The Thomas Crown Affair

Steve McQueen is Thomas Crown, a suave bank executive who masterminds an ingenious daylight robbery of his own bank, and Faye Dunaway is elegant and relentless insurance investigator Vicki Anderson in this 1968 heist classic from director Norman Jewison. The actual heists here aren’t particularly elaborate--Crown uses telephone signals to instruct hired operatives who never meet--and the film instead focuses on the cat-and-mouse battle of wits between Crown and Anderson. Jewison relies on flashy camera angles, fragmented editing, and elaborate split screens to jazz up the look, giving the film a sheen of modern style that looked snazzy in 1968 but appears contrived and dated today. McQueen was at the height of his screen stardom and never seems less than cool whether he’s pulling the strings of a robbery or wooing Dunaway over a game of chess in front of a roaring fire, and Dunaway is equally commanding as the ambitious, almost ruthless investigator. Jack Weston costars as the hapless getaway driver who is snared by the otherwise ineffectual cops. McQueen and Dunaway bring the sex appeal in the handsomely mounted The Thomas Crown Affair, but while somewhat interesting as a period piece it’s also a disappointing crime film. Winner of an Oscar for its theme song, "Windmills of Your Mind," the film bows on Blu-ray with extras including audio commentary tracks (one by Jewison, the other by film historian Lem Dobbs and filmmaker Nick Redman), interviews with Jewison and title designer Pablo Ferro, and an archival behind-the-scenes featurette. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)