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The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
(the 1999 version is below)
Starring: Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway Director: Norman Jewison
Millionaire businessman Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen) is also a high-stakes thief; his latest caper is an elaborate heist at a Boston bank.
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
DVD - Why does he do it? For the same reason he flies gliders, bets on golf strokes, and races dune buggies: he needs the thrill to feel alive.
Insurance investigator Vicky Anderson (Faye Dunaway) gets her own thrills by busting crooks, and she's got Crown in her cross hairs.
Naturally, these two will get it on, because they have a lot in common: they're not people, they're walking clothes racks.
(McQueen looks like he'd rather be in jeans than Crown's natty three-piece suits.)
The Thomas Crown Affair is a catalog of '60s conventions, from its clipped editing style to its photographic trickery (the inventive Haskell Wexler behind the camera) to its mod design.
You can almost sense director Norman Jewison deciding to "tell his story visually," like those newfangled European films; this would explain the long passages of Michel Legrand's lounge jazz ladled over endless montages of the pretty Dunaway and McQueen at play.
(The opening-credits song, "Windmills of Your Mind," won an Oscar.)
It's like a "What Kind of Man Reads Playboy?" ad come to life, and much more interesting as a cultural snapshot than a piece of storytelling.
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo Director: John McTiernan
For the Hollywood remake rule, which dictates that an update of an older film be inferior to the original in almost every aspect, The Thomas Crown Affair stands as a glorious exception.
The Thomas Crown Affair
1999 DVD - The original 1968 film, starring a dapper Steve McQueen and a radiant Faye Dunaway, was a diverting pop confection of mod clothes and nifty break-ins, but not much more.
John McTiernan's new version, though, cranks up the entertainment factor to mach speed, turning what was a languid flick into a high-adrenaline caper romance.
Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) is now a man of industry who likes to indulge in a little high-priced art theft on the side; Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) is the insurance investigator determined to get on his tail in more ways than one.
If you're thinking cat-and-mouse game, think again -- it's more like cat vs. smarter cat, as both the thief and the investigator try to outwit each other and nothing is off-limits, especially after they start a highly charged love affair that's a heated mix of business and pleasure.
What makes this Thomas Crown more enjoyable than its predecesor is McTiernan's attention to detail in both the set action pieces (no surprise from the man who helmed Die Hard with precision accuracy) and the developing romance, the witty and intelligent script by Leslie Dixon (she wrote the love scenes) and Kurt Wimmer (he wrote the action scenes), and, most of all, its two stunning leads (both over 40 to boot), combustible both in and out of bed.
Brosnan, usually held prisoner in the James Bond straitjacket, lets loose with both a relaxed sensuality and a comic spirit he's rarely expressed before.
The film, however, pretty much belongs to Russo, who doesn't just steal the spotlight, but bends it to her will.
Beautiful, stylish, smart, self-possessed, incredibly sexy, she's practically a walking icon; it's no wonder Crown falls for her hook, line, and sinker.
With Denis Leary as a police detective smitten with Russo, and Faye Dunaway in a throwaway but wholly enjoyable cameo as Brosnan's therapist.
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
DVD
Encoding: Region 1 (US and Canada only)
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen
Rated: Not for sale to persons under age 18.
Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
DVD Features:
- Commentary by director Norman Jewison
- Theatrical trailer(s)
- 8-Page Booklet featuring Production Notes
- Weblinks
Full-screen and widescreen letterbox formats
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The Thomas Crown Affair
(1999) DVD
Encoding: Region 1 (US and Canada only)
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
Rated: Not for sale to persons under age 18.
Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
DVD Features:
- Commentary by director John McTiernan
- Theatrical trailer(s)
- 8-Page Booklet
Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
Other Formats: VHS
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