tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36879283.post3104158941319292327..comments2024-03-20T01:16:08.502-07:00Comments on Double O Section: New Spy DVDs Out Recently: M:I, MI-5, English and Eurospies Both Real and FakeTannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03910873055922510145noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36879283.post-17982731147439835952012-03-20T10:17:09.056-07:002012-03-20T10:17:09.056-07:00I was surprised to see 077: Our Man In Casablanca/...I was surprised to see 077: Our Man In Casablanca/Killers are Challenged for rental at my local DVD place here in Stockholm the other day - but I see it has a Swedish distributor so that makes sense. I rented it, because I'm fascinated by the whole idea of the Eurospy phenomenon and have several scores from these films, but apart from catching the occasional OSS117 on late-night TV years ago and watching a few Youtube clips I've never seen one. <br /><br />I also rented The Adjustment Bureau, which I watched just before 077 - that might not have been the best idea, because it really highlighted how low-budget and simplistic the 60s film was. The illustration of Harrison in the poster used on the cover is so different from what he actually looks like in the film that I didn't recognize him, and on his first appearance I thought he was a villainous henchman! I'd forgotten these guys were beefcake material, and hadn't expected him to have that big a build. The dubbing was less bothersome than I initially thought it would be, though the overly loud sound effects of punching and so on did make me smile. There are some nice touches in the film, such as Fleming - or just 'that agent' as he's mostly referred to - getting lost in an odd hidden garden, rather a good chase early on through what looks like a zoo overlooking Casablanca, although no animals are seen, and a quasi-Cockney former Scotland Yard man as a taxi driver ally. Casablanca itself comes alive, and even the scenes with grey Geneva are evocative. <br /><br />I also thought Susy Andersen was beautiful, and looked much more modern and fresh than everyone else in the film. Some of the other women suffered a little from looking rather like each other, and rather hard, too - there's certainly an exploitative nature to the film, and I was saddened at Googling Mitsouko and discovering she committed suicide. Despite some interesting moments, though, the film is terribly hokey, and Harrison has no real charisma. Probably becaue I watched Matt Damon the night before, his face reminded me of Damon's a little. But Damon plays the essentially characterless and bland Jason Bourne with a thousand times more energy, charm, intelligence and wit than is visible here, and I don't think that can entirely be down to budget and script. It made me appreciate anew just how good Connery was as Bond, because he's got scenes not a million miles from some in this film but he transforms them with his presence. But it was interesting to watch nevertheless, perhaps simply because it made me think about the genre in a slightly different way.Jeremy Dunshttp://jeremyduns.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36879283.post-1408147039521591812012-03-18T22:43:16.672-07:002012-03-18T22:43:16.672-07:00It looks like Killers are Challenged is already so...It looks like Killers are Challenged is already sold out from Diabolik DVD. Do you know of other places that might sell this? I'm not finding anything from my searches online..in23hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02891760819421767377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36879283.post-63945154794477901352012-03-14T22:09:18.609-07:002012-03-14T22:09:18.609-07:00Great information.
Really happy to see that the o...Great information.<br /><br />Really happy to see that the original Mission Impossible has been released.<br /><br />According to this list of <a href="http://www.completeseasondvds.com" rel="nofollow">DVD releases by date</a> Poirot Series 3 was also released in March.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com