How do you get the man who has everything?
Millionaire playboy Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan), bored with his life and seeking new challenges, steals a priceless Monet from the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sexy insurance investigator Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) is sent to investigate. Although Banning is onto him, the chemistry between them can’t be denied.==========
Main Cast:
Pierce Brosnan (Thomas Crown)Rene Russo (Catherine Banning)
Denis Leary (Michael McCann)
Frankie Faison (Detective Paretti)
Ben Gazzara (Andrew Wallace)
Faye Dunaway (The Psychiatrist)
Esther Cañadas (Anna Knudsen)
Directed by: John McTiernan
Written by: Alan R. Trustman (Story), Leslie Dixon & Kurt Wimmer
Producers: Pierce Brosnan, Beau St. Clair
Associate Producer: Bruce Moriart
Co-Producer: Roger Paradiso Executive Producer: Michael Tadross
==========Rated R for some sexuality and language.==========
The Thomas Crown Affair at IMDB.
This movie is a remake of the 1968 Movie of the same name starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. (The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) at IMDB)
Watch The Thomas Crown Affair
Download The Thomas Crown Affair at Amazon.com
The Thomas Crown Affair DVD
The DVD
includes a feature-length audio commentary by Director John McTiernan and theatrical trailers from both the 1968 and the 1999 versions of the film.
Watch the Trailer
Irish Dreamtime
The Thomas Crown Affair was the third production of Los Angeles-based production company, Irish DreamTime, formed by Pierce Brosnan and Beau St.
Pierce Brosnan
The Official Pierce Brosnan WebsitePierce Brosnan at the Internet Movie Database
Pierce Brosnan at Wikipedia
Rene Russo
Rene Russo at the Internet Movie DatabaseRene Russo at Wikipedia
Other Cast Members
Links to their pages at the Internet Movie Database
Denis Leary as Michael McCannFrankie Faison as Detective Paretti
Faye Dunaway as The Psychiatrist
Ben Gazzara as Andrew Wallace
Esther Cañadas as Anna Knudsen
Michael Lombard as Bobby McKinley
The Monet
"The Painting. The Monet. You don't think they'd simply cut a check for 100 million dollars, do you?"
- Catherine Banning (Rene Russo)
The Thomas Crown Affair Soundtrack
The soundtrack includes Bill Conti's score as well as a wonderful version of "Windmills of Your Mind" by Sting, which plays over the closing credits of the film. Although I am a huge Sting fan, in my opinion the highlight of the soundtrack is "Sinner Man" by Nina Simone. This is the song that plays during the excellent bowler hat scene in the museum (see the video clip posted below). Elements of this song also play during other scenes throughout the movie.
The Thomas Crown Affair soundtrack at Amazon.com.
Tracklisting:
1. Windmills Of Your Mind - Sting2. Sinnerman - Nina Simone
3. Everything (...Is Never Quite Enough) - Wasis Diop
4. Caban La Ka Kratchie - Georges Fordant
5. Black & White X 5
6. Never Change
7. Meet Ms. Banning
8. Goodnight/Breaking & Entering
9. Glider Pt.1
10. Glider Pt.2
11. Cocktails
12. Quick Exit
Sinnerman where you gonna run to, All on that day?
Check out the Sinnerman lyrics at LyricsFreak.com.
Buy Nina Simone: Anthology at Amazon.com.
My Funny Valentine: Sting at the Movies
The Song During the Love Scene
In case you are wondering, the song playing during the love scene at Thomas Crown's house is Everything Is Never Quite Enough by Wasis Diop.
The Song During the Dance Scene
"Do you want to dance... Or do you want to Dance?"
The song playing during the sexy dance scene is "Cumenco" by Raf Astor and Eddie Bobe. Unfortunately, this song does not appear on the soundtrack CD, and apparently not on any other CD. According to an exchange posted at Google Answers,"Cumenco" was based on a song called called "Baili Mi Rumba", which appears on Raf Astor's CD El Andar
"The Faceless Businessman in a Bowler Hat"
"Everything but the briefcase."
The painting referred to by Rene Russo's character as "The Faceless Businessman in a Bowler Hat" is actually "The Son of Man" by René Magritte.
Note: Pierce Brosnan narrated the audio tour of the Magritte exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). (Click here to listen to a clip of the audio).
Buy the poster at Amazon.com - Son Of Man Poster Print by Rene Magritte (20 x 28)
"I just like my Haystacks Bobby."
The painting that Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) calls "Haystacks" and sits and stares at while he eats his breakfast is actually "Noon: Rest from Work (after Millet)" by Vincent van Gogh.
Buy the print at Amazon: Noon: Rest from Work by Vincent Van Gogh
The Loaner
"It seemed the right size for the space."
The painting that Thomas Crown lent to the museum to replace the stolen Monet was "The Artist's Garden at Eragny" by Camille Pissarro.
Buy the poster - The Artist's Garden at Eragny - Camille Pissarro (16x24) Giclee
The Painting in the Stairway
During the scene at Thomas Crown's house when he and Catherine are having sex on the staircase, there is a painting of a girl, straddling the front end of a sailboat. Based on a few sources I found on the web, I believe it is "Certain Uncertainties" by Christian Vincent.
(See: Google Answers; Red Easel)
The Painting Over Thomas Crown's Bed
When Catherine Banning is searching through Thomas Crown's house, she pauses to look at a painting over Crown's bed that shows a group of woman looking into a pool of water. That painting is "The Mirror of Venus" by Sir Edward Burne-Jones.Buy the poster - Jones - The mirror of Venus - Poster (24 x 18 Inch)
"Anything's obtainable"
The painting that Thomas Crown stole for Catherine Banning is "Banks of the Seine at Argenteuil" by Edouard Manet.
Buy the poster - Edouard Manet - The Banks of the Seine at Argenteuil (1874) - Art Print on Canvas (24x16 inches)
Monet's Unknown Masterpiece...
"Dogs at Cards."
The painting of dogs playing cards, underneath the forged Monet, that Michael calls "Dogs at Cards" is actually "Poker Sympathy" by Cassius Marcellus (C. M) Coolidge. It is one of a series of series of nine paintings he did of Dogs Playing Poker.
Buy the poster - C.M. Coolidge - Poker Sympathy
"That Island Isn't Manhattan"
After their afternoon gliding, Thomas Crown's private jet flies them off to a beautiful island where they spend "two days and two nights". That island was Martinique. And, according to the France Tourism Development Agency, the scenes were shot at a villa in the town of Le Vauclin and you can rent the villa.
The Car on the Island
According to a couple of sources I found, the car that Thomas Crown drove on the island is a 1968 Shelby Mustang convertible, GT350 or GT500.
For more information see:
Pinterest,
Wikipedia
"I saw him wreck a $100,000 boat because he liked the splash"
The sailboat that Thomas Crown crashed was a Formula 40 Catamaran.
The Glider
The glider that Thomas and Catherine spent the afternoon in was a Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus.
Thomas Crown's Private Jet
The jet was a Canadair Challenger 604 provided by Bombardier. (Ref. DVD Credits).See IMPDb.com for more about all of the aircraft in the movie.
The Museum
The museum was never named in the movie. However, the exterior shots are of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Also, "Metropolitan Museum" can be seen printed on the crates early in the movie, on the glass doors, and on the uniforms of some of the employees. They were not allowed to do any filming inside the museum. Some of the interior shots are in the New York Public library, others are on a set. (Ref. DVD commentary by John McTiernan)
The Restaurant
"I'm watching them walk into Cipriani. And, with no reservation."
The restaurant that they go to on the first date is Harry Cipriani on Fifth Avenue in New York City. On the DVD commentary, director John McTiernan says that the restaurant is really even more crowded than what is shown in the movie, with even more people standing around the tables. It's a very expensive restaurant. New York Magazine says "Money cannot be an object for those who choose to dine at Harry Cipriani. It's probably the sky-high prices that keep this jet setter's paradise so exclusive."
What is that green stuff she's drinking?
Michael: "What is that?"
Catherine: "You don't wanna know."
A couple of times in the movie Catherine is seen drinking a thick green beverage. I found several discussions on the web that point to either wheatgrass or spirulina. (Filmtracks.com --- Yelp.com)
However, someone else told me that it might be Naked Juice Green Machine. Green Machine comes in a bottle very similar to the one that Catherine has in the movie (the one that she pours from and it plops into the cup). Also, Green Machine contains both spirulina and wheatgrass, as well as apples, kiwi fruit, banana, broccoli, blue green algae, barley grass and a bunch of other stuff.
"It's sad to see another tired man lay down his hand and quit the holy game of poker."
"Third generation company, you think they would have shown more grit."
Thomas Crown and his team quote this line as they laugh in the elevator after they complete a hostile takeover.
This line comes from the 1967 song titled "The Stranger Song" by Leonard Cohen. I found a video of Leonard Cohen performing the song. However, the actual line from the song is "Ah you hate to watch another tired man lay down his hand like he was giving up the holy game of poker."
"A Trojan Horse?"
"Somebody's got a sense of humor."
The art thieves came into the museum in a hollow statue of a horse, a Trojan horse. This is in reference to the end of the Trojan War in Greek mythology in which the Greeks pretended to retreat and left behind a huge wooden horse filled with soldiers. When the Trojans discovered that the Greeks were gone, they believed the war was over and dragged the horse inside the city. The following night, the Greeks left the wooden horse and attacked the unsuspecting Trojans, and conquered Troy.
The Crown Acquisitions Office Building
According to the Production Notes (at CinemaReview.com): "The corporate headquarters of Lucent Technologies, with panoramic views of the south harbor, Governor's Island, Staten Island and Brooklyn, stood in for Crown's suite of offices in Crown Towers. The entrance to Crown Towers was shot in an unoccupied office building near the Stock Exchange."
Thomas Crown's New York City Townhouse
According to IMDB, Thomas Crown's Townhouse exterior was filmed at 18 East 68th Street in New York City. According to the production notes, the interiors were filmed at a warehouse in Yonkers.
Thomas Crown's Watch
What kind of watch was Thomas Crown wearing?
The watch Thomas Crown was wearing was a Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso Duo. According to the Daily Mail: You can flip over the case to protect the glass. it was designed in 1931 for British troops playing polo in India. One just like it was auctioned off as one of the 46 watches owned by disgraced Financier Bernie Madoff (Source: Mail Online, Doing time: The incredible watch collection of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff goes under the hammer)
One Last Note
Have you only see this movie on TV?
If you really like this movie and you have only seen it on TV, I highly encourage you to see the uncut version of the movie if you can. Some of the best scenes are cut from the movie in the TV version, such as key parts of the dance scene and the love scene in Crown's house. Just my $0.02.
