The Thomas Crown Affair - 1968

Steve McQueen “the essence of cool” plays Thomas Crown in this classic. A man so bored the only thing he can do is try the impossible. He has all the money he needs, a Rolls Royce, mansion, etc. He even has a beautiful girl that he spends his time with. But for a man that has everything, he wants more. So he pulls of a bank heist for a couple of million dollars. Not for the money, just to “beat the system” as he says. For kicks I guess. Enter Faye Dunaway as Vicki Anderson. Vicki is hired by the bank and the insurance company of the bank to find the man who took their money. The police have no leads and Vicki is a professional head hunter if you will. The movie is about the tension between Vicki and Thomas. The first time she meets Thomas she tells him that she believes he stole the money (she had done some detective work prior to figure that out). Of course Thomas realizes she has nothing to go on but a hunch and plays it cool. The movie was popular with audiences because it is more about the tension between man and woman then it is about a stupid bank heist. It is rated R for showing a ladies back right at the start of the show, some kissing (doesn't show anything below their neck) and the sexual tension that exists between Thomas and Vicki as the play chess. It wouldn't be rated R today, but I still wouldn't show it to my kids due to the adult themes suggested during the chess game. The director was able to show tension without any nudity, just the way that they are playing chess together- it is really quite interesting. I had only seen the parity of this scene when Austin Powers recreates it in one of his movies. I like the feel of the movie. A millionaire who spends his time flying glider planes, playing polo, racing on the beach with his dune buggy, smoking big cigars, drinking, hiring people to rob banks, and of course dating the lady who is investigating him. Sean Connery turned down this role and McQueen said later that it ended up being his favorite movie of all time. Because of its uniqueness and the fact that it doesn't fit into any bucket of a "type of movie", I really do like this movie. I liked the split screen idea when it showed us the bank heist and I love the ending. It took me about 20 min after the movie was over to really understand the ending and what happened, but I think I have it figured out now. 4 solid stars for how different it is then most movies and the excellent acting of McQueen and Dunaway. The remake received horrible reviews.