an amazingly inane entry fuelled by....
Jan. 7th, 2004 10:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theladyroseI think I seriously enjoy an addiction to 60's and/or John Barry soundtracks. I'm feeling frighteningly awake and hyper at the moment.
There are several things that I can say about the 1968 original version of The Thomas Crown Affair:
The soundtrack is pretty damned cool. And very shagadelic, to sound very Austin Powers-ish. Alas, I have yet to actually see an Austin Powers movie and I don't have any particular desire to see one. But I'm getting off topic.
The idea of the split screen showing many different actions at once is pure genius, especially brilliant when depicting the bank robbery and the polo game. I didn't like the main titles so much probably because at the time my father was blocking the TV screen trying to fix the computer. Alas, it's also very distracting in the bank robbery scene when you're trying to figure out who's doing what. With the polo game it's just amazingly creative and innovative and really very 60's cool.
The plotline is amazingly confusing. It took me a while to figure out what everyone was supposed to be doing in the bank robbery sequence because of all of those moving images all at once. And there really isn't much of a plot after that. It's really all about the relationship between Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway and how that impacts the crime and some nice conflicting duties and loyalties. The chemistry between them is wonderful but somehow certain things just seem to drag a little and it can get a bit unoriginal after awhile. That said, the kiss during the chess game is one of the most impressive in cinematic history.
"The Windmills of Your Mind" really deserved its 1968 Best Song Oscar. It's very French sounding (it's Michel Legrand but it's a lovely melody and the lyrics are quite poetic. I hate how when anyone else sings it besides Noel Harrison they sing it way too slowly and have just the piano part in the background. You really need the strings there too so that it doesn't sound so lounge lizard like.
I still think I like the remake better because of the even more innovative museum sequence and the fact that I saw that one first. And the plot is been improved, though Conti's score, while good in its own right, simply doesn't hold up to Legrand's. Rene Russo's pretty good, but I still like her better in Get Shorty. Plus, I've been brainwashed by many Pierce Brosnan fans, mainly MBE who knows more about him than is actually healthy, like Jaelle on Timothy Dalton. I wonder if Jaelle's actually seen Hero yet, because I recommended it to her. But I'm getting off topic.
Who needs coffee/stimulants/sugar when you've got seriously shagadelic 60's film score music from Legrand, Mancini, Bacharach, and Barry? I think it'll be awhile before I actually get any sleep tonight, but I really don't mind ^_^
There are several things that I can say about the 1968 original version of The Thomas Crown Affair:
The soundtrack is pretty damned cool. And very shagadelic, to sound very Austin Powers-ish. Alas, I have yet to actually see an Austin Powers movie and I don't have any particular desire to see one. But I'm getting off topic.
The idea of the split screen showing many different actions at once is pure genius, especially brilliant when depicting the bank robbery and the polo game. I didn't like the main titles so much probably because at the time my father was blocking the TV screen trying to fix the computer. Alas, it's also very distracting in the bank robbery scene when you're trying to figure out who's doing what. With the polo game it's just amazingly creative and innovative and really very 60's cool.
The plotline is amazingly confusing. It took me a while to figure out what everyone was supposed to be doing in the bank robbery sequence because of all of those moving images all at once. And there really isn't much of a plot after that. It's really all about the relationship between Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway and how that impacts the crime and some nice conflicting duties and loyalties. The chemistry between them is wonderful but somehow certain things just seem to drag a little and it can get a bit unoriginal after awhile. That said, the kiss during the chess game is one of the most impressive in cinematic history.
"The Windmills of Your Mind" really deserved its 1968 Best Song Oscar. It's very French sounding (it's Michel Legrand but it's a lovely melody and the lyrics are quite poetic. I hate how when anyone else sings it besides Noel Harrison they sing it way too slowly and have just the piano part in the background. You really need the strings there too so that it doesn't sound so lounge lizard like.
I still think I like the remake better because of the even more innovative museum sequence and the fact that I saw that one first. And the plot is been improved, though Conti's score, while good in its own right, simply doesn't hold up to Legrand's. Rene Russo's pretty good, but I still like her better in Get Shorty. Plus, I've been brainwashed by many Pierce Brosnan fans, mainly MBE who knows more about him than is actually healthy, like Jaelle on Timothy Dalton. I wonder if Jaelle's actually seen Hero yet, because I recommended it to her. But I'm getting off topic.
Who needs coffee/stimulants/sugar when you've got seriously shagadelic 60's film score music from Legrand, Mancini, Bacharach, and Barry? I think it'll be awhile before I actually get any sleep tonight, but I really don't mind ^_^
