Topkapi
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Movie Reviews of Topkapi
Movie Review: A Fabulous Film by Jules Dassin!!
Summary: 5 Stars
A great story, a superb cast, magnificent scenery and beautiful cinematography! If you love a mixture of comedy & suspense and have a taste for indie films or euro films, this one's a must! Melina Mercouri, Maximilian Schell & Peter Ustinov take on the Turkish security forces in their attempt to liberate the Topkapi emeralds!Movie Review: Topkapi
Summary: 5 Stars
Breezy, colorful and clever, the stars are clearly enjoying themselves, except of course for sad-sack Ustinov (no matter, he won an Oscar for his performance anyhow). This more sophisticated, comic take on heist movies would influence a variety of other films, among them William Wyler's "How To Steal A Million".Movie Review: Starring Istanbul, co-starring Mercouri, Ustinov et. al.
Summary: 4 Stars
18 years ago, I traveled to Turkey, fell in love with the magnificent city of Istanbul, and then searched in vain for videos of this movie, which every guide book mentioned when describing the museum in the exquisite Topkapi palace. I'm delighted that it's finally available. Much of the movie was shot on location, and it does as much justice as film can do to the great monuments of that city, as well as its picturesque but ramshackle poor districts. The wrestling championship that the jewel thieves use as their alibi during the heist was fascinating, and the competitors look like authentic Turkish athletes rather than actors. The competition seems to be a direct descendant of ancient Greek and Roman athletics, including the athletes' practice of covering their bodies with oil before the contest.
The plot is entertainingly complex, especially because although you see the preparations underway for the heist, you don't know just how they are supposed to work until you see the plans unfold. So although this movie makes no pretense to be intellectual, it does require you to use your brain in order to follow the plot. All the performances are wonderful, although frankly, Mercouri was too old for the character she's playing. The close-ups of her heavily made-up face, unfortunately, tend to undermine her bravura acting. But Ustinov makes the most of his unprepossessing physique to create a wonderfully comic character as the poor "shmoe" caught up in her schemes. He deserved his Oscar, but I wish there were a prize for best performance by a city.
P.S. -- after seeing this movie, check out the short film "The Wrong Trousers" on the DVD "Wallace and Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures." The parody of the jewel heist in Topkapi, complete with jewel thief dangling from a museum ceiling, is priceless.
Movie Review: Ingenious jewel heist caper
Summary: 4 Stars
Jules Dassin, talented director banished from the U.S., once again displays his brilliance in the handling of his cast in the Eric Ambler written comic action thriller "Topkapi".
A crew masterminded by professional jewel thief Walter Harper played by Maximilian Schell and ably assisted by Elizabeth Lipp played by Mrs. Jules Dassin, Melina Mercouri conspires to steal a fabled emerald encrusted sultan's dagger from the Topkapi museum in Istanbul. Schell in his cleverly designed scheme, decides to use a team comprised entirely of amateurs. Included among them in an Oscar winning performance, is dishonest British tour guide working in Greece Arthur Simpson played by the accomplished Peter Ustinov. Ustinov is used as a dupe initially by Schell's team and in the process alerts Turkish authorities to some strange goings on. Due to an injury to a circus strongman who is part of the team, the bumbling, acrophobic Ustinov must take his place. The crew carries out its plans under the noses of authorities who are convinced they are dealing with terrorists and not thieves.
Dassin's cleverly plotted film mixes together equal measures of suspense, intrigue and humor to create an entertaining film. What spoiled it somewhat for me was Mercouri who comes across an an aged strumpet and offers little except her proud Greek heritage to this exotic Aegean locale.
Movie Review: "You're foreign?" "No, I'm English."
Summary: 4 Stars
Ripped off by Mission: Impossible, long on Pierce Brosnan's remake slate as an intended sequel to his version of The Thomas Crown Affair and intended by director Jules Dassin as a send-up of his classic heist movie Riffifi, Topkapi is a genuinely enjoyable comic caper movie despite a surfeit of reasons why it shouldn't work. Like Eartha Kitt, a little of Melina Mercouri goes a long way (even more so a surprisingly unfunny and irritating Akim Tamiroff), but the rest of the cast - which includes Maximilian Schell and Robert Morley - are on good form. Peter Ustinov is a particular delight as local historian, guide and schmo Arthur Simon Simpson, a carbuncle on the backside of humanity the crooks literally rope into being an accomplice in their ingenious high wire jewel robbery. With good location work, gorgeous rich Sixties colour, a catchy score by Manos Hadjidakis and a sense of fun, it has worn a lot better than most of its Sixties contemporaries. Best line: "You're foreign?" "No, I'm English."
The only extra is the original trailer.