Topkapi
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Movie Reviews of Topkapi
Movie Review: Topkapi
Summary: 3 Stars
This is in the end a good caper movie and maybe worth watching because its possible a lot its elements have been emulated in other films like the Pink Panther, Mission:Impossible and Entrapment. It is a jewel theft caper involving a hypersensitive floor security system, where you drop in from the roof. I am not giving anything away that isn't in the trailer. But it is stuff you have now seen many times before. The gymnastics and plotting of how that is carried out is the variance. There is some pretty good tension in pulling off the crime.
As in any movie like this, whether you like it depends a lot more on whether you like the characters. And this is the point where the film gets a little iffy for me. This is the first Melina Mercouri I have seen. So I don't have the perspective of years prior knowing what a great beauty she was. I am going to get in trouble for calling it as I see it her. Melina Mercouri is an attractive enough older woman but well past her prime and trying and failing to hide it behind hair died from silver gray to blonde and heavy mascara and eyeshadow. But perhaps she is merely past her prime and just unapologetic and sassy about it.
The effect is the same. She is a little grotesque.Maximillian Schell on the other hand is a truly handsome and suave as the organizer of the plot.
Peter Ustinov is cute. As a fairly early role you see him here developing a lot of his most popular affectations that will serve him well in future roles. This production seems a little low budget and doesn't show off his distinctive voice and mannerisms as well as a film with more deft camera direction and better sound can. The stalwart British character actor Robert Morely as the inventor is very good. Also on the team is a brutish strong man who seems to have little purpose in the film who is partnered with an acrobat who cleverly mimes most of his part because he is a mute.
Ordinarily I don't have much trouble making allowances for the style of films of the various decades but Topkapi has a style that to me seems particularly dated and tips the hand of its minimal budget badly. There are many filler shots of the marketplace and locals of Istanbul that aren't particularly interesting and slow the pace of the film down. Also the image and sound is of marginal quality and frequently dubbed though it is an english speaking film.Its not out of synch but it has that odd unnatural feel to it. If you mind has the mental alacrity to make allowances for this its a clever enough film to keep you entertained. But I can't imagine anyone under 25 raised on modern production values not being a little antsy and impatient deciphering some of the slightly muffled heavy accents of the international cast.
Certainly a better film than Entrapment. I think overall the film is merely OK. Either of the Ocean's Eleven films does has a more entertaining ensemble cast and are more fun to watch in this genre.
Movie Review: Another Crime Comedy
Summary: 2 Stars
Topkapi is the former harem of the Sultan of Turkey in Istanbul. There is a museum that contains rich jewels and many armed guards to protect the treasures. "Elizabeth Lipp" introduces us to the museum. Walter Harper agrees to steal the emerald encrusted dagger but will use amateurs who don't have records that will make them suspects to the police. An expert tells how a strain gauge can detect any solid body on the floor. But there is a way to defeat this. Next Elizabeth and Walter pay Arthur Simpson to drive a car across the border. What can be in that car? The secret police arrest Simpson and double him. [I didn't find it funny.] There are scenes of everyday life in Turkey. Next there are some comic scenes due to language difficulties.
Sightseeing shows more scenes of everyday life. The secret police trail and photograph all the suspects. There is drama and humor in their personal conflicts. Will a mistake ruin their plans? Will Arthur Simpson get a chance at a big score? Will Walter hatch a new plan? The agents are rotated to avoid suspicion. They watch a mass wrestling match exhibition in a stadium. The last man standing must win. Then they slip away to the Topkapi palace. Walter solves a problem. The entry into the palace is a long silent run. [This was a copy from "Rififi".] Julio switched daggers, the case was replaced. Was there an unexpected event? Do birds really fly around at night in Turkey?
Of course justice triumphed in the end, as it should. Will this gang plan another caper? This film was adapted from Eric Ambler's novel "The Light of Day". The 1964 film "From Russia With Love" was also set in Turkey. Which was better? The script or the actors? This film can't decide whether it is a comedy or an action film and does neither right. It does provide a tutorial on undercover activities.
Movie Review: Not funny
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this movie hoping to be entertained mostly by Ustinov's brand of humor, but I didn't laugh once throughout. The plot ain't actually bad, but this one might have been better off as full-on suspense, instead of the 60'ss-tinged whimsical adventure it's oriented as. Melina Mercouri plays the lecherous old bag well enough, but I would have preferred someone a little more pleasant to look at. I can't imagine wanting to view it again.