christopher-underwood
I have put off seeing this on the small screen because I seemed to remember there being more of the multiple spilt screen editing than there actually is and that it wouldn't work on the domestic TV. Actually it is fine. I believe Hal Ashby was responsible for the innovative technique which is used sparingly but most effectively to pep up the credits and heist sequences. The film is enjoyable with decent performances from Steve McQueen (much improved since The Blob, which I saw recently and in which he seemed rather awkward) and Faye Dunaway, looking particularly lovely at this time. Otherwise, although the film is enjoyable, it is not particularly striking and the Windmills of your Mind song has not worn so well. There is perhaps too much racing about in the beach buggy and the ending seems a bit rushed, although we are just about ready.
SnoopyStyle
Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen) is a successful businessman. He recruits men to pull off the perfect crime robbing a large bank. The police is getting nowhere with the investigation. They allow the insurance investigator into the case and Vicki Anderson (Faye Dunaway) immediately zeroes in on the debonair Thomas Crown.Director Norman Jewison is throwing all the cool stylings of the era at this movie. He has the coolest Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway is playing a sexy ice queen, and he's using all the cool visual style like the split screen. It is super cool, but there isn't much heat. The leads' cat and mouse games are just visual editing fun. Even their sexy scenes are just cute jazzy music, and interesting cuts. The action is pedestrian. The caper is uninspired. I'm sure McQueen had a ball hanging out with Dunaway, driving the dune buggy, and sipping champaign. At last, this may be a movie of its era that has become dated over the years. It needs more fun, and drama.
david-sarkies
Recently a movie was made called the Thomas Crown Affair. Obviously that movie was a remake of this movie. Remakes can be good at times, but in numerous cases the original film can be far superior. As I have not seen the remake, I cannot comment, but according to my sister (which I really don't hold that high when coming to movies), the remake has Rene Russo and Pierce Brosnan walking around naked for most of the time.This movie is focused around a billionaire named Thomas Crown. At the beginning of the movie is stages an excellently executed bank robbery and gets away with it. The people are contacted in rooms where they do not know who they are talking to, and then the rest of the time by phone. Nobody knows who is who, except for Crown, and all are paid from a Swiss Bank Account. The question is why does Crown, with all that money, want to rob a bank? It is easy – it is the adrenalin rush. Throughout the movie he is doing things, such as gliding, riding a dune buggy, and other such things. He doesn't need the money, and even if he doesn't get the money, he still has more than enough to hold up his end of the bargain.The police are stumped and the insurance agency is reluctant to hand over the money to the bank, so they call in one of their more controversial investigators to find out who did it, and she points out Thomas Crown. What this movie becomes is a psychological war between the investigator and Thomas Crown to force him to speak. She knows, and he knows that she knows, but he is very strong and is able to restrain from saying anything.The chess game they play emphasises the nature of the game that they are playing. She is using all of her sexuality to entrance him and force him to slip, but she has no concrete evidence and he is not revealing anything. Even though her seduction skills are good, and he falls to them, he is strong enough not to say anything.What makes this movie good is the psychological games that Crown and the investigator play. Somebody who doesn't understand the intense psychological battle of wills that occurs in this movie is going to be disappointed and find it boring. It is far from that because of the subtly of what goes on.
utgard14
Not what I expected. I expected a movie centered around Steve McQueen pulling off a heist. But actually it's a movie where the (brief) heist occurs early and the rest of the movie is about an insurance investigator played by Faye Dunaway trying to snare McQueen. The leaps of logic that allow Dunaway to get on McQueen's trail strain credulity even more than the implausible heist. The plot leaks like a sieve but the flashy direction and charismatic performances by the leads keeps you interested. McQueen and Dunaway definitely had chemistry. Hard to believe that terrible theme song won an Oscar. It's a good film so give it a shot, especially if you're a fan of "the king of cool" Steve McQueen.
AD
