this one, or the Pierce Brosnan remake?

I think they did a good job on the remake, but I prefer the 1968 version. I like the earlier version because it makes the romance more of a mystery as it develops - and emphasizes their rivalry and opposition before their coming together.

Also, there is the wonderful "Windmills of your mind" theme sung by Noel Harrison, and the much more interesting and maddening ending that is very different from the ending in the later version. The ending in the 1968 version would never be accepted by the studios today, and I love it. I'm a little surprised the studio let the filmmakers leave the ending as it is, because even back then (and earlier) the studios were sometimes forcing filmmakers to change endings they felt would not 'satisfy' audiences or make them happy.

My real name is Jeff

I like both versions of the movie, but for different reasons. I see them as two distinct but similar movies; each one reflecting well the time in which it was made. It's really funny to see, from this perspective, how unsophisticated the crime is in the first version yet they still get away with it. Then in the second version, the security systems are updated but still very far from what we'd see today. How times have changed!

What kind of bothers me about both versions is how quickly Thomas is identified as having been involved. He's supposed to be really good at what he does, very careful, but he makes glaring mistakes. I realize it works with the plot and it's not about knowing who did it but being able to catch him. Still, the carelessness seems so out of character.

Okay, if I have to pick one, I prefer the Pierce Brosnan/Rene Russo remake. I think the story's more layered, more interesting, more clever and, in that version, Thomas' crime and motive make a lot more sense. The relationship between the two leads, I feel, is better developed. The attraction, the passion, the trust issues, the uncertainty, the tension; it's all there.

I also think adding the psychiatrist as a foil for Thomas is a good move. Not only is it nice that Faye Dunaway has a role in this version but her character gives us insight into who Thomas is, as well as what he's thinking and feeling along the way. I like the ending until we get to that final scene. I would have rather seen the camera move from Catherine, follow the flight attendant to a few seats back and then we see Thomas - separate but together. We know he's there but she doesn't, yet. Even though he's given her all the sigs she's still very uncertain and questioning what has happened; what did she miss?

I liked both very much but i prefer the 90s version.

McQueen and Dunway were great together but so were Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo and you guys will kill me but the romantic scenes were better in the remake im not talking about the explicit love scene after their dance.

The glide scene was incredibly beautiful and romantic , the surprise trip to the island and the Dance for me wins over the chess game anyday.

Between Faye Dunway and Rene Russo its a tie and both were perfect for each film but between Pierce Brosnan and Steve McQueen well Pierce is the winner. He was more charming and sexier. I could totally see why Rene would risk her job for Pierce Brosnan but not why Faye would do it for Steve McQueen.


the peace is better in the remake and like someone else said it makes more sense that a man like Crown would steal art.
and as clever as the ending was in the original im gonna admit i prefer by far the ending in the remake.

Note my is a review very much baissed i admit so and my only excuse is that Pierce has the power to make me sigh every time he is onscreen playing the charming and sexy playboy so his Bond flicks and this movie are particulary hard for me to review.

Next time i watch The thomas crown affair(1999) i will see it after a cold shower lol to judge it more propertly.

I watched both the versions in 2 days, first the old version and then the new version and I have to say , IMHO, the Pierce Brosnan version was better than the older one. First of all, I thought McQueen gave a slightly "wooden" performance, too restrained if you like, Brosnan played the character with much more feeling. Secondly, the first version was about the thrills Mcqueen got from a Money Heist while Brosnan was driven, on the surface at least, for the love of art. This made the older one vulgar and the newer one classy, both being relative terms here.
Thirdly, there were more twists in the newer version, the older version was too linear and simplistic for my liking.
Having said that, there were a few major drawbacks in the newer version. Russo's acting was not a patch on Faye Dunaway's work, Faye was just outstanding . Secondly the song "windmills of the mind" was amazing, it is worth seeing the older movie just for that song. The soundtrack in the second one was very pedestrian and in the part near the end where Brosnan puts back the painting , the song playing was so jarring you felt like strangling the crooner.
Just my .02 cents....

One of the few movies where the remake is better than the original.

I found the remake quite good, but the original was better because the chemistry between McQueen and Dunaway was superior than the chemistry between Brosnan and Russo. The 1968 ending was more believable than the bizarre one in the 1999 movie. And Brosnan as swell as he was as 007, is no King of Cool. He's a classy guy, but his performance was too forced instead of natural like the great McQ. Also, I wish Rene Russo had worn a bikini top or bra in one crucial scene. She has a fabulous figure and was sensational in her early forties, but she would have looked so much better wearing something other than the top half of her birthday suit. We did not need to see her boobs, although I must admit that she has a fine pair.

I prefer the remake because i like Pierce brsonan much more than Steve mcQueen, and because of the more upbeat ending.

This one, the 1968 version, if one of my favorite movies. The Brosnan one I found ordinary & boring. I've only seen it once & have no desire to see it a 2nd time. Yet I found that the age of the viewer is a big determinant on which one is liked. For those who were teens or older in 1968 most often they like the original. Those who were in their teens or twenties when the remake was released prefer that one, finding the original boring. One of the big differences between them is the original focuses on the cat & mouse between McQueen & Dunaway while the remake focuses on the caper. The original is entirely imaginable while the remake is implausible, relying on technology that just doesn't exist, sort of standard movie suspension of belief action adventure.