The Thomas Crown Affair
Director: Norman Jewison
Year Released: 1968
Rating: 2.0
After seeing the 1999 remake of the original Thomas Crown Affair I kept thinking, "Why on earth does Hollywood keep remaking the classics? Why can't it take bad movies and make them better?" Now that I've seen the original (after viewing the remake), I think I need to re-evaluate this query. The original is simply not a classic. It's stylish, slick and well-shot, but emotionally and intellectually a complete sham. Don't get me wrong - it's infinitely better than the Brosnan-Russo vehicle - but that doesn't necessarily make it, in the genre of action/suspense, note-worthy. The chemistry between Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway is quite good - the famous chess sequence illustrates that perfectly - and both of them are well-cast for their respective roles (McQueen as the king and Dunaway as the pawn), but it's the story itself that lets you down. Avoid both versions.
