The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

“What do you get for the man who has everything?” — Vicki Anderson

Famed designer Pablo Ferro offers a window into the high-flying life – and mind – of Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen), a wealthy businessman who enjoys competitive pursuits like polo, chess, car racing, and, of course, engineering daring bank robberies.

Using the multi-screen technique for which he would become famous, Ferro’s opening titles for The Thomas Crown Affair introduce viewers to the many sides of this story. From Crown’s double life of luxury and larceny, to the men he secretly employs and the woman who pursues him (Faye Dunaway), the titles establish all the players in this high stakes game of cat and mouse. Composer Michel Legrand’s theme “The Windmills of Your Mind,” a gorgeous ballad sung by Noel Harrison (son of Rex), lends the opening an air of melancholy, glamourizing Crown’s life while hinting at his unhappiness. The sequence also prepares the audience for the film’s many split-screen sequences, which Ferro designed and edited as well.

Originally brought on by director Norman Jewison to design the film’s logotype, Ferro was eventually hired to create a multi-screen sequence out of a key scene – the polo match – in an effort to reduce the overall runtime of the movie.

“I had…

RSS & Email Subscribers: Check out the full The Thomas Crown Affair article at Art of the Title.

from Art of the Title http://ift.tt/1IJ7PBy