Search - The Thomas Crown Affair on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 1999 DVD Release: 01/04/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 53 mins Studio: MGM Total Copies: 23 Genres: Crime, Romance, Caper

When a priceless Monet painting is stolen from a leading New York art gallery, the police find themselves wondering which world-class art thief pulled the job. What they don't know is that the thief wasn't a professional, but an amateur. Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) was born poor but made his way through Oxford on a boxing scholarship. With his sharp sense for business and ruthless ambition, Crown has become a self-made billionaire; but despite his wealth and power, he still seeks new challenges, and he steals art not for the profits but for the sheer excitement. However, as fun as art theft might be, it's still illegal, and investigator Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) is brought in to track down the culprit. Certain clues point to Crown, so Banning introduces herself into Crown's social circle. Police detective Michael McCann (Denis Leary) warns Banning against getting too close to Crown. She takes McCann's suggestion lightly -- until she finds herself falling for the suave thief. The Thomas Crown Affair was adapted from the popular 1968 caper film of the same name starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway; Dunaway appears in the new film as Crown's analyst. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Pierce Brosnan - Thomas Crown
Rene Russo - Catherine Banning
Denis Leary - Detective Michael McCann
Ben Gazzara - Andrew Wallace
Frankie R. Faison - Detective Paretti
Fritz Weaver - John Reynolds
Faye Dunaway - The Psychiatrist

The glossy remake of The Thomas Crown Affair sports a good look, but little in the way of extras, being a typical MGM/UA DVD release. The dual-sided disc includes both widescreen (2.35:1 letterboxed, non-anamorphic) and full-frame versions of the film. The video portion of the disc is of excellent quality, with a good color balance and good flesh tones. There appears to be little edge enhancement, and blacks are solid, with no indication of compression artifacts. Oddly enough, there are very occasional print blemishes, unexpected for a 1999 release. The movie as a whole does have a low-key look to it, with some scenes appearing almost to have been shot under natural lighting. English and French Dolby 5.1 tracks are provided, along with a director's commentary from John McTiernan. The audio is solid without demonstrating a great deal of flair or innovation, though there are some nice tracking and directional audio effects (especially in the glider sequence). The bass is solid and clean, and those whose systems include subwoofers will benefit. Dialogue is clear throughout and well separated, and there is a very nice music mix that utilizes the soundstage well. The French track sounds a bit unbalanced, but the voice cast is good and the dubbing accurate. The extras on the disc are limited to trailers for the original film and this remake, as well as the McTiernan commentary. The trailers are in excellent shape, both on the video and audio sides. The McTiernan commentary, however, is as dull as dishwater, even though he focuses on the technical aspects of getting the film made -- he's a droner, and it is hard to focus on his voice. Still, this is a good, solid disc, if not overly exciting. ~ Steven E. McDonald, All Movie Guide