| The
Imitators
“The Thomas Crown Affair”
(1999)
In a film directed by John McTiernan,
Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) is a
self-made billionaire who can buy
anything he wants. Yet there are things
that money can't buy, and Crown has
run out of challenges. When someone
walks out of a museum with a priceless
Monet, the New York police have no
suspects, but Catherine Banning (René
Russo), a brilliant insurance investigator
hired to retrieve the painting, is
the only person who sees the connection
between the stolen art and Crown.
A cat-and-mouse chase ends up in a
intriguing romance.
+ Magritte's bowler hat men are
everpresent throughout "The
Thomas Crown Affair." Watch
a scene entitled "A Parting
Gift," where
another mysterious Magrittesque
stranger delivers a painting to
Rene Russo's character. |
It is ingenious that a film where
the storyline is linked to art uses
art as a source of inspiration in
designing complex scene sequences.
The final act of “The Thomas
Crown Affair” includes a dramatic,
smartly edited sequence which takes
place in a museum and features a herd
of Crown look-alikes — businessmen
dressed in black suits with bowler
hats. It is as if Magritte's paintings
come to life; near-identical men cross
and criss-cross the museum galleries
under in front of hopelessly confused
security officers. The sequence is
clearly inspired by Magritte's paintings
— “The Man with the Bowler
Hat,” “Golconde,”
and “Son of Man” —
and one can even make a strong argument
that the confusion of those looking
for Crown amidst the bowler hat men
is similar to the public's initial
reaction to Magritte's originals.
“Naked
Lunch” (1991)
David Cronenberg's “Naked Lunch”
is an adaptation of William Burroughs's
book about the sex and drugs culture,
the most famous underground book of
the 20th century. “Naked Lunch”
follows the rules of surrealism with
dreamlike imagery that is complex
and intriguing. It is unsurprising
that one of the film's posters pays
homage to a great surrealist, with
Magritte-like imagery of a bowler
hat man. Instead of the traditional
apple or bird covering the man's face,
the object of choice was a typewriter
which fit the film's storyline.
+ The same Magritte-like imagery
was used from the official “Naked
Lunch” poster to its original
soundtrack (music by Ornette
Coleman and Howard Shore). |
“This
Desert Life” by Counting Crows
Counting Crows became an overnight
sensation in 1994. A year earlier,
they were an unknown rock group like
many others, until they were chosen
by Robbie Robertson to stand in for
the absent Van Morrison at the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame. “This
Desert Life” (Geffen Records,
1999) was an album providing the best
individual songs in the band's repertoire,
including “Hangin around,”
“Mrs. Potter's Lullaby,”
and “Speedway.” This album's
cover was designed by the contemporary,
highly acclaimed surrealist David
Mckean. Drawing a parallel between
the CD cover and Magritte's "Son
of Man" (and its many derivatives)
is unavoidable.
+ David McKean's main CD cover
design (left) and an additional
piece of art created for the Counting
Crows “This Desert Life”
are both reminiscent of Magritte
in subject matter and degree of
surrealism. (Images courtesy
of DREAMLINE)
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