The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)

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The Thomas Crown Affair
original movie poster
Directed by	Norman Jewison
Produced by	Norman Jewison Hal Ashby
Written by	Alan Trustman
Starring	Steve McQueen Faye Dunaway Jack Weston Gordon Pinsent Yaphet Kotto Fritz Weaver
Editing by	Hal Ashby Byron Brandt Ralph E. Winters
Distributed by	United Artists (1968-1981) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1981-present)
Release date(s)	June 19, 1968
Running time	102 min
Language	English
Budget	$4,300,000 (estimated)
IMDb profile

The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1968 movie starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. A remake was released in 1999 starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo.

The 1968 version was nominated for two Academy Awards for Original Music Score and Best Song. It won an Academy Award for Best Song with "Windmills of Your Mind" by Michel Legrand (music), Marilyn Bergman and Alan Bergman (lyrics).

Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Trivia 4 Cast 5 Crew 6 Reception 7 Academy Awards 8 External links

[edit] Plot

Thomas Crown, a young, handsome millionaire pulls off the perfect crime by having five men rob a bank and dump the money in a trash can, which Crown retrieves later and stores in a Geneva bank. Vicki Anderson, an independent insurance investigator, is contracted to investigate the heist. As she digs deeper into the case she begins to suspect Crown's involvement. In an attempt to get closer she begins seeing Crown socially, openly telling him she is investigating him. Their relationship evolves into an affair; this affair however is threatened by Vicki's moral obligation to bring Thomas Crown to justice.

Crown decides to organize another caper for the sheer sake of rebelling against the authority. He asks Vicki to join him in his flight afterwards, but she betrays him to her contractors. Moving in to makes the arrest, she finds Crown sent a messenger in his place with a salutation. Crown is then shown flying away in a jet, a smile on his face.

[edit] Production

Like other action movies of the late 1960s, there is abundant use of split screens to show simultaneous actions.

The film also features the now famous chess scene. McQueen and Dunaway play a game of chess, silently flirting with each other, caressing the chess pieces, using them as metaphorical sexual objects.

[edit] Trivia

Faye Dunaway, co-star of the original 1968 release, makes a cameo in the 1999 remake as Thomas Crown's (Pierce Brosnan) therapist.

In the 2004 remake of Alfie there is a scene where Alfie (Jude Law) returns to his flat and finds his girlfriend Nikki (Sienna Miller) asleep in front of the television which is showing the scene where Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen first kiss.

The scene where Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen play chess is spoofed in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me with Mike Myers and Kristen Johnston.

[edit] Cast

• Steve McQueen as Thomas Crown
• Faye Dunaway as Vicki Anderson
• Paul Burke as Detective Lt. Edward 'Eddy' Malone
• Jack Weston as Erwin Weaver
• Gordon Pinsent as Jamie McDonald
• Biff McGuire as Sandy
• Addison Powell as Abe
• Astrid Heeren as Gwen

Sean Connery had been the original choice for the title role but declined—a decision he later regretted.

[edit] Crew

• Directed by: Norman Jewison
• Written by: Alan Trustman
• Music by: Michel Legrand
• Produced by: Norman Jewison, Hal Ashby
• Production Company: The Mirisch Corporation
• Distributed by: United Artists

[edit] Reception

The film was only moderately successful at the box office, grossing $14,000,000 on a $6,000,000 budget. Reviews were mixed. The chemistry between McQueen and Dunaway and Norman Jewison's stylish direction were praised, but the plotting and writing were considered rather thin. Roger Ebert gave it 2 1/2 stars out of four and called it "possibly the most under-plotted, underwritten, over-photographed film of the year. Which is not to say it isn't great to look at. It is."^[1] Despite its tepid reaction, however, it has since become a cult film and inspired a 1999 remake.

[edit] Academy Awards

Award	Person
Best Music, Original Song (The Windmills of Your Mind)	Michel Legrand Alan Bergman Marilyn Bergman
Nominated:
Best Score	Michel Legrand

[edit] External links

• The Thomas Crown Affair at the Internet Movie Database

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