Mr. Porter Examines Spy Style

Mr. Porter, the menswear fashion retailer offering a line of bespoke suits, trench coats, umbrellas, tortoiseshell glasses, and other style items inspired by the movie Kingsman, posted a cool video essay last month on the history of spy style. James Bond, John Steed, Illya Kuryakin and other Sixties icons are all covered. The essay is by Vanity Fair contributing editor David Kamp, and the stylish photo animation is by Mosaic Films. Check it out:

Billion Dollar Brain Coming to Blu-ray!

Harry Palmer is finally coming to Blu-ray in the United States! And somewhat surprisingly, not in The Ipcress File* or Funeral in Berlin, but the much more divisive third film in Harry Saltzman's other spy series, Billion Dollar Brain. (Which, on any given day, could easily be my own personal favorite of the three.) Kino Lorber will release Ken Russell's brilliant and beautiful Len Deighton adaptation Billion Dollar Brain in high definition on October 7. (There will also be a DVD edition, as the old MGM release is long out of print.) If you've never seen this Michael Caine masterpiece, read my review here to understand why this is such great news! And if you have, then why not go ahead and pre-order it now on Amazon? So far the only extra announced is the theatrical trailer, but the real question on spy fans' minds is will this version contain the half minute or so of footage excised from previous DVD editions in all regions? Probably not, since the footage in question contains a clip of the Beatles movie A Hard Day's Night along with its prohibitively expensive music. But perhaps Kino has found a way to clear this music? Even if they haven't, it's still well worth owning Billion Dollar Brain in high definition--especially with such pretty cover art! Spy fans and fans of Sixties capers might be interested to know that the company will also release Topkapi on Blu-ray the same day.

*Though it's never been officially released in America, The Ipcress File is available on Blu-ray as a region-free import.

Len Deighton Writes About James Bond in Brand New E-Book

The Deighton Dossier posted a very exciting announcement last week about a brand-new e-book by Len Deighton about Ian Fleming, Kevin McClory and James Bond! Now let's just take apart that sentence for a second. The first amazing nugget of information for spy fans is... Len Deighton has written a new book! Okay, okay, it's an e-book, and only a short one at that (Amazon calls these short titles "Kindle Singles")... but it still marks the first new publication from one of the world's foremost spy writers in nearly seventeen years! (The final Bernard Samson novel, Charity, came out in 1996.) Then the second amazing thing in that sentence is that this e-book finds one of my very favorite spy writers, Deighton, writing about another, Fleming! Historically, Deighton was part of the group of espionage novelists including John le Carré and John Gardner who came along in the Sixties writing books that were direct reactions to, or perhaps even rebellions against, Fleming's James Bond novels. Deighton's unnamed spy, star of his first several novels (immortalized on film by Michael Caine as Harry Palmer), was the polar opposite of 007—and very intentionally so. While Deighton no doubt respects Fleming, his creation and the popularity it brought the genre he writes in, his overall aversion to Fleming's fiction seems not to have abated over the years. But very little is said about Fleming overall. Instead, Deighton's Kindle Single James Bond: My Long And Eventful Search For His Father deals with the cinematic 007. And Deighton had far more involvement with that incarnation of the character, some of which he reveals here for the first time. With Harry Saltzman, who produced the Palmer movies, he made some small contributions to the script for From Russia With Love. And for Kevin McClory, who Deighton knew well, he contributed to one of the many incarnations of Warhead, the film that eventually became Never Say Never Again. This e-book makes a great read, and is very informative. Since Deighton knew some of the figures involved better than others, a somewhat slanted opinion is to be expected. Based on my own research over the years, I'm not sure I agree with all of his conclusions (but then I wasn't there and he was!), but I'm still thrilled that he wrote them up and published them for us to read. I highly recommend this e-book to fans of Bond and Deighton alike... and therefore to all spy fans. It should be noted that you don't need a Kindle device to read these books. There's a Kindle app available for many smart phones, and a reader for PCs as well. So there's no reason not to spend the $1.99 on Amazon!

Len Deighton Interview @ The Deighton Dossier

Fello COBRAS blog The Deighton Dossier (the best resource out there for information on Len Deighton's spy novels) has scored a really cool interview with the man himself!  Parts One, Two and Three are all up now at the Dossier, comprising the entire Q&A.  In the first part, the author discusses his writing habits, what he's working on now, and the Harry Palmer movies (including the never-filmed Horse Under Water). Check it out!

Caine and Lazenby

Michael Caine is famously friends with both Sean Connery and Roger Moore, and there are many pictures out there of Harry Palmer with one or the other of those Bonds.  He's even made movies with each of them (though The Man Who Would Be King has a distinct edge over Bullseye!), and the three memorably teamed up together to present the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1989. (That's a pretty priceless TV moment, in fact; if you've never seen it, be sure to check it out.)  And of course Caine also made a great movie with Pierce Brosnan.  But one Bond I've never seen him with is George Lazenby, which is why I was excited to see this picture of the two together (both sporting scruffy beards) at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival at Quantum of Bond.  I really don't think I've ever seen this photo before, though I supposed it might have gotten lost in the shuffle amidst all the other wonderful images in Charles Helfenstein's exhaustive and fantastic book The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. At any rate, if you're a fan of either actor (and I'm betting that encompasses pretty much anyone reading this blog), you'll probably get a kick out of this picture. Also be sure to visit Quantum of Bond where it was initially posted.  A big thanks to that site's Philippe Lombard, who turned up the image on Allposters.fr.

Merry Christmas From The Double O Section!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with peace, good cheer, dry martinis and lots of spy gifts!

Reminder: Last Night To See Bond And Palmer On The Big Screen In Los Angeles!

As reported a few weeks ago, Los Angeles' awesome New Beverly Cinema (recently purchased by Quentin Tarantino) is screening You Only Live Twice and Billion Dollar Brain this week.  The double bill played last night, and will again tonight (Thursday). 

You Only Live Twice starts at 7:30; Billion Dollar Brain follows at 9:50. You can purchase tickets online here.

For more details, see the original story here.

Read my review of Billion Dollar Brain here.

Upcoming Spy Screenings: Fantastic Harry Saltzman Double Feature In Los Angeles

Attention LA spy fans!  Here is an event you will not want to miss!  It's one film short of being the ultimate 1967 spy triple feature, but it is the ultimate Harry Saltzman 1967 spy double feature.  Los Angeles' awesome New Beverly Cinema (recently purchased by Quentin Tarantino) will screen You Only Live Twice and Billion Dollar Brain on Wednesday and Thursday, August 18 and 19.  Really, that's one of the best double features I can imagine.  It's the LA spy event of the year!  We're lucky enough to see James Bond double features fairly regularly in this city, between the New Bev and the Egyptian and the Aero.  But the idea of pairing Bond with Harry Palmer was truly inspired... particularly those two titles from the same year.  I love all three Sixties Harry Palmer movies, but Ken Russell's phantasmagorical third film has become my favorite over the years (as I've written about extensively in the past).  And, honestly, you've never seen it if you haven't seen it on the big screen.  This will be a fantastic evening at the cinema with Sean Connery and Michael Caine.  Personally, I plan on attending the Thursday night show.  Shoot me an email if you're in the area and want to meet up.

You Only Live Twice starts at 7:30; Billion Dollar Brain follows at 9:50. You can purchase tickets online here.

Read my review of Billion Dollar Brain here.

Billion Dollar Brain Soundtrack To Be Released In December

Film Score Monthly's shop, Screen Archives Entertainment, is currently taking pre-orders for a single-disc release of Richard Rodney Bennett's amazing, haunting score for the third Harry Palmer film, Billion Dollar Brain. It will be paired with Roy Budd's score for the 1982 action movie The Final Option, starring Lewis Collins, Edward Woodward and Ingrid Pitt. FSM previously issued the score for Billion Dollar Brain in a huge box set of MGM film music called The MGM Soundtrack Treasury (1959-1983), but this will be its first official individual release on CD. (A widely circulated bootleg paired it with The Ipcress File.) The release date is listed as "early December;" the cost is $19.95.

UPDATE: This new, standalone release will not be on FSM's label. According to the proprietor of Spy Bop Royale (the final word on spy music on the web), this release will be on the label Kritzerland. Sadly, that probably means that it won't include the fantastic liner notes from FSM's massive MGM box set.

Read my review of Billion Dollar Brain here.

Len Deighton Contest On Mister 8

As most readers are no doubt aware, Armstrong over at fellow COBRAS site Mister 8 has spent the whole summer exhaustively exploring every possible aspect of The IPCRESS File: book, movie, radio adaptation and every little detail therein. What was supposed to be a month-long examination of Len Deighton's so-called "Harry Palmer" series (that name taken, of course, from the Michael Caine movie versions, and not from the author, who never named his reluctant spy protagonist) ended up spiraling into something much larger, and every post has been fascinating. So rather than pressing right on through to Deighton's next book, Horse Under Water, Armstrong is taking a much-deserved break from that topic for a few months (though he will continue blogging on other spy subjects), set to resume in December. And, in the interim, he's also running a very creative contest with a terrific prize! Here's how Armstrong outlines the competition:

So here’s the challenge: Give us a glimpse of what an adaptation of Horse Under Water might look like. Show us a movie poster, a scripted scene, a theme song, an animation, a trailer, a level from a video game, a comic, a selection from a radio play, etc. etc. We’re not too particular. Just get it to us by midnight EST on Dec. 12th by emailing your submission (or a link to your submission) to mister8 (at) mister8.com! Improve your odds with multiple entries!

Great idea! I've long dreamed of (and sometimes championed on this site) a new movie of Horse Under Water, set in the Sixties. It's such a great book and a great title, and I lament the fact that there wasn't a movie back then. Penguin's already given us a taste of what Armstrong is looking for with their tantalizing paperback cover from the time of the original films which depicts Michael Caine on the cover of Horse Under Water. I feel like I've also seen another, different paperback cover for the book using Caine's likeness, but I may be confusing it with various Billion Dollar Brain covers. Can anyone corroborate my possibly mixed-up memories?

According to the Harry Palmer Movie Site, Horse Under Water was meant to be filmed after Billion Dollar Brain. While Caine was contracted for another two movies, Saltzman uncharacteristically let him out of this contract when the actor expressed disinterest in reprising the role. Nigel Davenport, Caine's co-star in another Saltzman-produced movie, the excellent Play Dirty, was all set to take over the part of Harry Palmer, and everyone was happy. Then Billion Dollar Brain bombed at the box office, as did Saltzman's Olivia Newton John intergalactic battle of the bands movie, Toomorrow... and everything changed. Plans for a fourth Palmer movie were scrapped for the time being, and Horse Under Water was never filmed.

Another Deighton novel in the same series, An Expensive Place to Die, wasn't filmed either. Spy Story, a book that some people consider part of that series, but Dieghton himself doesn't, was filmed by Lindsay Shonteff in 1976 but didn't star Caine. Caine returned to the role in the 1990s for two movies not based on Deighton novels. He recently stated that he wants to make another, final Palmer movie. Which would be awesome.

Head over to Mister 8 for full contest details... and good luck! I can't wait to see the results come December!

Michael Caine Hopes To Revive Harry Palmer One More Time

The ultimate online resource on all things pertaining to the Harry Palmer films, the aptly named Harry Palmer Movie Site, has uncovered an extremely exciting story: Michael Caine wants to revive Palmer, one of his most famous characters, who he portrayed in The Ipcress File, Funeral In Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain back in the Sixties. All three films were produced by James Bond co-producer Harry Saltzman. Caine already reprised the role twice in the mid-Nineties, in two subpar Harry Alan Towers productions, Bullet To Beijing and Midnight In St. Petersburg. Towers sadly passed away last month, and obviously wouldn't be involved in a potential new film. It appears that Caine himself may now control the rights to the character from certain statements he's been making to the press lately. According to The Canadian Press:

"There's a script which I like very much, which is called Cold War Requiem," said Caine, adding that Susan Sarandon was interested in playing his wife in the film.

"It's about an old spy from the '60s in the Cold War, who's now retired - just like me, an old guy. And his enemies come back to kill him because of what he did in those days. ... It's a very good thriller. it might get done, it might not."

He went into a few more details for WENN, confirming that this was indeed a Harry Palmer project:

"I have a script called Cold War Requiem, which is Harry retired and he's living out his fantasy in some middle class area in London and the guys who he screwed have now got rich and they've decided to come and kill him. I would like to get that done but we haven't got that financed yet."

"Harry Palmer" was a name invented for the movie versions of Len Deighton's bestselling novels about an unnamed agent. The novel Spy Story, about the same character, was filmed in 1976 by Lindsay Shonteff featuring a hero called Pat Armstrong (not played by Caine). Caine played a very Palmer-like character named "Harry Anders" in the 1992 HBO film Blue Ice. It's possible that Cold War Requiem might follow the pattern of Blue Ice and slightly change the protagonist's name, but I hope not. The name Harry Palmer carries a lot of weight for spy fans, and I would love to see Caine return to the role once more for a really good final entry, even if it's not based on a Deighton novel. I'd also love to see some of the author's other "Palmer" books like Horse Under Water and An Expensive Place To Die filmed as period pieces set in the Sixties, but that seems less likely and obviously couldn't star Caine.

Caine will next appear in the old guy revenge movie Harry Brown (for which I cannot wait!) and then play a small supporting role in Christopher Nolan's Inception.

Ipcress File Blu-Ray Review At DVD Trash

I've been meaning to post this for a while. DVD Trash has one of the only reviews I've seen for last year's UK Blu-Ray release of The Ipcress File. Reviewer Nick Frame says that the picture on this high-def transfer is "probably as good as The Ipcress File will ever look" and that "the colours are strong and vibrant with high levels of detail not previously seen." So far there is no imminent U.S. Blu-Ray release for The Ipcress File (or even an in-print DVD at the moment), so it should come as a relief to American Harry Palmer fans that the ITV Blu-Ray is region-free. It's also pretty much special feature-free, so Nick seems to indicate that you need both the loaded Network special edition DVD for extras, and the ITV Blu-Ray for picture. Not bad. Read the whole review here.

And speaking of Harry Palmer, if you're a devotee of either Len Deighton's nameless agent of the novels or Michael Caine's bespectacled film incarnation, you're doubtless already following Armstrong Sabian's truly exhaustive coverage of every possible facet of the character at COBRAS site Mister 8. But if you're not, be sure to check it out! The latest post examines ads that ran in the New York Times for The Ipcress File upon its initial release. (I told you the coverage was exhaustive!)

Read my review of the third Harry Palmer film, Billion Dollar Brain, here.

Billion Dollar Brain Review Updated With Pictures

I've successfully uploaded a number of screengrabs to augment yesterday's Billion Dollar Brain review. If you already read it, be sure to scroll through it again to see some of the intriguing Ken Russell visuals that I discussed!

Movie Review: Billion Dollar Brain (1967)

Movie Review: Billion Dollar Brain (1967)

Want more men versus machines? How about the greatest man/machine throwdown of all time? To quote the poster (which may or may not have been created by Don King), it’s "Caine vs. Brain!" The titular brain, of course, is a rather pricey supercomputer. And the Caine in question (needless to say) is the inimitable Michael (now Sir), reprising the role that not only made him world-famous, but also launched an incredibly prolific career in spy films.

I love all three original Harry Palmer movies, but Billion Dollar Brain is my favorite. In fact, it’s one of my favorite spy movies ever. (Hence the banner above.) Sometimes purists make accusations that this movie brought Palmer, originally envisioned as the anti-Bond in a film series produced by Bond producer Harry Saltzman, too far into 007 territory. This simply isn’t the case. It’s true that Billion Dollar Brain has a bit more action and a much broader scope than its predecessors, The Ipcress File and Funeral In Berlin, but Palmer is still very much his own animal. The character (named in the films but unnamed in Len Deighton’s novels on which they’re based) remains steadfastly cynical about his work and in a way that the Bond of the movies never was, and defiantly insubordinate in the face of his snobby, hopelessly bureaucratic spymasters, men he knows place no value on his life. Yes, the character remains unchanged, but the film itself is decidedly different than those that went before it, thanks largely to director Ken Russell. I can only imagine that its detractors would have preferred another dose of the exact same thing, a rehash of what went on before. I would posit that the trilogy’s excellence lies in the fact that it never resorts to that. Each film has a distinctly unique feel, and the cycle never repeats itself. Granted, that’s an easier feat to accomplish in just three films than twenty-two, but it’s impressive nonetheless. And by the end of the Sixties, the same thing couldn’t be said for the Bond films. (Don’t get me wrong; I love the repetitious elements of 007, but they wouldn’t have been appropriate for Palmer.) James Bond movies (by this point) ended with a large-scale, explosion-filled battle every time. For Harry Palmer, that was unique to this movie and a change from what went before. Therefore, it was not Bond-like, and entirely appropriate to the Caine series.

At the beginning of Billion Dollar Brain, Palmer is attempting to live a civilian life as a private detective. But he simply cannot escape the life into which he’s been forced. It comes to find him this time in the form of his intolerable boss, Ross (Guy Doleman), who breaks into Palmer’s flat. (Of course, he’s filled out all the proper forms authorizing him to do so with impunity.) Harry walks in on him and pulls a gun (for which he assures his former superior he has a license), and Ross calmly puts his hands up, in which he’s holding one of Harry’s boxes of cornflakes. Ross lets the cornflakes spill all over the floor. In a hilarious bit of business, Harry sweeps up the cornflakes around Ross’s feet as the spook attempts to lure him back for another mission. It’s a great scene that sets the proper tone for a Harry Palmer movie.

Palmer rebuffs Ross’s advances for the time being, but Ross isn’t the only one with a job for him. Soon he gets a phone call from a computerized voice demanding, "Is. This. Palmer. Private. Detective. Of. London. Confirm." When he eventually does so, he’s instructed to courier a package (a thermos) from London to Helsinki. A London cabbie asks him where to, and Harry answers, "Helsinki"... and suddenly we’re there. It’s the first of the film’s many unique and abrupt edits, and it works wonderfully. Most spy movies in the Sixties still included the obligatory shots of the airport terminals and the BOAC jets; Russell sets the breakneck pace and disorienting tone of Billion Dollar Brain by cutting directly from the speeding London taxi to moving trams in snowy Finland.

Equally disorienting is Harry’s rendezvous with his Helsinki contact. The computer has instructed him that the password will be "Now is the winter of our discontent." We see Harry waiting in a beautiful, almost surreal snow-covered landscape, then flash to an abrupt closeup of Françoise Dorléac’s equally beautiful face as she utters the phrase. Her sensual delivery is the antithesis of the mechanical recitation we’ve heard from the computer, but both seem equally strange–off–for the Bard’s famous line. As soon as the line is delivered, we cut back from the closeup to the wide shot. What the hell just happened? Is it a dream? No, it isn’t, but the effect of Russell’s shrewd, almost experimental editing is that we’re as disoriented as Harry. He’s been plunged into an alien world at the bidding of a disembodied machine voice, and has no idea what’s going to happen next or who to trust. Neither do we. Russell’s discombobulating direction literalizes the themes of betrayal and dislocation in the totally solid but rather conventional script. Its one of the most interesting interpretations of the world of espionage I’ve ever seen on film. The first two Palmer movies had similarly byzantine plots and double-crosses, but we were outside observers. Now we’re as baffled as Harry is at every turn.

Russell maintains his vision of Finland as a weird, alien landscape, inside and out. Not only is Helsinki a terrific spy setting, but its so different from other European locations that it suits the director’s purposes perfectly. The outside is full of strange sculptures, unique architecture and interesting shapes, all blanketed in white snow. The interiors are equally bizarre, whether they’re steam rooms that hiss out warm air as you open the door or residences paneled in life-size artwork of nude women. Russell uses the artwork of his locations to punctuate the story he’s telling with great effect. Whether it’s the juxtaposition of beautiful, two-dimensional nudes cut in with quick shots of a grotesque, brutally murdered body, or the sudden appearance of the painted Finnish deity Väinämöinen serving as a stern reminder that men, in the world of espionage, are but pawns of larger, unfathomable entities, the ever-present wall art plays a crucial role in Russell’s storytelling.

Camera angles are important, too, as evidenced on Harry’s snowmobile ride to meet his next contact. Handheld shots and jarring angles collude with Richard Rodney Bennett’s remarkable, haunting score to further disorient Harry–and us. The first time I ever saw Billion Dollar Brain was on a terribly panned and scanned VHS, and it looked like a sloppy student film where the director had no idea where to place the camera. What a disservice that cropping did to Russell’s compositions! Years later, I was able to see the movie in its proper aspect ratio on the bigscreen (and eventually on DVD), and I was astounded at how different my reaction was. All of Russell’s angles and movements are meticulous, designed to evoke a very specific reaction in the viewer. In widescreen, it works brilliantly. In pan-and-scan, not at all. I actually had a similar experience with the first Harry Palmer movie, The Ipcress File, as well. Both films are masterpieces of widescreen composition that must be seen that way in order to be properly appreciated.

In Helsinki, Harry meets several other crucial characters. His first contact is Anya, played by Dorléac, whose ethereal beauty fits right in with the snowy landscape and haunting music. She’s like a figure from Nordic myth herself. (Dorléac, the sister of Catherine Deneuve, promised to be an extremely interesting talent, but her life was tragically cut short far too young when she was killed in a car accident shortly after filming Billion Dollar Brain.) Anya leads Harry to another contact, who’s revealed amidst the swirling steam of a sauna to be Harry’s old friend, Leo Newbigen (Karl Malden). Newbigen boasts that Harry is "the only real friend" he has in the whole world, but it’s clear from Harry’s reaction that even that status doesn’t earn his trust. Nor should it. In the course of his adventures, I think Harry Palmer is double-crossed at least once by just about everyone he ever meets. That’s certainly the case in this movie, but it doesn’t give anything away to know that. The real question is who is going to triple-cross or quadruple-cross who? Allegiances shift many times over the course of the film, and Harry knows he can’t rely on anyone but himself in order to survive.

Ross also turns up in Helsinki, and pulls Harry back into his service after all. Poor Harry could have had a raise, but instead he ends up blackmailed into serving his country once again. Returned to active duty as an agent of MI5, Harry is sworn in in the backseat of a moving limousine. Ross then proceeds to brief him as the car speeds along the icy streets. It’s another example of how Russell keeps the plot moving along–quite literally–at breakneck speed. (This scene prefigures M’s briefing of Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies nearly three decades later. Since that movie was so action-packed–even for 007–it was necessary to keep even the traditionally calm M and Moneypenny interactions as breakneck as possible, and director Roger Spottiswoode achieved the effect in the same manner as Russell, brilliantly keeping them on the move and setting the formulaic briefing in a speeding limo as opposed to a stationary office.)

As he careens along, Harry is resigned to his fate, but remains as flippant, cynical and insubordinate as ever. It’s a lot of fun to witness the horrible way that Ross treats him and that he treats Ross right back. Despite the gruffness on the surface, M harbors a paternal (or maternal, as the case may be) care for 007. Ross and Palmer, however, outright hate each other, and therein lies the fun of their interactions. At the end of the briefing, Ross gets the last jab in when he deposits Harry in the middle of nowhere, in the snow, suggesting that he can walk back from here and explaining that he has a plane to catch. Harry is very literally "in the cold," in one of many long shots of isolated figures on desolate white landscapes.

Leo takes Harry to "meet the boss," where Harry encounters a surprisingly small computer (for its day) in the middle of a very large, very empty room. It’s a Ken Adamish set, but actually designed by fellow Bond vet Syd Cain. We get more fantastically bizarre edits and disassociated audio: a conversation between Harry and Anya about some games being "more dangerous than others" occurs over violent footage of a hockey game; we then slam cut from one of the hockey confrontations to an extreme close-up of a virus culture in a microscope. The virus is what Harry unknowingly transported to Helsinki to begin with, and he can see it's part of a much larger plot, but can’t get a grasp on what that plot is.

The orders of the brain take Harry first across the border into Latvia, and then to Texas. In Latvia he encounters strange sights like Soviet soldiers on horseback charging through the woods in the light of a flare and peasants packed into a small house watching listening to the Beatles (the shots with Beatles music have unfortunately been cut from all DVD editions due to copyright issues, but can be watched on the Harry Palmer Movie Site) and eccentric characters. There’s the boisterous Col. Stok (Oscar Homolka, returning from Funeral In Berlin, jovial but still untrustworthy) and the nefarious Dr. Eiwort (From Russia With Love’s Vladek Shleybal, as slimy as ever). But nothing in Russia can prepare Harry for the even stranger sights and more eccentric characters he’ll encounter in Texas.

Gone are the wide shots of open scenery that characterized Finland; in Russell’s Texas everything is shot tightly, and all the exteriors take place at night. Sure, this is partly to mask the fact that they actually shot in Finland and clearly not in Texas, but it also creates a marked contrast between the two locations. Texas is claustrophobic, because whatever trap Harry’s gotten himself into, it’s clearly tightening on him there. Most of the Texan scenes take place inside the brain’s command center, where the giant, room-filling supercomputer spits out its orders. These interior locations add to the claustrophobia.

Leo is part of an anti-Communist group called the Crusade For Freedom Organization, run from America by a mad Texan general named Midwinter. Everyone is clad in cowboy duds and dances crazy line dances in a seemingly constant celebration on Midwinter’s ranch that falls somewhere between a ho-down and a Nazi rally. (The Nazi symbolism is unmistakable.) It would all play as wildly exaggerated if it were even possible to exaggerate Texas. But it’s not, and Ed Begley’s amazing, over-the-top performance (he could have just stepped out of Dr. Strangelove) is just the right degree of over-the-top for a fanatical Texan. The actor chews into long, entertaining monologues as he shares with Harry his deeply held personal convictions and burning hatred for Communism. Midwinter plans to invade Latvia with a vast private army with the ultimate goal of liberating the country from the Soviets. He believes, thanks to Leo, that there is a network of agents comprising a Latvian underground who will help in this operation. Harry’s not so sure. Is there such a network, or has Leo simply been pocketing all the cash Midwinter’s supplied for all of these supposed assets?

Midwinter’s plan, of course (though calculated by a billion dollar computer system) will have the same effect as Blofeld’s best: it will lead to WWIII. But unlike Blofeld, Midwinter is acting based on fanatical conviction, and truly believes that he is doing the right thing.

The action–and Harry–return to Finland where everything builds up to a truly impressive large scale climax. As I mentioned earlier, no Palmer movie before had ever gotten this big. The previous ones were small, more personal spy stories of traitors and defectors. But Billion Dollar Brain culminates in a whole army clad in white snow camouflage moving across the ice in white snow vehicles and a fleet of white troop transports disguised as tanker trucks. (They even have gun turrets on the top.) Things get very large indeed, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. It may be a Bondian situation, but it doesn’t play out in a Bondian course. It’s just another unwanted assignment for Harry Palmer–one that’s gotten way, way out of hand.

We never do get that promised throwdown between Caine and the brain (although Malden proves adept at reprogramming it by shuffling around its carefully-ordered programming cards), but everything really comes together in this movie. The impressive locations (particularly the Finnish ones) are inexorably tied in to the unique camera movements, editing, score and sound design. And they’re all spot-on. Richard Rodney Bennet turns in one of his very best scores, ideally complimenting Russell’s cold, alien landscapes. Everything about this Cold War is cold, even the sex. Dorléac plays the icy temptress to the hilt, Malden shines in the most morally complex role, Begley lends the presence necessary to make a small part cast a large shadow and Caine navigates it all in his inimitable, cynical way. He’s not a James Bond. He’s not on top of things. Throughout the whole movie, he’s never on top of the situation. He’s an everyman spy and we share his perplexion as he does his best just to keep his head above water. The story plausibly builds from the small scale of the previous Palmers up to the grandiosity of James Bond via Dr. Strangelove, but Caine keeps things grounded the entire time.

This is a spy movie that takes its audience on a ride along with the hero, and it’s a ride well worth taking. Watching Billion Dollar Brain is an exhilarating, incredible experience, and credit for that experience must go not only to Russell and Caine, but also Bennett, cinematographer Billy Williams, editor Alan Osbiston and sound editor Ted Mason. All of their crafts converge perfectly to create a truly unique, must-see spy film.

Be sure to check out all the cool video that Kees has put up for this movie on The Harry Palmer Movie Site, including a vintage making-of featurette!

Upcoming Spy DVDs: '90s Harry Palmer Collection In UK

Kees from the web's definitive Harry Palmer Movie Site has alerted me to a new release in England of the two 90s, Harry Alan Towers-produced Harry Palmer sequels. On April 20, Starz Home Entertainment will release The Harry Palmer Double Bill including Midnight in St. Petersburg and Bullet to Beijing, both starring Michael Caine and Jason Connery. While it was definitely cool to see Caine return to this wonderful character three decades later, the movies are pale imitations of the originals. It's the difference between, well, a Harry Saltzman production and a Harry Alan towers one. But they've got good casts (including Michael Gambon and Sue Lloyd) and completists will definitely want to pick them up. Furthermore, this looks like the highest quality release in an English-speaking country of these titles. (In America, all we've gotten are inferior bargain basement releases.) The artwork reflects the Swedish art.

Be sure to swing by Kees' site, as he's given it an attractive overhaul recently. On top of that, it's a great resource for any and all things Harry Palmer.

REMINDER: Funeral In Berlin Screening TONIGHT In L.A.!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

As previously reported, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will screen Funeral In Berlin in their fantastic theater on Saturday, February 21 (that's tonight!) at 9:15PM as part of their series "Torn Curtain: The Two Germanys on Film" examining films set in Cold War Germany. The Guy Hamilton-directed middle installment in the Sixties Harry Palmer trilogy will be paired with Robert Siodmak's Escape From East Berlin. (That one starts at 7:30.) I haven't seen the latter, but it doesn't appear to be a spy movie. Nevertheless, the 1962 movie (which concerns twenty-nine East Germans who fled Communist rule by tunneling under the Berlin Wall) does sound pretty cool! The whole film series ties in with the museum's current exhibit "The Art of Two Germanys/Cold War Cultures." That's a good exhibit, and well worth checking out if you're interested in the Cold War.

LACMA's got a great screen, so if you're in the area tonight I definitely recommend taking advantage of this opportunity!

Thanks to my friend Phil for first alerting me to this screening!

Upcoming Spy Screenings: Harry Palmer In Los Angeles

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art will screen Funeral In Berlin on Saturday, February 21 at 9:15PM as part of their series "Torn Curtain: The Two Germanys on Film" examining films set in Cold War Germany. The Guy Hamilton-directed middle installment in the Sixties Harry Palmer trilogy will be paired with Robert Siodmak's Escape From East Berlin. I haven't seen the latter, but while it does sound cool, it doesn't appear to be a spy movie. The 1962 movie concerns twenty-nine East Germans who fled Communist rule by tunneling under the Berlin Wall. The whole film series ties in with the museum's current exhibit "The Art of Two Germanys/Cold War Cultures." That's a good exhibit, and LACMA's got a great screen, so if you're in the area I definitely recommend taking advantage of this opportunity!

I started out intending to showcase relevant spy screenings all over, but it became tough to keep track. I apologize to all the non-LA readers for focusing as a result on Los Angeles screenings, but they're certainly foremost on my mind being based here. I will try to start covering screenings in other cities more often.

Network Offers Free Ipcress File Poster

Network's "Deal of the Week" this week is a pretty good one! The British DVD company is offering their two-disc Special Edition of The Ipcress File (that's the Region 2 PAL one that comes with the Len Deighton book and the John Barry soundtrack CD as well as loads of special features) for the greatly reduced price of just £12.99... and bundled with a special, limited-edition quad poster from the film's 2006 British theatrical re-release! Sure, it's a couple bucks more than it was during their big clearance sale last week, but it's still a great bargain–and that poster's mighty nice! The poster will come shipped separately, rolled in a sturdy mailing tube. Among the many extra features included on the DVD are: an exclusive interview with Michael Caine, a new exclusive interview with the great production designer Ken Adam, an audio commentary with director Sidney Furie and editor Peter Hunt, some sort of "comedy sketch" starring Phil Cornwell (huh?), a 1969 documentary called "Candid Caine," featuring star Caine talking frankly about his career, the original theatrical trailer, US radio commercials, a stills gallery Len Deighton's original novel, the soundtrack CD by John Barry, a dual-sided mini movie poster (separate from the full-size quad you'll get with this offer) and an introductory booklet by the author of Michael Caine: A Class Act. Whew!

Remember, you need a DVD play capable of playing Region 2 PAL discs to play this.

Swedish Harry Palmer DVDs

While exploring the Fin de Siecle website last week when I ordered my Secret Agent Fireball DVD, I came across some eye-catching Harry Palmer DVDs.* Swedish company Atlantic Film produces a three-film Harry Palmer box set called "The Ultimate Harry Palmer"... but it's not really that ultimate. You see, the other two films besides The Ipcress File are not the equally excellent legitimate sequels Funeral In Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain, but the mediocre, made-for-TV Nineties revivals Bullet To Beijing and Midnight In St. Petersburg. Still, the individual discs have some pretty cool cover art! (Certainly much cooler than the out-of-print budget North American DVDs.) And if you're a Harry Palmer completist who doesn't yet have these titles (but does have a multi-region player), you can pick them up dirt cheap from Fin de Siecle. I particularly love that Midnight In St. Petersberg cover that boldly states "CAINE" and "CONNERY" across the top without revealing that the Connery in question is actually Jason, son of Sean. I feel sorry for unsuspecting Swedes who thought they were getting a Man Who Would Be King rematch... In keeping with that gleeful spirit of false advertising, the covers for both Midnight and Bullet appear to promise viewers films based on Len Deighton novels, when the author had nothing to do with these productions, and didn't write any such books. Finally, both covers manage to convey a good deal more excitement than the movies do, too!
*Of course, if I'd fully explored every nook and cranny of Kees' Harry Palmer Movie Site, I would have already seen these covers--along with plentiful others, from all around the world. Check 'em out!