The Thomas Crown AffairThe Thomas Crown Affairs was originally made in 1968 (directed by Norman Jewison) with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. A sound hit, grossing $14 million on a $4.3 million budget, it was later remade in 1999 (directed by John McTiernan) with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. The plot of the
|
films are roughly the same: Thomas Crown is a bored rich man who steals for fun. Vicki Anderson/Catherine Banning (depending on the movie) is an insurance investigator who knows he’s guilty, she just needs to prove it. A game of cat-and-mouse ensues.
The main obvious storyline change between the films is the stolen object. In the 1968 version, Crown orders four men to steal $2,660,527.62 from a Boston bank. However, in the remake, instead of money from a bank, Crowne orchestrates thieves to steal an entire gallery of paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The main obvious storyline change between the films is the stolen object. In the 1968 version, Crown orders four men to steal $2,660,527.62 from a Boston bank. However, in the remake, instead of money from a bank, Crowne orchestrates thieves to steal an entire gallery of paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
After McTiernan signed on to the 1999 project, he changed the theme of the central heist and a number of key scenes. He felt that contemporary audiences would be less forgiving of Thomas Crown if he staged two-armed bank robberies for fun like McQueen did in the original, rather than if he staged an unarmed art heist. He wrote the heist based on the Trojan horse theme and on a technical failure of thermal cameras. McTiernan also deemed a polo match that was used in the original and had been rewritten into the new script to be clichéd, and he wanted a scene that conveyed more action and excitement, not just wealth. He substituted a catamaran race, in which Brosnan performed his own stunts.
|
The characters aren’t too different in the way that they are portrayed by the actors/actresses that play their changing roles. Yet the women within them are perceived differently. Both Dunaway in the original film and Rene Russo in the remake, play insurance company investigators. Russo is presented as being older, smarter and more savvy compared to the original, in which Dunaway coos like a model and acts like a giddy, vapid girl. This partially shows how society has changed its views on more confident female characters (feminist film theory).
Audiences would’ve changed from the 60s to the 90s, being more accepting to certain ideas and social norms on screen. Currently, the 1968 version of the film is rated as ‘PG’. This is due to there being very mild or no; sex, nudity, violence, gore, profanity, alcohol, drugs, smoking, frightening scenes. The 1999 version on the other hand, is certified as being a ‘15’ in the UK. This is presumably due to the moderate amount of profanity and sex & nudity in the film.
The way that both films are shot is significant in many ways. As a result of the 30 plus year gap between the two, there are going to be obvious differences, for example, the technology and quality of audio has drastically increased in the new motion picture. The audio would have been extracted the same, however, due to technology becoming more advanced, the audience are able to clearly pick up on the difference and overall quality.
In the original, the music was composed and conducted by Michel Legrand. He wrote his music as long pieces rather than specifically to scene timings, with the film later edited to the music by Legrand, Jewison (director) and editor Hal Ashby. This approach wasn't favoured by Hollywood because it left too much up to the composer and could get expensive, but for Legrand and the score it was a liberating experience. It allowed him the freedom to write his impressions of scenes that would be in the final cut of the movie. The 1999 remake, was composed by Bill Conti. It featured a variety of jazz arrangements which harken back to the original film's version, allowing viewers who have seen the original to tie the two together. In addition, the film ends with a reprise of the song ‘Windmills of Your Mind’ sung by Sting. |
“One of the most sophisticated pop-jazz soundtracks of the 1960s’. It was driven for sales purposes, by its seductive opening track, Noel Harrison's rendition of ‘The Windmills of Your Mind’.” “Bill Conti's score, while not as pungent as Michel Legrand's original, is still effective and probing. One of the highlights of this film is Sting's version of the classic ‘Windmills of Your Mind’, which brings a slight reggae element to this song.” |
The cameras used in 1999 are evidently more advanced than 1968. In the remake the type of camera used for filming was a ‘Panavision Panaflex Platinum’ with ‘Panavision Primo Lenses’, this was a significant film camera of the time. It allowed for effects and movement to happen when going through production and editing. The simpler cameras of the 60s remained consistent in the ways that the filming of ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ (1968) occurred with many mid shots, two shots and panning to follow characters.
In addition to the range of camera techniques being possible, the editing also improved greatly. Steve McQueen’s Thomas Crown is a man of few words; making him intriguing and mysterious. Jewison shows this by shortening much of McQueen’s dialogue, with sudden jump cuts. This was edited on purpose to counteract McQueen’s slightly brutish tendencies and ends up undercutting the sizzling dynamic he’s supposed to have with Dunaway’s Vicki Anderson.
The photography is also unusual in the original for a mainstream Hollywood film, as it uses a split-screen mode to show simultaneous actions. Split screen editing is almost a cliché, and highly popular with movie directors of the 60s. However, Norman Jewison and Hal Ashby in the polo scene used the method of multiple screens within the widescreen picture to capture the frantic action on the Polo field. The music is also perfectly pitched to help give this scene a sense of movement.
The photography is also unusual in the original for a mainstream Hollywood film, as it uses a split-screen mode to show simultaneous actions. Split screen editing is almost a cliché, and highly popular with movie directors of the 60s. However, Norman Jewison and Hal Ashby in the polo scene used the method of multiple screens within the widescreen picture to capture the frantic action on the Polo field. The music is also perfectly pitched to help give this scene a sense of movement.
Both movies use similar filming locations as both use urban, busy city environments, Massachusetts (1968) and New York (1999), for the majority of each film. In addition to this, in the remake when Crowne takes Banning away, they go to Martinique (another filming location). Compared to the original where the whole film is shot in Massachusetts, this may be to do with the smaller budget.
In conclusion, both versions are great films in their own right. However, the remake was more successful and is considered the better film by many. The original grossed $14 million worldwide (same as roughly $68 million in 1999). The 1999 remake grossed $124.3 million worldwide, $69 million at the United States box office. Reasons for why the remake was more successful may simply be due to the fact that cinemas are more accessible so globally more people can afford to watch films. Furthermore, thanks to the norm of colour TV and more recently the internet, there is now an even greater platform for marketing a film than in the 60s. Additionally, credit is due to the original version, as creators of the remake had a bonus 30 years of industry resources to look back on, as well as the ability to evaluate the successes and the failures of the original film. Thereby improving it in retrospect and ensuring the greater success of their own film.