The Thief Collector

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The Thief Collector

2023

1h 33m

Documentary

Crime

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

39 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

It was one of the most audacious and puzzling art thefts of a generation; In 1985, Willem de Kooning's seminal work, "Woman Ochre," was sliced from it's frame and stolen from the walls of an Arizona art museum, disappearing into the desert. Over thirty years later, in a remote town in New Mexico, the $160 million dollar painting was rediscovered in the unlikeliest of places.

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Critics Consensus

An effortlessly engaging true-crime documentary, The Thief Collector reaffirms that reality can be stranger than fiction -- and sometimes just as entertaining.

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Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

05/18/2023

Allison Otto’s snappy documentary “The Thief Collector” ponders how and why the Alters got away with their one famous crime — and perhaps many more.

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Cath Clarke

Guardian

03/29/2023

3/5

If nothing else, this documentary ought to give someone working in television the idea of making a detective series about house clearance experts.

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Owen Gleiberman

Variety

04/04/2022

A movie that has used art to touch something essential about how strangers — or maybe I should just say the downright strange — walk among us.

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Nagier Chambers

Big Gold Belt Media

May 12

As a fan of the ID channel and investigative documentaries, this film checked all the boxes for me.

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Rachel Ho

POV Magazine

May 8

The Thief Collector engages those who are looking to have some fun by playing detective and drawing tenuous conclusions about the Alters, but if you’re looking for something beyond that, this film will have just stolen 90 minutes of your life.

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Mike Vaughn

Geek Vibes Nation

May 8

6/10

The Thief Collector tells a really remarkable story with depth and intelligence. Though, tonally things are messy, and the murder-subplot feels strangely placed and tacky-as-hell. It spoils what is otherwise an engaging film.

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PJ J

@RT57575284 12/22/2024

Unless you lived in Tucson and were paying attention to local news in 2017, or lived in Silver City, NM then, you almost certainly will have no clue about this amazing story. Truth truly stranger than fiction, a documentary that engages as a docu-drama.

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Adam G

@agelva 05/31/2023

An extraordinary, stranger-than-fiction story that must be seen to be believed. I loved this movie.

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Allison Otto

Director

Glenn Howerton

Jerry Alter

Sarah Minnich

Rita Alter

Scott Takeda

Actor

Matt Pittenger

Actor

Mark Monroe

Screenwriter

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Synopsis

It was one of the most audacious and puzzling art thefts of a generation; In 1985, Willem de Kooning's seminal work, "Woman Ochre," was sliced from it's frame and stolen from the walls of an Arizona art museum, disappearing into the desert. Over thirty years later, in a remote town in New Mexico, the $160 million dollar painting was rediscovered in the unlikeliest of places.

Director: Allison Otto
Producer: Caryn Capotosto, Jill Latiano, Joshua A. Kunau
Screenwriter: Mark Monroe, Nick Andert
Distributor: FilmRise
Production Co: Roots Productions, Diamond Docs, Museum & Crane, XTR
Genre: Documentary, Crime
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 19, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 19, 2023
Runtime: 1h 33m