Review of Thomas Crown Affair, The

Introduction

I first saw this movie on the strength of the Director, John McTiernan, seeing that I was a fan of Predator, Die Hard`s 1 and 3 and other big box office hits. So, how does he fair with something a little different? I`m glad to say that this movie is handled rather well, the action sequences are thrilling while the more subdued moments are well, subdued.

This is a romantic thriller based on the original 1968 Thomas Crown Affair with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. As is common with most updates, stars from the original often appear in cameo and so Faye Dunaway has a small part here as Brosnan`s psychiatrist. Brosnan plays bored billionaire Thomas Crown and Rene Russo plays Catherine Banning, the insurance investigator who aims to recover the painting stolen by Crown.

The opening titles with Bill Conti`s score play on the story too and has a certain elegance to it. It`s a fitting way into the start of the movie. Everything from the start to the end exudes polish. The sets, the locations (in particular using Martinique), the colours that are used. It`s slick and looks expensive to boot.

I think the performances here are spot on. Brosnan is the quintessential man with style, performances he carried well with previous outings as Remington Steele and 007. As for Russo, she`s good. There`s chemistry between the two of them and as the story unfolds, it simply gets better. Don`t forget about Dennis Leary or Faye Dunaway either, they play their parts too. It`s nice to see Dennis do stuff other than stand up.

There are some lovely scenes between Brosnan and Russo such as the ball scene where they dance. The dancing is sensual and riveting. There are scenes played between these two throughout and it`s good to see the way it builds from the outset, all nicely paced.

Video

Lovely anamorphic video. Presented in 2.35:1, the video looks good, crisp and sharp. Colours are very natural with a good level of detail present throughout. Blacks were produced well with good contrast. There are some minor scratches, but these were minor.

Audio

Bill Conti`s music is very well suited to the story and I quite like the way it builds up as the film starts. He`s composed a very memorable theme. Sting has re-recorded `Windmills of Your Mind` and I personally don`t think it sounds as good as the original version. Apart from the action scenes, there aren`t a lot of demanding effects for all the speakers, but what there is sounds good. Ambient sound is good also.

Features

This has a nice opening menu which revolves around 360 degrees round a room, it`s a shame the rest of the static menus aren`t in the same vain, it would have made it more complete. So, what do you get on this disc? There`s the Director`s Commentary track, The Making of The Master Piece, the Windmills of Your Mind promo music video and the obligatory Trailer.

The Making of The Master Piece is interesting and runs to about 24 minutes. I think this is fine for what the movie is, the film is hardly a complicated affair with a lot to talk about. This covers ground on the original 1968 movie as well as this new update. I think the music promo is a copout since this is no more than a very long advert for the movie and the album soundtrack and isn`t a conventional music promo as one might expect. Also it`s quite poor in quality.

Listening to John McTiernan`s commentary was interesting, especially since I`m a fan of his other stuff and this was the first time I`ve heard his commentary. Well, while it was interesting, his voice is a little quiet and deep, so I had to pay attention and pump up the sound. It`s not bad, though at times he sounds a little bored. Lastly there`s the eight page booklet enclosed which covers some of the production.

Conclusion

I quite like this film. From the first moment I saw it in the cinema to seeing it several times here on DVD, I find it enjoyable. It`s not a hard movie to follow and I think it serves its purpose, it entertains in spades! Casting is good, though it`s hard to tell with Brosnan sometimes what he really can do as an actor since there`s nothing really new as Thomas Crown over say, James Bond. Both are sophisticated, lead a somewhat glamourous lifestyle with beautiful women...see where I`m going with this? He`s well suited to this role, as is Rene Russo.

It`s a good film with sumptious locations and delivers a piece of high class entertainment, a good update on the original story. So sit back and enjoy with a nice bottle of red!