The Thomas Crown Affair

Amazon.com

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 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. --Mark Englehart

Description

Thrill-seeking billionaire Thomas Crown (Brosnan) loves nothing more than courting disasterand winning! So when his world becomes too stiflingly safe, he pulls off his boldest stunt ever: stealing a priceless paintingin broad daylightfrom one of Manhattan's most heavily guarded museums. But his post-heist excitement soon pales beside an even greater challenge: Catherine Banning (Russo). A beautiful insurance investigator hired to retrieve the artwork, Catherine's every bit as intelligent, cunning and hungry for adventure as he is. And just when Thomas realizes he's finally met his match, she skillfully leads him into a daring game of cat and mouse that's more intoxicating and dangerous than anything either of them has ever experienced before!

Customer Reviews:

Thomas Crown II.......2007-08-07

This is a very good remake. Pierce Brosnan is more dashing than cool but Rene Russo is just plain hot! My wife says they used body doubles for the wild sex scenes - Horay for stunt men! The guy playing Catherine Banning must have shaved his legs.

The biggest difference between the original and the remake is the psychological make-up of the principal characters. Neither Brosnan nor Russo play antisocial characters as did McQueen and Dunaway. In the remake, Crown is just a rich guy who is bored and likes art. Russo's character displays the ethics and good judgement you would attribute to a successful insurance investigator in real life. Brosnan and Russo portrayed the believable characters of a love story. Thomas Crown II has a feel good ending and reinforces most of what we are looking for in our own lives; with just a little bit more flair!

BUY THE MOVIE - watch it with you sweetie and eat a warm snack, like popcorn. You're gonna have a good time!

Artful Dodger.......2007-07-21

It's not often that a remake is better than an original, but since the original sucked fairly significantly, almost anything would end up being better. This one is spicy, funny and has some WICKED music (and I'm not particularly a music lover).

Premise: insurance adjuster (hot chick) comes into town to investigate the theft of a famous painting. She meets and falls in love with the billionaire theif, and then has to cope with betraying her job or her heart...

This movie has one of the best and most memorable scenes I've ever watched; the bit at the end where it all "comes clean in the wash".... funny as, and brilliant. I grin like an idiot every time.

An Enduring Story... Becuase It's Real.......2007-07-13

There are plenty of Thomas Crowns in the world; maybe not all as rich as the title character, but just as clever at the "game of life" - and lonely - as a consequence of their insight and talents.

This film does an excellent job of highlighting the frustrations of "self made men" when it comes to finding trust, happiness, and expressing themselves to women, and society at large.

Anyone who knows the feeling of being "alone in a crowded room" will find this movie to be a beacon that there is hope out there.

The soundtrack is bangin' too!

Hot, Hot, Hot...........2007-07-08

This remake of a Steve Mc Queen movie is much better than the original and it took some convincing for me to even look at this film, but once I did, wow! Pierce is by far my favorite Bond and his character is an action packed one as well. He plays the perfect man--suave and debonair. His antics as a billionaire playboy are entertaining! The love scene with Rene Russo was so hot, you have to control yourself. This movie has it all--action, comedy and pure entertainment. You never get bored with it. A great buy.

OK.......2007-03-27

This movie is OK, but I prefer the original version with Steve McQueen. This remake is too Hollywood for me, with too many unbelievable stunts. The original was better.

The Steve McQueen Collection (The Great Escape / Junior Bonner / The Magnificent Seven / The Thomas Crown Affair)

Average customer rating:

Steve McQueen Collection
A nice sampling from McQueen's career
Flawless
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

The Steve McQueen Collection (The Great Escape / Junior Bonner / The Magnificent Seven / The Thomas Crown Affair)
Starring: Steve Mcqueen
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007O38YY
Release Date: 2005-05-17

Amazon.com

A stirring example of courage and the indomitable human spirit, for many John Sturges's The Great Escape (1963) is both the definitive World War II drama and the nonpareil prison escape movie. Featuring an unequalled ensemble cast in a rivetingly authentic true-life scenario set to Elmer Bernstein's admirable music, this picture is both a template for subsequent action-adventure movies and one of the last glories of Golden Age Hollywood. Reunited with the director who made him a star in The Magnificent Seven, Steve McQueen gives a career-defining performance as the laconic Hilts, the baseball-loving, motorbike-riding "Cooler King." The rest of the all-male Anglo-American cast--Dickie Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, James Garner, Charles Bronson, David McCallum, James Coburn, and Gordon Jackson--make the most of their meaty roles (though you have to forgive Coburn his Australian accent). Closely based on Paul Brickhill's book, the various escape attempts, scrounging, forging, and ferreting activities are authentically realized thanks also to technical advisor Wally Flood, one of the original tunnel-digging POWs. Sturges orchestrates the climax with total conviction, giving us both high action and very poignant human drama. Without trivializing the grim reality, The Great Escape thrillingly celebrates the heroism of men who never gave up the fight.

Akira Kurosawa's rousing Seven Samurai was a natural for an American remake--after all, the codes and conventions of ancient Japan and the Wild West (at least the mythical movie West) are not so very far apart. Thus The Magnificent Seven (1960) effortlessly turns samurai into cowboys. The beleaguered denizens of a Mexican village, weary of attacks by banditos, hire seven gunslingers to repel the invaders once and for all. The gunmen are cool and capable, with most of the actors playing them just on the cusp of '60s stardom: Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn. The man who brings these warriors together is Yul Brynner, the baddest bald man in the West. There's nothing especially stylish about the approach of veteran director John Sturges (The Great Escape), but the storytelling is clear and strong, and the charisma of the young guns fairly flies off the screen. If that isn't enough to awaken the 12-year-old kid inside anyone, the unforgettable Elmer Bernstein music will do it: bum-bum-ba-bum, bum-ba-bum-ba-bum....

Millionaire businessman Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen) is also a high-stakes thief; his latest caper is an elaborate heist at a Boston bank. 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. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) 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.

Junior Bonner (1972) is director Sam Peckinpah's lovely, elegiac look at the world of the rodeo--and his only film with nary a bullet wound. Steve McQueen, engagingly easygoing but determined, is the title character, a rodeo rider out to win a big bull-riding contest in his hometown. Even as he confronts his dwindling days on the circuit, he also must deal with his feuding parents, marvelously played by Robert Preston and Ida Lupino. Preston is particularly good as the randy old con artist; he and Lupino strike real sparks. Peckinpah's slow-motion camera is put to particularly good use filming the balletic violence of the rodeo, at once more terrifying and awe-inspiring than any gun battle. A lovely country-western valentine to a dying breed.

Customer Reviews:

Steve McQueen Collection.......2007-07-16

I've been a Steve McQeen fan since Wanted Dead or Alive first appeared on TV. I'm wrapped in this collection I have purched from Amazon

A nice sampling from McQueen's career.......2005-06-06

The one word that is always used to describe actor Steve McQueen is cool. He was the essence of cool. The movies he made were always considered the epitome of cool. He was a hard working, hard playing rebel who had the kind of dangerous charisma that women found attractive and men wanted to emulate. McQueen died in 1980 but left behind a considerable legacy. MGM has repackaged several of his movies in a box set that provides an interesting cross-section of his work, that ranges from the ensemble piece, The Magnificent Seven to the rich, characterization of Junior Bonner that would mark his later films.

McQueen died from lung cancer at the age of 50 but left and enduring legacy behind. He continues to be a much admired and respected actor. This box set is a fitting reminder of the kind of range McQueen was capable of as an actor.

On The Magnificent Seven DVD there is an audio commentary by James Coburn, Eli Wallach, producer Walter Mirisch and assistant director Robert Relyea. This is a solid commentary packed with rich anecdotes with no one person dominating.

"Guns for Hire: The Making of The Magnificent Seven," is a retrospective look at the making of this classic. Most of the main cast are interviewed either in new or vintage footage in this excellent documentary.

There are two trailers and a still gallery with behind the scenes photos, portraits and production and poster art. *NOTE* However, be forewarned, this is not the awesome 2-DVD Special Edition that came out awhile ago. Why MGM didn't include this version in the box set is beyond me. Disappointing.

The Great Escape DVD features a decent making of documentary entitled, "Return to the Great Escape." Interestingly, the screenplay was never finished and this upset McQueen so much (because his part had not been defined) that he walked out after six weeks demanding his part be rewritten. It took Coburn and Garner to coax him back.

Also included is a theatrical trailer.

The Thomas Crown Affair disc has an audio commentary by Norman Jewison. He admits that the film places an emphasis on style over content and saw it as an experiment in film style. This is a solid track from the veteran filmmaker.

There is also a trailer.

Finally, on the Junior Bonner DVD is an audio commentary by Peckinpah authors Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and David Weddle with moderator Nick Redman. They point out the richness of the direction and how it is a very visual film with minimal use of dialogue, especially McQueen's character. Like with their Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia commentary track, these guys provide an excellent analysis of the movie.

Flawless.......2005-05-19

In The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven, Steve McQueen gives worthy performances but they are more or less ensemble films. In ESCAPE you might argue that McQueen is the actual star and the other characters, vivid as they are, serve only to support him, but in SEVEN he's not even the main star. People like myself with action fever in our blood think the world of these two films, early exposures to adrenaline pumping, and we remember them with the same intake of breath we remember the first time we jumped out of a plane or got into a fistfight.

In JUNIOR BONNER, the action is more subtle, though the rodeo background is colorful and McQueen, a little more weathered, is even better than before. His tangles with Ida Lupino are legendary and she was never better than in this film, a nice valedictory on Sam Peckinpah's part to one of Britain's (and Hollywood's) finest actresses, a woman who could spit out nails when she wanted to and a fitting progenitor for McQueen's icy stare (she plays his mother). It's a softer and more lyrical Peckinpah film, unlike the later THE GETAWAY (also with McQueen, although not in this boxed set).

Finally there's Norman Jewison's remake/remodel of Steve McQueen as a dashing, dapper Cary Grant type in the sophisticated caper thriller THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR. To McQueen's credit, he was able to st-r-e-t-ch his screen image to accommodate the rapier verbal wit of the screenplay as well as do his customary "blue haze" screen stare. Faye Dunaway, as the curious heroine, is also very good and hardly mannered at all. When the film appeared, there was a lot of attention paid to their chess scene, which more or less frankly tried to imitate the baroque erotics of TOM JONES' famous "eating scene" with Albert Finney. Everything in the sequence is a complex double entendre, and often the actors are photographed in intense closeup, letting their eyes do all the talking for them. It works today, even though it has itself been imitated dozens of times since. On the entertaining commentary track Jewison acknowledges the prickly personae of his stars, and hints at how difficult they both could be, and he'll make you smile with some of his insider info.

This MGM set is released at a low (if not quite budget) price and has four great films in it. The competing McQueen set may have more discs, but it has more duds too. You pay your money, and you make your choice!

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:.......2005-03-22

Description for Steve McQueen Giftset - 4 Pack DVD
--This exciting compilation features four classic Steve McQueen adventures, described individually below:

THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963) - John Sturges's dramatization of the true story of a group of British, American, and Canadian POWs who successfully escaped from Stalag Luft III in Upper Silesia in March 1944 remains arguably the best World War II adventure film ever made. A host of excellent up-and-coming actors, including James Garner (MAVERICK and THE ROCKFORD FILES), Richard Attenborough (future director of GANDHI), James Coburn (IN LIKE FLINT), and Charles Bronson (DEATH WISH) mesh beautifully in this meticulous recreation of the legendary escape. The German high command rounded up all of the allies' most talented escape artists and placed them in a POW camp specifically designed to foil any unwanted departures, but many of them laboriously tunnel out anyway. Steve McQueen's thrilling motorcycle chase sequence instantly made him a major movie star.

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) - John Sturges's remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic THE SEVEN SAMURAI has become an extremely influential film in its own right. A small farming Mexican village that makes involuntary donations of its harvest to a gang of bandits led by Calvera (Eli Wallach) decides to hire a group of professional gunmen, headed by gunslinger-for-hire Chris (Yul Brynner), to protect them. Despite the meager pay, Chris and Vin (Steve McQueen) sign on after the Mexicans see them face down some racist thugs. As they ride back to the village, Chris begins to pick up other gunmen, including Bernardo (Charles Bronson), Lee (Robert Vaughan), Britt (James Coburn, looking eerily like his alter ego in the Kurosawa epic), Harry (Brad Dexter), and aspiring gunslinger Chico (Horst Buchholz falling short in the role played to perfection by Toshiro Mifune in the Japanese original). This rousing action film launched the movie careers of McQueen, Coburn, and Bronson. Although McQueen's character had only a few lines of dialogue, Sturges told the young actor that he would "give him the camera," and certainly kept his word. The movie also benefits tremendously from the unforgettably polyrhythmic score by Elmer Bernstein, among the most famous in film history, so popular and effective that it was used to sell Marlboro cigarettes for years afterward (and was memorably "sampled" in a very early Yes album from the 70s).

JUNIOR BONNER (1972) - Steve McQueen plays Junior Bonner, an aging rodeo champ who returns to his hometown to participate in the annual rodeo. He finds his family estranged, does what he can to help, and then moves on...after some serious rodeo riding and a few brawls. Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, and Ben Johnson lend strong support to McQueen's laconic loner.

THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968) - Rich and charming (but thrill-seeking) businessman Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen) must be the last person anyone would suspect as a bank-robbing mastermind, but Vicki Anderson (Faye Dunaway of NETWORK and BONNIE AND CLYDE), the insurance investigator assigned to the case, gradually catches on. A memorably erotic chess match between McQueen and Dunaway, both at their stratospheric career heights when the movie was filmed, serves as a metaphor for their relationship in the film.

DVD Features:

Region 1
4-Disc Box Set
Disc 1: THE GREAT ESCAPE
Widescreen - 2.35
Single Side - Dual Layer
Audio:
---Dolby Digital Mono - English
---Dolby Digital Mono - French
Additional Release Material:
---Making-of
---Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Text/Photo Galleries:
---Production Notes
---Additional Text - 1. Trivia

Disc 2: JUNIOR BONNER
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
---Mono - English
Additional Release Material:
---Audio Commentary
---Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer

Disc 3: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Keep Case
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
---Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
---Dolby Digital Mono - Spanish
---Dolby Digital Mono - French
Additional Release Material:
---Audio Commentary - 1. Eli Wallach - Star, James Coburn - Star
---Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical
---Documentary
Text/Photo Galleries:
---Stills/Photos - 1. Gallery
Additional Products:
---Booklet

Disc 4: THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR
Full Frame - 1.33
Letterboxed - 1.85
Audio:
---Mono - English
---Subtitles - English - Optional
---Subtitles - French - Optional
Additional Release Material:
---Audio Commentary - 1. Norman Jewison - Director
---Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Additional Products:
---8-Page Booklet featuring Trivia, Production Notes, and Making of the Film

Release Info:
--Color Film
--Year Released: 1960-1972
--RunTime: 502 Min.
--Release Language: English
--Original Language: English

Average customer rating:

The Case of Two Thomas's
The Thomas Crown Affair
An Affair To Remember
The Thomas Crown Affair
Great

The Thomas Crown Affair - New Transfer
Starring: Steve McQueen , Faye Dunaway , Paul Burke , Jack Weston , and Biff McGuire
Director: Norman Jewison
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009HKH6Q
Release Date: 2005-05-17

Description

Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo catch fire (USA Today) in this sizzling, suspense-filled thriller from the director of Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October. Thrill-seeking billionaire Thomas Crown (Brosnan) loves nothing more than courting disasterand winning! So when his world becomes too stiflingly 'safe, he pulls off his boldest stunt ever: stealing a priceless paintingin broad daylightfrom one of Manhattan's most heavily guarded museums. But his post-heist excitement soon pales beside an even greater challenge: Catherine Banning (Russo). A beautiful insurance investigator hired to retrieve the artwork, Catherine's every bit as intelligent, cunning and hungry for adventure as he is. And just when Thomas realizes he's finally met his match, she skillfully leads him into a daring game of cat and mouse that's more intoxicatingand dangerousthan anything either of them has ever experienced before!

Customer Reviews:

The Case of Two Thomas's.......2007-08-07

Steve McQueen was definitely the "King-of-Cool!" Faye Dunaway was a very sophisticated and beautiful actress who complimented McQueen in the casting of this movie. This movie is actually about two antisocial personality types (clinically speaking); a man who planned armed robberies and a woman who planned the kidnapping of a child, auto-theft, and burglary.

Sometimes, similar personalities don't compliment each other. Faye fails the test and looses Mr. Crown forever! The King-of-cool flies off into the sunset with the knowledge that he is financially independent and a very good judge of human behavior. The only question left for Thomas Crown is can money buy happiness?

Buy both the original and the remake - then compare and contrast the differences in the characters psychological make-up. These are two distinctly different movies.

The Thomas Crown Affair.......2007-07-02

This sleek, stylized movie's chic trappings and star chemistry still comprise a winning formula. It's fun to see the usually scruffy McQueen dressed to the nines in the title role, but Dunaway's the revelation. Stacked up against the wily, macho Crown, Vicky is his match in looks, confidence, and brains, so the inevitable seduction feels balanced and mutual. "Crown" is a sexy, suspenseful cat-and-mouse game waged between equals, with a nifty surprise finish. Innovative split screen cinematography from Haskell Wexler and a romantic Michel Legrand soundtrack make this one of the top "sixties time capsule" films.

An Affair To Remember.......2007-04-10

The original "Thomas Crown Affair" directed by Norman Jewison is one of the coolest movies ever made and great fun for all of its 100 minutes - a clever bank-heist caper combined with the sensual romance where both participants (the brilliant bank robber and his match, the sultry and shrewd insurance investigator) are sophisticated, quick-witted and oh so cool. The split-screen technique really works well in this movie and I should mention the song "The Windmills of Your Mind" by Michel Legrand that very deservingly received an Oscar - and it does not happen often in the best song categories.

The chess game between "King Of Cool" Steve McQueen and 27 year old Faye Dunaway in the most provocative dress possible is one of the sexiest and most exiting without actual sex involved (my favorite kind of scenes - let my imagination work, let everything happen in my mind) scenes ever filmed. IMO, the 60s was one of the best dressed decades ever with the first wave of mini (and I mean it) skirts and elegant suits and dresses.

From Faye Dunaway's interview to "USA Today" about working with McQueen, "We had the most magical spark. Our hearts and souls combined. There was no romance off screen but on screen it was like a smack."

The Thomas Crown Affair.......2007-03-22

An excellent movie for its time. Steve McQueen should have done more movies like this one.Simple and to the point,with real entertainment. This is a classic. R.R.T.

Great.......2007-02-18

Just as usual, Steve McQueen plays his role with magestry and unique style. Faye Dunaway does also a great job and her beauty is breath taking. One of the best McQueens feature film.

Average customer rating:

As bad as it gets....
You kids could use a little '60's attitude.
Ice, just like ice!
A Classic Caper - McQueen & Dunaway Do A Long Liplock!!!
Keys That Jingle In Your Pocket !

The Thomas Crown Affair
Starring: Steve McQueen , Faye Dunaway , Paul Burke , Jack Weston , and Biff McGuire
Director: Norman Jewison
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: 0792840461
Release Date: 1999-02-23

Amazon.com essential video

Millionaire businessman Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen) is also a high-stakes thief; his latest caper is an elaborate heist at a Boston bank. 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. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

As bad as it gets...........2006-06-13

If you need a reminder of all that was wrong with the American culture in the 1960's, check out this VERY DULL flick. Ludicrous and demeaning fashions (only for the female, of course), sparse and meaningless dialogue, gimmicky cinematography that dates the film as surely as the old Don't-squeeze-the-Charmin commercials date TV, and shallow-shallow-shallow characters. The over-loud and intrusive music grates on one's nerves. McQueen has the good grace to appear embarrassed in all of his "too cool" scenes, and Dunaway was likely just grateful for a job at that time. This was someone's confused idea of entertainment that wasn't.

You kids could use a little '60's attitude........2005-11-24

Reading the reviews of others here, I'm beginning to wonder where we children of the 60's went wrong. In the spirit of examining this movie, I ask: Have you kids no sprit of adventure, no instincts to rebellion? Thomas Crown exhibited in spades the exact opposite of the conformity and benign contentment that I sense with some of the reviewers of this flick. In short, this guy was ALIVE!! Sure, some of the dialogue, etc. is dated. So will that of 2005 be in thirty years, I assure you. But Mr. Crown was more alive in his Boston-Brahmin prime than, I suspect, many of the reviewers are in theirs. Or maybe its just the times--we seem to be living in the '50's, redux. Sad. Anyway, buy this movie already and learn. Better yet, make yourselves a nice cold martini [if you know how] and get into the spirit of this. If you have a nice, sexy-icy mistress available [Ms Dunaway, where are you?] then you're ready for the ultimate Tommy Crowne experience. Go for it.

Ice, just like ice!.......2005-11-20

All the kudos usually goes to Bullit, released the same year, yet with this movie, McQueen, the King of Cool, comes of age as an actor, at the height of his power as the No.1 Box office Hollywood star. Commonly regarded by critics as a triumph of style over substance, Jewison crafted a movie for the age and drew from McQueen the kind of performance of which few thought him capable. True, Dunaway's outfits (and Burke's hats) do cement the movie pretty firmly into its time period but anyone coming new to this movie who wasn't around at the time it was made has ample compensation in the luminosity of the stars, the fabulous jazz inspired Michel Legrand soundtrack, a gem of a performance from Jack Weston, as Erwin, and the famous chess game scene. Through the filter of McQueen's performance in the movie, picturing Brosnan as Crown in the recent remake is even more ludicrous than trying to picture Alec Baldwin as Doc McGraw: watch out for the scene in which Crown sets the 'ball rolling' by phoning up the members of the 'gang' he's hired to carry out the heist and then reflect on the observational skills of his detractors. His acting in this movie was matched only by that of his performances later in Papillon and the Getaway. Ultimately, the movie has stood the test of time and will continue to be watched long after DVDs of the Brosnan remake are gathering dust, deservedly, on the shelves of charity shops up and down the country.

A Classic Caper - McQueen & Dunaway Do A Long Liplock!!!.......2005-08-19

I recently saw, for the second time, Norman Jewison's clever 1968 caper, "The Thomas Crown Affair," and although I prefer the recent (1999) remake with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, this older version gives the new one a run for its money. The 60's flick is even superior in some ways. When I originally saw the movie, 30+ years ago, I was amazed at the cinematography, (the innovative Haskell Wexler behind the camera). The use of multiple screens, sometimes six or seven separate images at a time, during the robbery is extremely effective. The entire "look" of the film was new, experimental, hip, fresh. And it still looks good after all these years!

Steve McQueen is outstanding as Thomas Crown, an edgy, jaded businessman, more anti-corporate than not. Crown wants to stick it to the system that he keeps beating. Arrogant and competitive, he is bored with winning the old fashioned way - legally. He wants to dabble in bank robbery for a change - more exciting than gliding and car racing any day. I don't think he plans on giving up his day job, however. He masterminds a meticulously planned heist on a Boston bank with great elan. The man is looking for thrills. He certainly doesn't need the cash. Four total strangers are hired, all experts in their particular line of burglary and embezzlement. None of them know Crown. Two million six hundred thousand dollars is the take - which had much more purchasing power in 1968 than the same amount nowadays! Crown flies to Switzerland after committing the perfect crime. He opens a secret bank account, making arrangements to pay-off the five men anonymously.

Boston detective Eddy Malone, (Paul Burke), teams up with ruthless, but extremely attractive, independent insurance investigator Vicki Anderson, (Faye Dunaway - who is a relatively new face here. She had yet to appear in "Bonnie and Clyde"). Ms. Anderson gets her kicks putting away folks who scam the system. And she's closing in on Crown, who has met his match. Of course there's sexual tension - but not as intense as the 1999 version. McQueen's Crown has a darker side than Brosnan's. And while Pierce is debonair, as ever, Steve looks somewhat awkward in three piece suits. Dunaway is a bit cooler, more serene, than the torrid Ms. Russo, but effective nevertheless. No nude scenes in this one, but lots of clothed chemistry. HOWEVER, the movie has the distinction of featuring the "longest kiss in cinema history, with McQueen and Dunaway liplocked in one scene for 55 uninterrupted seconds." Just a fact I picked up while writing the review.

There's a terrific chess game in the film between Vicki and Thomas - I won't tell who wins, nor will I tell what happens afterward. The ending will come as a surprise to those of you who have yet to see this version of "The Thomas Crown Affair." The film makes for excellent entertainment. Nothing deep - just a good caper with an interesting look at the US culture of the late 60's....and McQueen and Dunaway, of course!

"Windmills of your Mind," the movie's an Oscar winning song, scored by Michael Legrand, remains one of my favorites.
JANA

Keys That Jingle In Your Pocket !.......2005-07-11

Thomas Crown was a mega-millionaire Ivy League educated Boston Brahmin (Dartmouth undergrad, Harvard M.B.A.) in search of adventure and identity..At a time when America outwardly celebrated the protestations of the anti-hero: this was the late 60's when Viet Nam, Watergate, and the Cold War were in play..Thomas Crown's caper involved clipping the insurance companies, through a circuitous backchannel..By robbing a bank, hence knocking off the establishment..And Crown pre-planned the heist in geometric detail, executed like a Wallstreet raid, the crime without trace, including never meeting his accomplices face to face, nor they meeting each other..Therefore, he couldn't cough them up, nor they him, if the job derailed..Faye Dunaway (Vicki) was the Coco Chanel coutured super sleuth, brought in by the insurance company to bust the brainiac behind the elaborate caper for a fee of 10% of all monies recovered..Unfortunately, our nemesises found themselves to be more than mildly simpatico..Both unrepetant mercenaries, and beautifully chiseled people, in a word, heartless soulmates..Vicki plucks Crown from a cross-file of suspects who had worked at the bank, and knew the inside layout, and had made multiple overnighters to Switzerland..But Vicki id'ed Crown moreso from a photo: was aroused by his monochromatic blue eyes, his apparent charisma, thought he was the likely leo behind the heist..And the cat and mouse charade was game on..Vicki stalks Crown at polo matches, art house auctions, and makes conspicuous home movies of Crown..Crown spots her later at an auction and approaches her..On first introduction he asks, who are you and what is your racket?..She says insurance, I'm a headhunter..He says, just whose head are you after..She says, yours of course, you know, the bank caper! He says, do you always get your your man..She says, oh I hope so!..Inevitably, romance ensues..The plot thickens when Crown tells Vicki, following an intimate moment, he will rob the bank again, because he's gotta know if Vicki will fink him out again, given a second swipe..Norman Jewison, the film's director, found the story of the Thomas Crown Affair in a forgotten stack of manuscripts, and went to see the author..Found the writer to be a novice screenwriter, and a restless Ivy League attorney turned daydreamer, who lived in an apartment with a 180% view of a high payroll Boston bank..Norman Jewison was the ideal director to make this F. Truffaunt inspired film, and to mentor Steve McQueen through the process..McQueen was never better, though on first blush McQueen was the unlikeliest actor to play the part credibly, since at the time he didn't own a single suit..But McQueen was Thomas Crown, the ubiquitous Phi Beta Kappa key hanging dapperly from his three piece Oxford suits, a subtle yet obvious conceit..On the first date, Vicki asks Crown, "Are you taking me home to meet Mother", Crown replies sardonically, "Wall to wall carpeting..something"..Vicki had illegally surveiled his townhouse by pretending to be a carpet measurement crew to Crown's butler, to gain access to Crown's Queen Anne brownstone, resplendent with priceless oriental rugs?..Vicki's obvious underestimation of Crown's sense of aesthetics..And sicced the IRS on Crown, had him thoroughly staked out, monitored around the clock..So Crown renews an old fling with a European model to remind Vicki who holds the high cards in their blood stakes game of cops and robbers..The surveilance photos of Crown with another woman drives Vicki to kinetic fits of jealousy..Even Vicki is shocked at her territorialism!..Paul Burke, a New Orleans born actor/detective tells her, "Vicki girl you're being had,, you want to know where he went last night after he left you? that's the third time he's seen her this week, here see for yourself"..Crown knows Vicki better than she knows herself, and reckons Vicki will in the end betray him..Crown robs the same bank a second time, but confides in Vicki when and where the drop-off will be..And Vicki awaits Crown in a cemetery with her colleagues to nab him..Only to receive a telegram from Crown's driver in his Rolls-Royce..Sorry Vicki I left early, bring the money or you keep the Rolls-Royce..While Jewison cuts away to Crown on the Concorde, first class to Geneva..Though Crown wins the near-term war of wits, both he and Vicki lose the big prize..They both know, but never say, they will remain in character and sell-out any possibility of a life together, to achieve some other metric of glory..Though they shared some imported champagne and caviar trying!..Oh, and what to make of those overly dedicated career people?

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Thomas Crown II
Artful Dodger
An Enduring Story... Becuase It's Real
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The Thomas Crown Affair
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Rene Russo , Denis Leary , Ben Gazzara , and Frankie Faison
Director: John McTiernan
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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Leary, Denis | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Lombard, Michael | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Russo, Rene | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

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ASIN: 6305657939
Release Date: 2000-08-01

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Description

Customer Reviews:

Thomas Crown II.......2007-08-07

Artful Dodger.......2007-07-21

An Enduring Story... Becuase It's Real.......2007-07-13

Hot, Hot, Hot...........2007-07-08

OK.......2007-03-27

This movie is OK, but I prefer the original version with Steve McQueen. This remake is too Hollywood for me, with too many unbelievable stunts. The original was better.

Charlie Rose with Pierce Brosnan; Rene Russo (August 5, 1999)

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Charlie Rose with Pierce Brosnan; Rene Russo (August 5, 1999)

ProductGroup: DVD
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Seraphim Falls

ASIN: B000KC8KGO
Release Date: 2006-11-02

Description

First conversation with actor Pierce Brosnan about his performance in the remake of the 1968 film, The Thomas Crown Affair. He discusses the actor Steve McQueen's role in the original and his earlier performances as James Bond. Also, Brosnan's co-star Rene Russo talks about her work on the movie. She shares her experiences on the set and opinions about sexuality on the movie screen.

Average customer rating:

Thomas Crown II
Artful Dodger
An Enduring Story... Becuase It's Real
Hot, Hot, Hot....
OK

General | Drama | Genres | VHS | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | VHS | Video

Brosnan, Pierce | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Dunaway, Faye | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Faison, Frankie | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Gazzara, Ben | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Leary, Denis | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Lombard, Michael | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Russo, Rene | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Saito, James | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Weaver, Fritz | ( W ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

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ASIN: 6305657955
Release Date: 2001-05-01

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Customer Reviews:

Thomas Crown II.......2007-08-07

Artful Dodger.......2007-07-21

An Enduring Story... Becuase It's Real.......2007-07-13

Hot, Hot, Hot...........2007-07-08

OK.......2007-03-27

This movie is OK, but I prefer the original version with Steve McQueen. This remake is too Hollywood for me, with too many unbelievable stunts. The original was better.

Average customer rating:

Thomas Crown II
Artful Dodger
An Enduring Story... Becuase It's Real
Hot, Hot, Hot....
OK

The Thomas Crown Affair [Region 2]
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Rene Russo , Denis Leary , Ben Gazzara , and Frankie Faison
Director: John McTiernan
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00004RCMN

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Thomas Crown II.......2007-08-07

Artful Dodger.......2007-07-21

An Enduring Story... Becuase It's Real.......2007-07-13

Hot, Hot, Hot...........2007-07-08

OK.......2007-03-27

This movie is OK, but I prefer the original version with Steve McQueen. This remake is too Hollywood for me, with too many unbelievable stunts. The original was better.

Average customer rating:

The Thomas Crown Affair [Region 2]
Starring: Steve McQueen , Faye Dunaway , Paul Burke , Jack Weston , and Biff McGuire
Director: Norman Jewison
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00004RZ0U

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The Thomas Crown Affair [Region 2]
Starring: Steve McQueen , Faye Dunaway , Paul Burke , Jack Weston , and Biff McGuire
Director: Norman Jewison
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VYPB

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