Other mistake: When Catherine breaks into Crown's house, her assistants immediately get to work on the security panel. When the first assistant touches the panel, it falls off the wall and he has to quickly push it back into place.
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
Directed by: John McTiernan
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Denis Leary, Rene Russo, Ben Gazzara, Frankie Faison
Plot hole: When Renee Russo was reviewing the tape showing the room with the painting to see who stole the painting, and the tape was blank because the heat generated from the suitcase hidden under the bench, why didn't she just back up the tape completely to see who put the suitcase there in the first place? (00:28:30)
Continuity mistake: When TC steals the Monet, he places the painting in the briefcase and closes the case breaking the frame in half and thus ripping the edges of the painting. When at home he opens the briefcase and the frame is obviously crooked but when he holds the painting up to place it above the fireplace it is perfectly intact and the painting is not damaged. (00:20:10 - 00:22:30)
Trivia: After Thomas has stolen the first painting and is coming out of the museum main gates, you can see a balcony in the background with a man in a bowler hat and suit standing on it. A clue to viewers who notice it maybe?
Trivia: Not strictly a mistake, but have you ever seen anything like the product placement when Rene Russo storms into an office and downs a can of Pepsi One (with the label cunning facing the camera)? She does all but turn to camera, hold it up, and say "aaah - there's nothing like an ice-cold can of Pepsi". I actually laughed when I saw it.
Catherine Banning: Damn, I hate being a foregone conclusion.
Detective Michael McCann: I love this neighborhood. Some of these broads are wearing my salary.
Thomas Crown: Regret is usually a waste of time, as is gloating.
Question: How does he fold the Monet in half to fit into the briefcase? Originally I thought he'd separated it from the wooden frame (ie. just a canvas), but when he takes it out back at his house he holds it up, and the wooden frame's still in one piece. Also, surely folding it in half would crack the paint, but despite the painting being twice the width of the briefcase (it fits snugly when the case is open), he then shuts the case down to a "normal" size. Any ideas?
Answer: The only explanation I can come up with is that the inner part of the frame is precut. With the frame cut that way it would allow the picture to fold, but when unfolded it would be fairly rigid with the exception of bending it forward at that point. When he pulls the painting out, it still holds the square shape of the frame. Best I can come up with.
Answer: He doesn't fold it. The frame is solid. It's just movie editing to make the viewer think he put it in her briefcase. You can't fold a Monet.
He absolutely folds it. We see him put it in the case and him then shut the case, folding it in half.
Question: What is the name of the statue in Thomas Crown's foyer in his home?
Question: I know this is all part of the mystery, but how the hell does he steal the second painting? Everything else he's planned you can see the logic behind, how it worked, etc., but there's no possible way he could have got to the second picture - all the gates were shut and locked, the metal fireguards were in place...any ideas? If anyone involved in the making/writing of it is reading this, can they please get in touch with me?
Answer: On the commentary track for the DVD the director states that he has no idea how Thomas Crown stole the final painting.
Answer: The soft piano music at the start of the film is by Bill Conti, who is the soundtrack composer. I believe the piece is called Glider as it is used later in the film during the Glider flying scene.
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Answer: I believe that the Monet that Crown hides in his study is not the one that was stolen, it is a copy that he already had prepared. He can enjoy the copy knowing that the original (with the broken spreader bars) is also in his possession. The stolen original then goes to the forger who repairs the broken spreader bars, and then paints another painting (using water soluble paint) over the Monet, so he can "return" it to the museum 3 days later. It gets more complicated when he discovers that Russo is on to him so he has a second forgery made (even the edges forged to match) over the top of "Dogs Playing Poker." He doesn't know if it will be necessary, but given his research into his new adversary, he concocts this contingency. It is likely that he has many contingencies in place, but the "Monet with a ghost underneath" is the only one we get to see. Of course for my theory to hold water, there must be (or have been) that earlier forgery - unless it has been destroyed.