapienza, Tom Babuscio, Gichi Gamba
Director: Scott Sanders
Studio: Polygram USA Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Lose any blues with this movie!
No socially redeeming qualities whatsoever, thank God
A cleverly conceived comedy...
ok plot - great soundtrack!
Excellent Movie

Thick as Thieves
Starring: Alec Baldwin , Andre Braugher , Michael Jai White , Rebecca De Mornay , and David Byrd (II)
Director: Scott Sanders
Manufacturer: Polygram USA Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305954240
Release Date: 2000-07-18

Customer Reviews:

Lose any blues with this movie!.......2007-05-03

This zany little sleeper is about as feel-good as it gets despite a dash of violence. World class cast! Don't miss this gem!

No socially redeeming qualities whatsoever, thank God.......2006-04-25

I've never seen a movie with dialog so tight it seems like the loss of even one word could ruin the entire film. The plot, though simple, feels almost as carefully shaved as the dialog. (One scene always bugs me though: the size of Mackin's pre-eBay jazz LP collection makes it impossible to believe he never met this record store owner before now.) Other than my stupidity over that one scene, I love every other second of this movie.
If you enjoy Dave Barry, Hunter Thompson, Barry Sonnenfeld, Get Shorty, Snatch, Big Trouble, Dave Attell, Lewis Black, Donnie Darko, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Last Supper, then you are sick! And will probably enjoy this warped movie.

A cleverly conceived comedy..........2006-02-17

I am always delighted to watch a film with no expectations and come out saying, that was both fun and off center. Films such as the Big Labowski (Cohen Brothers) comes to mind...

ok plot - great soundtrack!.......2004-03-13

This movie would be mediocre if it were not for some nice twists to the plot and a good dose of humour. Baldwin is tolerable (well, he isn't completely untolerable like usually). The jazz in this movie provides a cool atmosphere. It is really a shame that the producers of this movie haven't released the soundtrack on cd. I would love to see the music in the film listed somewhere...

Excellent Movie.......2003-09-27

First time I saw that movie, I couldn't stop laughing. I had no idea what to expect! I think Michael Jai White and Alec Baldwin did a phenomenal job. The guy who claimed that Michael is not a good actor and that he could have done better is an idiot. Check out the movie and you will not be disappointed.

Average customer rating:

A Cute, Light Britcom
A Rare Treat
Content counts
Very poor transfer
A comedy team you would never believe!

Thick as Thieves
Director: Mike Gibbon , and Derrick Goodwin
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000096I8N
Release Date: 2003-06-10

Amazon.com

A great find for Britcom enthusiasts, the eight-part, 1974 series Thick as Thieves catches two beloved English actors in prime satiric form. Bob Hoskins stars as George "Dobbsy" Dobbs, a mediocre thief released from prison a day before the end of his three-year term. Arriving home to find his strong-willed wife, Annie (Pat Ashton), living with his old friend and partner in crime, Stanley (John Thaw), Dobbsy demands an end to the affair but is outmaneuvered by Annie's surprisingly avant-garde views on open marriage. The result is more farcical than provocative as Stanley and Dobbsy struggle with social progressiveness while sliding back into their seamy, underworld ways. Series writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (the two would later team on The Commitments) mercilessly mine the comic tension between middle-class tradition, early-70's social experimentation, and the grotty, dimwitted world of petty larceny. --Tom Keogh

Description

Three's a hilarious crowd in this situation comedy featuring John Thaw (Inspector Morse) and Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Last Orders) early in their legendary careers. George Dobbs (Hoskins) returns home after a three-year jail sentence to find his wife, Annie (Pat Ashton), in bed with Stanley (Thaw), his old partner in crime. Annie is happy to see George but not eager to kick Stan out. The three live warily together, while the men continue their inept criminal capers and vie for the affection of the woman who obviously loves them both. Terrific writing by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (The Commitments, The Likely Lads) and spot-on comic timing from the first-class cast make for laugh-out-loud fun. DVD special features include cast and crew filmographies.

Customer Reviews:

A Cute, Light Britcom.......2006-07-05

With theme music reminiscent of something written by the Partridge Family, Thick as Thieves is a light, enjoyable, little-known britcom from the early 1970s. Bob Hoskins stars as George Dobbs ("Dobbsy" as he's known to his mates), a thief who, as the series opens, has just been released from prison--only to find out that his wife, in the interim, has fallen in love and shacked up with his best friend and partner in crime, Stan (played by the late John Thaw (Inspector Morse--who would've been in his early thirties here and who sadly died of throat cancer in 2002)).

Problems arise when George returns home only to find that his wife, Annie, has no intention of giving the elbow to Stan, who's been a real handyman during George's absence, doing a lot of repairs and odd jobs that would never have gotten done otherwise; actually, one gets the feeling they wouldn't have gotten done even if George hadn't been in prison! As one can imagine, jealousy rears its head frequently as Stan and George each want to be Annie's number one, and the situations that arise are often of the "three's a crowd" variety.

The dvd set contains the entire series, which consists of eight 25-minute episodes. The series, which is serial in nature, was written by veteran comedy writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (Porridge, Auf Wiedersehen Pet; La Frenais (sans Clement) was the screenwriter for the Lovejoy series). If you are familiar with and have enjoyed Clement and La Frenais' other works (particularly Porridge, which is the only other half-hour britcom mentioned and which is the most similar in style and tone to this one), then you may wish to give this one a try. Some episodes are better than others, of course, but all in all it's well-acted and features a strong (though small) cast.

Recommended to fans of British comedy--particularly to those who enjoy the older comedies and who are looking for something they've not seen before.

A Rare Treat.......2003-08-23

Wow -- who'd have ever imagined what the world of DVD would
bring us. A U.S. release of this more or less forgotten
British sitcom. Written by the great Dick Clement & Ian
La Frenais, this is not in the same league as their classics
THE LIKELY LADS (and especially its sequel series) or PORRIDGE
(which THIEVES is something of a dry run for) or AUF WIEDERSEHEN,
PET -- but like those landmarks explores with their customary
humanity and humor the joys and tribulations of male friendship. The inevitable corollary to this, true or false depending on
your point of view (or gender), is that women are portrayed as
shrews and spoilsports (or, if you like, simply more sensible
and mature), eternal obstacles to our heroes' aspirations.
As THIEVES was made for England's commercial channel (ie., the
one with commercials, unlike the BBC which aired LADS, PORRIDGE,
and latterly PET), it suffers from "high concept" overkill -- a self-consciously and, for the time, risque
one-joke premise fairly quickly exhausted (could this be the
reason for its limited run?), as well as reduced production
values (American viewers will not be used to the British
indulgence of actors flubbing lines -- which, in keeping with a theatrical
tradition, does give a sort of "live performance" frisson to the
proceedings). But what a pair of thesps they found themselves
with! Pure pleasure -- especially for those curious to see
Bob Hoskins with hair.

Content counts.......2003-08-13

As Burl Ives once sang, "Watch the donut, not the hole." To put it into this context, focus on what the people on screen are doing and saying and don't get hung up on technical quality. "Thick As Thieves" is a product of early 1970s British television production and is far from pristine in its picture quality. This is true of many British programs of the era, including such milestone series as "Elizabeth R", where the source materials were not as carefully preserved as perhaps they should have been.

Like "Elizabeth R", this program has a disclaimer on the packaging about its technical quality. I breezed past that, though, choosing to focus on the treat of seeing John Thaw and Bob Hoskins before they were anybody. Admittedly, there are technical flaws that could be a touch distracting at times if you're obsessive about such things, but if the play's the thing for you, then you're likely to enjoy this release. It has a great premise behind it and wonderful actors carrying it out. Enjoy.

Very poor transfer.......2003-06-24

The quality of this DVD is terrible. It looks like it was mastered from an old VHS tape with a bad tracking problem.

A comedy team you would never believe!.......2003-05-04

I have an encyclopedia of British television series and notice all the Britcoms that look promising but have never been shown over here to my knowledge. Well, would you believe there is one in which a young Bob Hoskins ("Roger Rabbit") and a not yet white haired John Thaw ("Inspector Morse") play a pair of very inept thieves? There are only eight episodes, mainly because Thaw had other commitments, but what there is ranges from downright silly to genuinely funny and all eight are now available on two DVDs or 3 VHSs, courtesy of Acorn Media.

The basic situation of "Thick as Thieves" is that getting out prison a day early, George (Hoskins) returns home to find that his best friend Stan (Thaw) has taken up permanent residence with George's wife Annie (Pat Ashton). A good deal of the plots revolve around the attempts of the three to come to terms with the situation as the wife is the only wage-earner to keep them going. The denouement in the last episode might be predictable (how else to solve the problem?) but the means to it is truly imaginative.

Customer Reviews:

Lose any blues with this movie!.......2007-05-03

This zany little sleeper is about as feel-good as it gets despite a dash of violence. World class cast! Don't miss this gem!

No socially redeeming qualities whatsoever, thank God.......2006-04-25

A cleverly conceived comedy..........2006-02-17

I am always delighted to watch a film with no expectations and come out saying, that was both fun and off center. Films such as the Big Labowski (Cohen Brothers) comes to mind...

ok plot - great soundtrack!.......2004-03-13

Excellent Movie.......2003-09-27

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