Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Thomas Crown Affair Blu-ray Movie Review

Take the Monet and run!

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater April 13, 2010

The hype surrounding any remake is usually of the how will it hold up against the original variety, and sure, there was a little of that prior to The Thomas Crown Affair’s August 1999 release. The 1968 film, directed by Norman Jewison, and starring steely-eyed Steve McQueen and hot-to-trot sex symbol Faye Dunaway, has never been revered as an outright classic. A competent heist flick, yes, but its then-novel use of split screen is usually regarded as a case of ambitious style over substance. It’s the sort of film that had always seemed primed for a remake, so there weren’t too many fans up in arms over director John McTiernan’s (Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October) decision to have another go at the Crown caper. The pre-release buzz around this remade Affair had more to do with its steamy sex scenes, with generous coverage of how actress and former model Rene Russo—then, at 45, over the hill by Hollywood standards—was sexier than ever in her nude couplings with British stag Pierce Brosnan. In a way, of course, this is just another form of style over substance—there’s definitely more eye candy than dramatically fulfilling meat.

"Do you want to dance, or do you want to dance?"

1968’s Thomas Crown Affair is bookended by two slick bank robberies, but director John McTiernan—sensing that bank bust-ups are overplayed in Hollywood—wisely reset the remake in the world of high-priced art. Pierce Brosnan is Thomas Crown, an exorbitantly wealthy businessman, the kind of richy-rich investor who’s willing to bet $100,000 on a golf swing, just because it’s a lazy Saturday morning, and hey, 100 grand is but a drop in his ocean-containing money bucket. At one point, we see him capsize a catamaran during a race off of the New England coastline, seemingly just for the adrenalin rush. In a search for bigger thrills, he pulls off an ultra-clever theft of Monet’s San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk from a New York City museum, using three eastern European henchmen in a literal Trojan horse as a distraction, before slipping under the security gate and offing with the painting himself. Sultry, thigh-highs- and-garters-wearing insurance investigator Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) is sent in to assist the by-the-book local detectives working the case (Dennis Leary and The Wire’s Frankie Faison), and she quickly targets Crown as the prime suspect. Her methods, however, are what you might call unconventional—not only does she forego the usual warrant-and-search approach employed by the cops, but she finds herself caught with Crown in a game of mutual seduction. This is no cat-and-mouse routine; Crown is the king-of-the-concrete-jungle lion, Banning purrs and struts, an achingly-in-heat lioness, and they go at each other with everything they’ve got, mentally and sexually.

There’s a bit of an Entrapment-by-way-of-Mr. and Mrs. Smith vibe going on here, as Crown and Banning have obviously met their match in one another—hence the attraction. Crowne is a “42 year old, self-involved loner,” mistrustful of women and cynical of love, but he finds a kindred spirit in the feisty redhead, who wants more than just to recover the painting so her company doesn’t have to write a $100 million check. It’s not about money for either of them; it’s about the thrill of the chase. Both parties have understandable trust issues, and as the plot winds tighter toward a conclusion that’s just as clever as the opening—it involves a score of men dressed up like Magritte’s famous, bowler hat-wearing Son of Man—the two rivals/lovers take turns turning the emotional screws, along with doing a fair amount of actual screwing. Yes, there’s sex a-plenty in The Thomas Crown Affair, most notably— and, I think it’s fair to say, gratuitously—an extended montage smack dab in the middle of the film that makes it seem like Crown and Banning have been humping like rabbits for days on end. They do it on the checkered floor in Crown’s opulent foyer, up the marble stairs, knocking books and papers off of his desk, splashing water all over each other, pouncing, growling, and sweating profusely. It gets to be a little ridiculous, actually. Russo is much sexier when she’s playing seductress on the dance floor, wearing a black dress with nothing underneath.

The heist elements are all in place to give structure to the plot—and they’re thrillingly staged— but the story is really about two almost-inhumanly glamorous but exceptionally lonely people who are perfect for one another but are so caught up in their own thrill-seeking that love is hard to come by. Unlike most of director John McTiernan’s films, brawn-over-brains genre exercises like Predator and Die Hard, The Thomas Crown Affair is, if not quite sophisticated, at least incredibly suave. Some of the machinations are far-fetched, and the tension sags when Crown jets Banning off to his Caribbean hideaway for the weekend—we’re taken out of the New York City action for far too long—but otherwise, the mind games and metaphorical trust falls are gripping, and the dialogue crackles with an electric undercurrent of desire. Russo is the smoldering source of the movie’s heat. She moves like a panther—I was going to say cougar—and the way she curls her lips turns every phrase into sex-laced innuendo. By comparison, Brosnan has little to do but look charming, high-browed, and detached, like some long-lost member of the royal family. I will say, though, that he is a much better fit for the role of Thomas Crown than Steve McQueen, who was always at his best playing a rough and tumble badass, not some sleek, bored businessman. Look out for Faye Dunaway in a cameo as Crown's psychotherapist.

The Thomas Crown Affair Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Thomas Crown Affair makes its high definition debut with a surprisingly strong 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer, framed in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. This release handily bests previous DVD iterations of the film, so fans looking to upgrade should have no qualms at all. Color is the first thing that jumps out at you here, as this Affair's palette is rich, warm, and natural, with sultry skin tones and a very balanced, settled look. New York is both autumnal and cool, with leafy avenues, woodsy interiors—like Crown's stately manor—and steely skyscrapers. Crown and Catherine's jaunt to a Caribbean island affords the picture some vibrant hues, with deep green foliage and Catherine's fantastically red sunhat. Deep blacks border on crush on occasion, letting some details slip away into the shadows, but in general the picture has even contrast and good dimensional presence. Clarity is somewhat mixed, but mostly on the up and up. Close-ups display the expected levels of fine detail—the textures of Russo's couture wardrobe, the lines on Bronson's devilishly handsome face—but some medium-to-long shots grow slightly soft. Never distractingly so, however, and I'm sure it has to do with the actual source, not the transfer. The film's grain structure is thin and consistent, with the exception of a few spikes during aerial and darker scenes, and the encode is solid, with no overly apparent compression hitches or other artifacts.

The Thomas Crown Affair Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is just as finely tuned as the visuals, mixing dialogue, ambient sound, cross-channel effects, and Bill Conti's excellent—if a little dated—score with clarity and oomph. The track isn't nearly as immersive, dynamic, or sonically assaulting as what you might find on a similar modern caper flick, but it totally suits Affair's sleek tone and leaves little, audio-wise, to be desired. The surround channels are home to frequent New York City ambience—traffic sounds, mostly—and we get a few standout effects, like security lasers sweeping through the soundfield, helicopter blades beating the air, and a glider swooshing over the New England countryside. The catamaran race scene is particularly impressive, with sailing tack rippling in the wind, the spray and rush of waves, and the slap of the hull against the water. Conti's propulsive score is big and detailed, though I found myself aching for a little more bass to round things out. Dialogue is clear, even the smallest, most seductive whispers, and voices accurately reflect the acoustic qualities of their environments. There's nothing here that you might use to show off your audio system, but this is a strong track with some decent sound design.

The Thomas Crown Affair Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, MGM couldn't dredge up any archival material to fill out this release, so the disc arrives with the barest of bones. A commentary track with director Joe McTiernan is included on the DVD copy of the film, but I really don't see why they could've have ported it over to the Blu-ray, especially considering how the film has audio dubs in 10 languages.

The Thomas Crown Affair Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

So, is the 1999 version of The Thomas Crown Affair better than the original? Personally, I think both films are little more than heist genre gimcracks, but they are fun and sexy and full of double-crossing intrigue. The remake—steamy and icy, more mixed than truly memorable—gets an excellent high definition transfer courtesy of MGM, along with a solid lossless audio track. Sadly, supplementary features are entirely absent, aside from a commentary on the included DVD copy.