Directed by Mimi Leder, Thick as Thieves (2009), also known as The Code, went straight to DVD in the United Kingdom, United States and Germany. The story concerns a master Art thief that owes a debt to the Russian Mob, who teams up with another robber to steal two Faberge Eggs worth $40,000,000 from a seemingly impenetrable vault. Many of the typical Art Heist cliches are present, including laser beams, high-tech burglar tools, subterfuge, safe-cracking and bad reproduction movie props of artwork. Overall, however, the caper gets pulled off in entertaining fashion with some unforeseen twists. Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas are good as the pair of art thieves. Radha Mitchell is beautiful as the love interest. Rade Serbedzija is cool as the Russian gangster. Mark Forster costars as an art theft detective.
Morgan Freeman: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman with Faberge Eggs: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Radha Mitchell and Antonio Banderas: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Radha Mitchell and Antonio Banderas: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Radha Mitchell and Antonio Banderas: Thick as Thieves. The Code
: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Antonio Banderas: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Morgan Freeman does an Art heist: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Morgan Freeman: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Radha Mitchell: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Antonio Banderas: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Radha Mitchell and Morgan Freeman: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Morgan Freeman: Thick as Thieves. The Code
Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman: Thick as Thieves. The Code
On February 12, 1994 two clumsy thieves used a ladder and broke into a second floor window at the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway. They easily made off with Edvard Munch's highly recognizable 1893 masterpiece, The Scream, then worth about $70 million. Less than three months later on May 7, 1994, Scotland Yard Detective Charles Hill, undercover and posing as a representative of the Getty Museum, recovered the stolen painting in good condition. Edward Dolnick's The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece (2005) tells the story of the events between the theft and the recovery and so much more. A masterwork of Art Crime reportage, the tome flows like a finely-crafted suspense novel. The main characters of the book are the artist Edvard Munch and the detective Charley Hill. Dolnick presents a bare-bones portrait of Charley Hill, a half American half British enigma, from his service in the Vietnam War to his burgeoning interest in art, from his days as a rough beat cop to his development and acting skill-set as an undercover detective. Hill's record of recovering stolen art was already established by the time The Scream was taken. Hill had successfully retrieved paintings (including a Vermeer) stolen by Irish gangster Martin Cahill from the frequently-targeted Russborough House. Hill's ability to deal with rough sorts proved integral in recovering The Scream, which consisted of a sting focused on two crooked Norwegian men named Ulving and Johnsen. The painting, it was later revealed, had actually been stolen by well known art thief Pal Enger and an accomplice. Fine attention to detail, including aspects of Munch's life and the creation of The Scream, are interspersed with sharp writing throughout the book… tying it all together with an expert and tuned result.
Theft of "The Scream" from the National Gallery, Oslo, 1994: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
The Scream, 1893. by Edvard Munch: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Charley Hill: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Art thief Pal Enger: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Nation Gallery- Oslo, Norway: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Police recover a piece of the frame from "The Scream": The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Dick Ellis - Scotland Yard: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Irish gangster, Martin Cahill: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Russborough House, Ireland: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Charley Hill: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Art thief Pal Enger: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Charley Hill: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
The Scream, 1893. by Edvard Munch. under glass: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
Edward Dolnick: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
"The Scream" pop-icon merchandise: The Rescue Artist. Edward Dolnick
