Rating: Summary: by far superior to the remake! Review: The original, like most movies, is far superior to the remake. Dunaway and McQueen outshine Brosnan and Russo, hands down!From the opening music, the original "Thomas Crown Affair", is excitng and nail biting intense. The remake is all glitter and flash, and can't hold a candle to the "real thing".
Rating: Summary: Forgotten Classic! Review: The talent that went into this production was quite staggering: McQueen, Dunaway, Jewison, Ashby (editor), Wexler (cinematography) and LeGrand (soundtrack). And, rarely though it happens, all that talent adds up to a great and largely forgotten classic. Cast against type, McQueen gives an interesting performance as a thrill-seeking millionaire/bank robber. All the more interesting since Sean Connery turned down the role and McQueen had to push in order to get the part. Dunaway never looked better and it is arguable that you would be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful visage on film anytime or anywhere. Shocking at the time due to the "bad" guy's triumph in the end, the film's "swinger" soundtrack and collage visual techniques are tastefully handled for the most part. Check out the "extended kiss" and sail plane scenes for classic recall.
Rating: Summary: Decent bank heist story Review: The Thomas Crown Affair is an interesting story about a multimillionare who organizes a bank robbery. Thomas Crown is a millionare with everything and everyone at his disposal, so he uses everything he has to make himself feel alive. Crown organizes this huge bank heist which works perfectly. Soon after, an insurance agent is hot on his tail. This is a pretty good movie that is better because of the stars. At points the story lags a bit, but overall is worth a watch. If nothing else, watch the preparation and then the opening bank heist for an exciting thirty minutes. Steve McQueen is okay as millionare Thomas Crown, but at some points he seems out of place in the three piece suits he wears throughout. Maybe its just because I'm used to him as a gunfighter or a prisoner trying to escape from a prison camp. Faye Dunaway is very good as Vicki Anderson, the insurance agent trying to prove Crown's guilt. Some reviewers think there is no chemistry between them, but I disagree. There is definite attraction between the two stars. The DVD is good with widescreen or full screen options, theatrical trailer, 8-page booklet, and commentary all included. Not one of McQueen's best, but still very good and much better than the Brosnan/Russo remake. Worth a watch if nothing else.
Rating: Summary: Decent bank heist story Review: The Thomas Crown Affair is an interesting story about a multimillionare who organizes a bank robbery. Thomas Crown is a millionare with everything and everyone at his disposal, so he uses everything he has to make himself feel alive. Crown organizes this huge bank heist which works perfectly. Soon after, an insurance agent is hot on his tail. This is a pretty good movie that is better because of the stars. At points the story lags a bit, but overall is worth a watch. If nothing else, watch the preparation and then the opening bank heist for an exciting thirty minutes. Steve McQueen is okay as millionare Thomas Crown, but at some points he seems out of place in the three piece suits he wears throughout. Maybe its just because I'm used to him as a gunfighter or a prisoner trying to escape from a prison camp. Faye Dunaway is very good as Vicki Anderson, the insurance agent trying to prove Crown's guilt. Some reviewers think there is no chemistry between them, but I disagree. There is definite attraction between the two stars. The DVD is good with widescreen or full screen options, theatrical trailer, 8-page booklet, and commentary all included. Not one of McQueen's best, but still very good and much better than the Brosnan/Russo remake. Worth a watch if nothing else.
Rating: Summary: STEVE McQUEEN'S LAUGH Review: THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR is the best Steve McQueen movie I have seen so far. I must admit that I still have serious doubts about his acting abilities but his performance or shall we say his presence in this Norman Jewison movie is one to be remembered. The 1968 label attached upon each scene of the THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR is, the least one can say, manifest. Split screens "à la DePalma", a GRADUATE-like title song doomed to be a worldly hit, light critics of the american system and a pseudo-revolutionary cinematography are the trademark of this film. In spite of this artificial envelope, the movie still delivers. The seduction scene between Faye Dunaway and SmQ when playing chess is absolutely riveting and the hold-ups worthy to be seen several times. Of course, one has to forget some gaps in the screenplay, for instance I still don't understand how Faye Dunaway has determined by deduction alone that the gangsters didn't know each other. Anyway, I liked this movie. A dandy DVD.
Rating: Summary: Great change of pace for Steve McQueen. Wonderful plot. Review: This is a non-classic Steve McQueen with the brains. What a wonderful plot, of the man who has everything and thirsts for more. The classic line is a question, " Who am I goign to be today?" It says it all. Faye Dunaway is gorgeous in her role of the insurance fraud detective. The chemistry is perfect. A must see for all Steve McQueen fans
Rating: Summary: The Original Crown! Review: This is an extremely fine film. Besides a ingenious story and terrific acting by McQueen (who plays a "cool" and very wealthy businessman perfectly) and Dunaway (who looks absolutely stunning and plays it "smart" in nearly every scene), this movie has some fascinating and utterly BRILLIANT editing like no other film I know of... and a HAUNTING and GORGEOUS music score created by Michel LeGrand. What about the NEW version? I have been a huge fan of the original Thomas Crown Affair since I first saw it while in the military in 1969..... and bought the 1999 "re-make" because I heard so many good things about it. I must say that honestly there are good points in BOTH films. I never quite bought the fact that the original wealthy "Crown" got his "kicks" robbing a bank.... so stealing the "Monet" made much more sense to me. I also thought the story was a bit more interesting in the new version and I was more satisfied by the challenge Bronsnan's character found in Russo's bluntness. Overall, however this 1969 "Crown" is the version I prefer. It contains an absolutely beautiful music score by Michel LeGrand (which is superior to the loud, lackluster and frangmented score that Bill Conti created for the new version). The title track here is "Windmills of Your Mind" is an awesome song, but also amazing is "Her Eyes, His Eyes" created for the infamous chess playing sequence. I also prefer the sensuous and sexy elegance of the fire between McQueen and Dunaway to the overtly sweaty lust that Brosnan and Russo desparately share together... this film is more subtile and suggests sexuality.. which seems more fascinating than just the plain nakedness in the new version. Although I do prefer this film to the remake, both versions are well made and interesting in their own right, and should be enjoyed for what they are and what makes them so entertaining.
Rating: Summary: Cool, Sophisticated,60s flair to the nth degree! Review: This is not a movie where you'll need to analyze your feelings or those of the actors on the screen. It conveys the essence of the positive style created in the 60s (yes, there was something positive about the 60s). Steve McQueen is at his best as the man who has everything, but is still wanting more. He is at his best, beacuase this role is not like anything else he ever mastered during his film career. Enter Faye Dunaway who aside from having the wardrobe of a model, does have beauty and brains too. Man meets his match! A great movie, if you are wanting just entertainment and an escape.
Rating: Summary: Fantastic. Review: Though it is a 1968's film,I still can't find any other is better than this.Steve McQueen's tastful & thoughtful mind is the most attractive part in the film. Anyone feels bored of their everyday life should watch this excellent masterpiece.
Rating: Summary: Superb snapshot of the 60's; portent of 90's ennui. Review: Three points to this astounding flick: 1) The imagery is a perfect screen-capture of late 60's style. In that sense, it is a historical documentation of paramount importance. Utterly timeless "class" is juxtaposed to utterly 60's contemporary "cool". 2) The message - the ennui of the young and wealthy - is timeless. What DO you do if you are self-made wealthy, young, and without further worlds of interest to conquer? This is NOT about the Silver Spoon set, but a man who has made his own way so young, succeeded, and decided to buck the system thereafter. The screen play says it all: "Tommy, I wish you wouldn't undershoot the runway like that." (In his glider) "Well, at least it would end all my worries." "What worries do you have?" "Who I'm going to be tomorrow." 3) It has been written that Harrison Ford is the inheritor of the mantle Humphrey Bogart wore as the epitomy of the American Can-Do Male. But it seems that a middle step has been missed. The heritage should run through McQueen, who played this role brilliantly, very much in contrast to his usual western ("Nevada Smith") and outsider ("The Cincinnati Kid") roles. My personal fantasy: "The Thomas Crown Affair" AND "Sabrina" by Bogart in the early 50's, by McQueeen in the late 60's - early 70's, and by Ford in the 90's. Incredibly, 3 of these 6 actually occured.
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