The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film)

For the 1968 original movie see, The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)

The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1999 film and remake of the 1968 film of the same name. It stars Pierce Brosnan as Thomas Crown, a self-made billionaire who steals a painting and is tracked by an insurance investigator played by Rene Russo.

The success of the film prompted a sequel to be released in 2006 titled The Topkapi Affair, which is also a remake - of the 1964 film Topkapi starring Melina Mercouri, Maximilian Schell, and Peter Ustinov. Both films are based on Eric Ambler's novel, The Light of Day.

Plot summary

Thomas Crown, a self-made billionaire, is an adventurous businessman who savors a good challenge. Crown can get almost anything he wants without challenge: material items, women, etc. He crashes an expensive yacht and bets one hundred thousand dollars on a golf swing simply because he can. In a change from the 1968 film, Crown steals a painting by Monet valued at one hundred million dollars. The insurers of the artwork unleash insurance investigator Catherine Banning to assist the police in solving the crime. From the beginning, Banning suspects Crown is behind the heist. The elaborate game of cat-and-mouse that ensues gives Crown exactly what he was seeking: a challenge.

Cast and characters

Thomas Crown - Pierce Brosnan
Catherine Banning - Rene Russo
Detective Michael McCann - Denis Leary
John Reynolds - Fritz Weaver
Detective Paretti - Frankie Faison
Andrew Wallace - Ben Gazzara
Heinrich Knutzhorn - Mark Margolis
Anna Knutzhorn - Esther Cañadas
The Psychiatrist - Faye Dunaway (A role created specifically for her.)

Crew

Directed by: John McTiernan
Written by: Alan Trustman
Screenplay by: Leslie Dixon, Kurt Wimmer
Produced by: Michael Tadross, Pierce Brosnan, Beau St. Clair, Bruce Moriarty, Roger Paradiso
Production Company: United Artists/Irish DreamTime
Distributed by: MGM

Soundtrack

The critically acclaimed soundtrack to this film was composed by Bill Conti and arranged by Jack Eskew. It features a variety of tasteful jazz arrangements which harken back to the time of the film's original version. In addition, the film ends with a remake of the Academy Award winning song "Windmills of Your Mind" sung by Sting.

Trivia

The glider used in the film is a Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus. It is physically impossible to reach the front controls from the rear seat of any tandem two seater. Instead the instructor in the rear seat demonstrates to the pupil by using dual controls. Just undoing the straps would be hazardous; the pilot could be ejected by turbulence through the canopy.

Part of the film was shot at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY.

The $100 million painting featured in the film is San Giorgio Maggiore at dusk by Claude Monet

Faye Dunaway, who played the Psychiatrist in this film, played a main character in the 1968-release of The Thomas Crown Affair

External links

1999 films | Films directed by John McTiernan | Film remakes | Heist films