In Depression Era Mississippi of the 1930s, three men – Bowie (Keith Carradine, The Long Riders), Chicamaw (John Schuck, McCabe & Mrs. Miller) and T-Dub (Burt Remsen, California Split) – break out of prison before embarking on a bank robbery spree across the southern United States. Along the way, Bowie falls in love with Keechie (Shelley Duvall, Popeye) and plans for a future life without violence, if it doesn’t do him in first.

Based on the novel of the same name by Edward Anderson, and adapted for the screen by Joan Tewkesbury (Nashville), Calder Willingham (Rambling Rose) and Robert Altman (who also directed), THIEVES LIKE US is a bullet-riddled romance that’s as concerned with the myth building of the American south as it is the very real relationships between its characters. An often overlooked entry into Altman’s illustrious career, releasing just a year prior to his magnum opus Nashville (1975), THIEVES LIKE US features a rousing ensemble cast that also includes Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and Tom Skerrit (Alien) as well as striking, sun lit, cinematography from noted French director of photograph Jean Boffety (Je T’Aime, Je T’Aime) and would-be iconic costumes by the multi-talented Polly Platt (Paper Moon). Cinématographe is proud to present one of Robert Altman’s very best films in its world 4K UHD debut!

For thoughts on Thieves Like Us, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Cinématographe presents Thieves Like Us with a fetching 2160p/HDR transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio sourced from a 4K restoration of the Original 35mm Camera Negative. This film was previously released on Blu-Ray courtesy of Kino Lorber in 2014, and this release is a welcome improvement over that one. The 4K UHD Blu-Ray allows the film to be cleaned up without compromising the natural look of the picture. A few lingering specks of print damage remain, yet this rarely impedes your enjoyment of the transfer with the greatly improved stability. The fine detail is key to this experience as you reveal new textures in the clothing and within the various landscapes allowing this film to feel more tactile than ever. The film grain is ideal and consistently natural without any indication of unwanted manipulation as everything resolves perfectly.

The utilization of HDR10 for refined color output is a nice benefit for this title. The palette for this one is very earthy with many dry plains and muddy expanses broken up by nice pops of green from some of the trees surrounding the prison camp. The level of accuracy is nicely enhanced from the previous master. Altman and Director of Photography Jean Boffety let the frame breathe with their compositions and this disc executes it well. The bright skies mostly avoid spiking, swarming, or other stray encoding issues. Black levels are robust with nothing in the way of crush present, and highlights are very bright without completely stumbling with blooming. The Fidelity In Motion encoding appears to be devoid of any digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or other such nuisances. Cinématographe has treated this one with the necessary respect.

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of the film comes with the original DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono track which brings this story to life quite well. This may be a gangster film, but the narrative focuses a lot less on shootouts than interpersonal exchanges. That being said, when the bullets start flying, they are distinct and effective in this track. The period tunes that are featured here have an authentic amount of wear and tear to them to transport you back to this time. Dialogue is the spotlight element, and it comes through clearly without being overshadowed by competing elements. All of the environmental sounds along the journey seem deftly executed so that nothing ever feels unnatural. This presentation is free of any hiss or other age-related wear-and-tear. Cinématographe has done ideal work with this one to make it sound as strong as possible. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Special Features

The Limited Edition version of Thieves Like Us comes beautifully packaged in a hard outer slipcase that opens up to a MediaBook that includes a bound booklet featuring new essays by film critics Mitchell Beaupre, Marya E. Gates, and Carlos Valladares plus select archival photo reproductions. These essays delve into the film from multiple angles and provide a great analysis in a thoughtfully written style. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Disc One (4K UHD)

Audio Commentary #1: Director Robert Altman provides a terrific archival commentary track in which he discusses the production including his reason for hiring a French cinematographer, challenges in the weather, working with the performers, stylistic flourishes, location shooting, and more.

Audio Commentary #2: Film historian Nathaniel Thompson provides a great new commentary track that takes a more historical approach as he explores the production of the film, where this fits into the career of Robert Altman, the cinematography of Jean Boffety, the adaptation of the source material, details about the shooting locations, the background of the performers, how this fits into the work of the actors, and much more that puts things into context.

Disc Two (Blu-Ray)

Audio Commentary #1: Director Robert Altman

Audio Commentary #2: Film historian Nathaniel Thompson

An Interview with Actor Keith Carradine: A 35-minute modern interview from the overseas Radiance Films release with the star who talks about his early life and career aspirations, working with Robert Altman, the budget issues with the film, his heavy reliance on the script, his lack of comfort when it comes to improvising, and more.

An Interview with Writer Joan Tewkesbury: A new 15-minute interview with the writer who discusses the impact of first seeing M*A*S*H* and her history with Robert Altman, being asked to adapt Thieves Like Us, how her background informed her writing, and more.

Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Thieves Like Us is a really strong entry in the great Robert Altman’s esteemed filmography. The filmmaker takes the well-worn genre of crime drama and puts his personal spin on things with a focus on the character moments between the crimes rather than glamorizing the crime itself. With an ensemble led by Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall, you do not have a false note in this world that has been created to both feel authentic and completely in line with the Altman aesthetic. Cinématographe has delivered a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a stellar A/V presentation and a nice assortment of special features. Recommended

Thieves Like Us is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD + Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Cinématographe has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.