Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5088 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-01-16
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 103 minutes

Synopsis
THE IPCRESS FILE marked the beginning of another spy franchise initiated by James Bond producer Harry Saltzman, based on the novels by author Len Deighton. Michael Caine stars as master spy Harry Palmer, in this mystery thriller about an undercover gang who brainwash England's leading scientists. THE IPCRESS FILE is the epitome of 60s 'Cool Britannia' and would be followed by two sequels immediately after its release with FUNERAL IN BERLIN and BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN, and a short-lived revival in the mid-90s when Caine returned to the Palmer role for BULLET TO BEIJING and MIDNIGHT IN ST. PETERSBURG.

Customer Reviews

One of the best espionage films. and it's no spoof
"Let's see," says Major Dalby, head of the Counter-Intelligence Bureau, as he reads Sergeant Harry Palmer's personnel file. "'Insubordinate. Insolent. A trickster. Perhaps with criminal tendencies.' Well, that last one may just be put to good use."

Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) has been sent to Dalby (Nigel Green) by Col. H. L. Ross (Guy Doleman) of Britain's Ministry of Defense. Scientists have gone missing, and the few who have shown up later seem to have been brain washed. They are no longer useful. Dalby's unit is charged with finding out what's going on. And Harry Palmer, like it or not, who loves to cook and loves the birds, who wears glasses, who is not impressed with authority, who can be a bit unreliable when he chooses to be, and who actually is a pretty good spy, is assigned to help break the case. Eventually he does, but not without a lot of pain and a fair amount of violence. Palmer can take it, but he can dish it out as well. He also has a shrewd, analytical mind. He's willing to gamble and sometimes he's off the mark. And all the while he has to deal with the bullying, condescending Dalby, "a passed-over major," as well as Col. Ross, who drips condescension like an ice cube on a hot day. Harry Palmer doesn't have it easy.

I think this is one of the better espionage movies made. It's not a spoof, like the Bond movies. Harry Palmer, based on the Len Deighton character (to whom Deighton never gave a name), as played by Caine is immensely likable because he takes the measure of the stuffed shirts and is amused by their pretensions. The character also works because as the story proceeds you realize that Palmer knows his job. The two secondary actors, Green and Doleman, bring a lot of depth to their roles and a lot of interest to the movie. Their attitudes are so imperviously superior it would be amusing except that they both wield quite a bit of power.

This is a movie that I can watch many times and still enjoy for its style and story-telling prowess. Furie throws in some directorial flourishes common then that now seem a bit dated, but that's a minor quibble for a well made and well acted movie. The DVD transfer is just fine.

Thriller Style Meets Espionage Substance
It really never did get better than this for the sixties cold war thriller. Style oozes from every pore; the sets are so good you can smell Harry Palmer's coffee and John Barry's film score is of the essence of all that happens, all that is said and everything that is implied. The film works brilliantly on two levels, both as a well plotted spy story and as an essay on embourgeoisement. Caine nails his part as the antagonistic working class protagonist as if born to the role; his newly acquired culture challenging the old order of his boss, Colonel Ross - dolefully played by Guy Doleman (punning but true). However, for me the character that walks away with this one is the 'passed over' Major Dolby, played with clipped perfection by the vastly underrated Nigel Green. The film is brilliantly shot by Otto Heller and director Sidney Furie exacts a pervading air of menace from every shot. The London shown is the London I remember of the time and every frame is a museum window to the sixties.
As British as Coleman's Mustard and just as hot 45 years down the line, simply great stuff.

Lip sync problems
Great picture transfer and good audio too. Extras worth viewing too. Only problem I had was bad lip sync on the film which ruined the whole thing. Didn`t have that with my old copy...