MovieChat Forums > Thief (1981) Discussion > The diner scene and other bits and piece...

The diner scene and other bits and pieces...

posted 13 years ago by hankmcn
14 replies | jump to latest

Where was this filmed? I don't think it is a diner it looks like it is a rest stop over a highway and I'm sure I have seen the location in other films. This set the pattern for the diner scene in Heat between DiNiro and Pacino.

The meeting of the criminals with the police watching through binoculars is also done in Heat. The man with the plan and alarm info was done in Heat with great character actor Tom Noonan selling the info.

The use of terminology like "scores" and "merch" is also used in Heat.

The Green Mill bar has also been used in other films and is a historic lounge in Chicago with ties to Capone and others. Great film by Michael Mann and company.

[–] catch_the_spindrift 13 years ago

Great catches. Love this movie, as well as Mann's others. I like the shot of the car hood driving down the street (at night), very similiar to many shots on Miami Vice, the series.

[–] nutsberryfarm 11 years ago

sergeant urizzi cracks me up.

Aloha, Mr. Hand.

[–] filmklassik 12 years ago

Yeah, except the diner scene in HEAT felt more stilted and pretentious and just more...I dunno, forced somehow. There's something over-deliberate about it. It practically screams, "Look, folks! Two 20th Century icons IN THE SAME MOVIE!"

THIEF is, for me anyway, the much better film.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] filmklassik 12 years ago

Agree on all accounts. THIEF is a near-perfect example of neo-noir, with a script, direction, performances and overall "look" that few other crime films can match.

And that ending is SO damn satisfying.

[–] mobocracy 12 years ago

At one time in suburban Chicago (and possibly elsewhere on toll roads in Illinois) there were rest stops with cafes/McDonalds built on overpasses over the highway. I haven't driven through Illinois or Chicago in a couple of decades, but I distinctly remember stopping in one.

Every time I watch 'Thief' it strikes me that "Heat" is Mann's evolved, remake of "Thief".

"Thief" is a purer vision, but there are aspects of Heat that make it different. For one, the mob doesn't really factor into "Heat" -- DeNiro's crew gets ripped off on their bearer bond transaction, but that's just another dirty guy and not the mob per se. And the cops in Heat are essentially honest guys, not crooks, and have their own (thanks to Pacino) backstory. Val Kilmer's character seems to be another version of the Jim Belushi character but with a great deal more intensity and volatility.

There are a couple of scenes in "Heat" that seem an ode to "The Shooter" -- the scene involving the masive fuel tanks and the drive-in attempted doublecross.

I love both movies -- Thief is more introspective and Heat has an intensity level that few movies can match. It's getting hard to believe that "Heat" is nearly 20 years old.

[–] Noir-It-All 12 years ago

People seem to respond to stars. Think of Thief as "Homicide: Life on the Streets" but with one source of musical inspiration.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] Stirchley 8 years ago

There was a scene like that in Inside Llewyn Davis where they are eating in a place & the highway was below. I think it was supposed to be Ohio.

[–] chrisschock 11 years ago

As another person has posted on here the diner scene occurred at an oasis. A term used for a gas and food stop along the highways throughout the state of Illinois. I know as i am a lifelong Illinois resident. Still to this day an oasis contains various restaurants as well as gas stations.

The restaurant they are eating in is a Howard Johnson's. Where exactly I couldnt tell you but I would bet a wooden nickel its the des plaines oasis along Rt. 90 going into and about 20 miles from downtown chicago.

[–] filmbuff1974 11 years ago

Michael Mann's signatures on his movies. The man is a genius.

Live Full & Die Empty. Tap Your Potential and Realise Your Dreams!

[–] bo7047 11 years ago

There may be a small connection between Thief and Heat. Nate(Voight) tells Neil(Deniro) that Hannah(Pacino) took out Frankie Ungers crew in Chicago, and that Frankie was *beep* maniac. It could be frank from Thief he's talking about.

[–] Jefbecco-1 11 years ago

I was ready to jump all over your posting, but you know you might just be right. I mean why not? It's fiction based on fact and both movies were made by Mann. So it's his world. Why not make a connection? And Frank is a maniac in many respects. He doesn't care. Good catch.

[–] BrokenBadly 11 years ago

In one scene near the end of the movie you can clearly see a street sign in front of Frank's car lot that reads 'N Western Ave'. I think that the actual lot might be a place called Car Town at 850 N. Western, near Ukranian Village. Here's a the Google street view photo of the place: http://goo.gl/maps/ztAkz.

Not identical, but it has been over 30 years since filming. I must have driven past this place a million times and then one day something clicked and I recognized it.

Anyone know if I'm right or not?

[–] teasemeimcocky 8 years ago

This diner scene is beautiful. I think the chemistry between the actors is on par with the best moments of Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence. It's well written, well acted, the collage-photography is a peculiar asset generating unexpected lines of dialogue, the atmospheric music fading in and out is perfect. It's deep and moving, and the romance that plays out is unusual. As a whole, I really enjoyed Thief, it's masterful and has this gritty 70's feel that for me is one of the best aesthetics seen in American cinema (think Friedkin, late Lumet, Pakula, Cassavetes, flicks like Marathon Man). You may call it "realist" but there was a lot of technics and expertise in these images, it was more about designing an idea of a bare reality than just doing it "raw".

I incorporated parts of the diner scene plus the heart breaking "get out" dialogue at the of the movie in this music mix. Give it a go if you liked the movie: https://soundcloud.com/golomann/a-shiro-ukari-floating-aimlessly