maninasuitcase
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by maninasuitcase on May 30, 2016 10:47:16 GMT
The Wrong Box (1966)
Filmed in 1965, this superb black comedy farce is a real gem of a movie. Along with Michael we get Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Ralph Richardson, John Mills, John Le Mesurier and Irene Handl.
The plot (from Wiki): Elderly brothers Masterman (Mills) and Joseph Finsbury (Richardson) are the surviving members of a tontine, an investment scheme set up many years before, in which the last member stands to receive a fortune. Masterman is attended by his medical student grandson, Michael (Caine), while his greedy cousins Morris (Cook) and John (Moore) do their best to keep their annoying uncle Joseph alive.
This film is really stolen by an incredibly funny appreance by Peter Sellers as a cat loving dodgy doctor who will do anything for money. The bit where he has to use "a blotter" on some ink is very amusing.
Caine, Richardson, Mills, Hancock, Cook and Moore are all excellent in this farce well directed by Bryan Forbes. You even get a John Barry score.
This was Hancock's last appearance in a movie. He does a good turn as the hopeless police inspector. But Sellers is the star of this movie even though he is not in it for very long.
Loved it.
9/10
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magnumpi
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by magnumpi on May 31, 2016 7:17:50 GMT
Film: Dressed to Kill
What's It All About?
When Liz Blake (Nancy Allen), a prostitute, sees a mysterious woman brutally slay homemaker Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson), she finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police think Liz is the murderer, the real killer wants to silence the crime's only witness. Only Kate's inventor son, Peter (Keith Gordon), believes Liz. Peter and Liz team up to find the real culprit, who has an unexpected means of hiding her identity and an even more surprising motivation to kill.
This is a great film, scary in places, erotic in others and all with a Hitchcock vibe throughout. Caine has an important role in the film and it is one to watch if you haven't seen it already. Angie Dickinson is, as usual, very hot in this film!
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maninasuitcase
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jun 3, 2016 15:19:22 GMT
Just to illustrate how bad the UK print of 'The Holcroft Covenant' is I will do a couple of comparisons with the Region 1 MGM DVD. The UK DVD comes from a bunch of cowboys called Pegasus Entertainment.  Above the Pegasus DVD!  Above is the MGM DVD!  Pegasus.  MGM. The Pegatuss release is clearly sourced from a very ropey VHS copy. No wonder an Amazon reviewer described this as the worst quality DVD he had ever seen.
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Post by ltd on Jun 3, 2016 15:34:12 GMT
I'm going to nominate Harry Brown from a few years back. Caine and the Daily Mail seemed to think it was a film full of serious social comment. It isn't. It's the story of a grumpy old s*d going around wasting chavs, druggies and other low life who are making life hell on the housing estate where he lives i.e. a reactionary vigilante film, and a perfectly good one but let's not kid ourselves it's got anything significant to say. Caine's performance makes it better than it would otherwise have been. The "You Failed to Maintain Your Weapon" scene with Sean Harris is great.
I think there's also a nod to Get Carter when he says, "Now. Tell me what happened with Leonard". As I remember he says something similar to Ian Hendry just before smashing his head in.
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magnumpi
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by magnumpi on Jun 3, 2016 17:52:10 GMT
Just to illustrate how bad the UK print of 'The Holcroft Covenant' is I will do a couple of comparisons with the Region 1 MGM DVD. The UK DVD comes from a bunch of cowboys called Pegasus Entertainment.  Above the Pegasus DVD!  Above is the MGM DVD!  Pegasus.  MGM. The Pegatuss release is clearly sourced from a very ropey VHS copy. No wonder an Amazon reviewer described this as the worst quality DVD he had ever seen. Good screen shots there. Yes they certainly just shoved out a rubbish copy. The picture quality of the film should not be as bad as the actual film! There is a Blu Ray out now with very good picture quality.
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maninasuitcase
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jun 3, 2016 17:59:47 GMT
I have just slung the Pegatuss DVD in the bin and replaced that in the CFA with the MGM version.
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magnumpi
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by magnumpi on Jun 3, 2016 18:46:47 GMT
As Michael Caine was drinking quite heavily during this period if you ask him if he remembers the film his cloudy mind would probably only remember it in Pegatuss picture quality!
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maninasuitcase
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jun 4, 2016 8:58:20 GMT
The Holcroft Covenant (1985)
Filmed in 1984 with James Caan originally cast as the hero Noel Holcroft. Caan walked off set the day before production began in July 1984. Caine was a last minute replacement for esteemed director John Frankenheimer.
The plot? Three leading Nazis leave billions of dollars in a trust fund at the end of WWII. Now, 30 years on Holcroft (son of one of those three Nazis) has been entrusted with the money but there are a bunch of neo Nazis after the money........
Caine clearly wasn't interested in this role as he sleepwalks through the movie. He just looks and sounds as though he can't be bothered. The rest of the cast: Lilli (The Zoo Gang) Palmer plays Mike's Mum, Bernard Hepton is a shady MI5 officer, Victoria Tennant plays the daughter of another of the Nazis and Anthony Andrews is her brother. I thought Andrews wasn't particularly well cast either.
The film was mostly shot in Germany with London as its secondary location. The production values are quite high and the Region 1 DVD makes it look rather resplendent.
I hadn't seen this film for 30 years and my views haven't changed. The first two thirds of the film are good but the ending is quite silly and sloppily done.
Not a complete failure and worth checking out. A lot of plot twists!
6/10
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Post by ace5150 on Jun 4, 2016 9:25:15 GMT
I'm going to nominate Harry Brown from a few years back. Caine and the Daily Mail seemed to think it was a film full of serious social comment. It isn't. It's the story of a grumpy old s*d going around wasting chavs, druggies and other low life who are making life hell on the housing estate where he lives i.e. a reactionary vigilante film, and a perfectly good one but let's not kid ourselves it's got anything significant to say. Caine's performance makes it better than it would otherwise have been. The "You Failed to Maintain Your Weapon" scene with Sean Harris is great. I think there's also a nod to Get Carter when he says, "Now. Tell me what happened with Leonard". As I remember he says something similar to Ian Hendry just before smashing his head in. I fully agree, always had it as an OAP Death Wish, never saw it as a social comment with the decline of Britain. That said, it's a great film. Plan B aka Ben Drew is particularly nasty throughout. Went on to play George Carter in the much ridiculed Sweeney film a few years back.
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maninasuitcase
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jun 4, 2016 9:27:26 GMT
'Harry Brown' is a really, really good Mike movie. Proves there is life in the old dog yet.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Jun 4, 2016 13:29:02 GMT
I thoroughly enjoyed Harry Brown. Didn't care for it on the first viewing but it rapidly grew on me. But that was the technical aspects which irritated me not the content.
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maninasuitcase
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jun 5, 2016 9:07:31 GMT
The Island (1980)Based on the Peter "Jaws" Benchley novel this really is a quite ludicrous tale of a group of old style pirates still on the loose in the Caribbean. You know the type, a yo ho ho and a bottle of rum brigade.  You really do expect to see a one legged pirate with a parrot on his shoulder appear at any time.  Instead the buccaneering bunch are all played by British character actors hamming it up for our Queen and country. You get David Warner, Colin Jeavons (who looks a right prat in his Compo wellies  ), Dudley Sutton and Don "Bulman" Henderson as the nasty brigade. The plot? Caine and his young son go to investigate all the mysterious disappearances of ships in the Caribbean but end up getting captured by the pirates on their mysterious island....... This is a very violent movie and one I hadn't seen since 1983. I saw this on ITV would have been heavily cut for violence and bad language. The source novel is not great and the film was off to a bad start by, IIRC, sticking close to it. Stanton, of this parish, will be quite impressed by the gore factor being quite high! The good? Nice score by Ennio Morricone, lovely photography of the beautiful island (although the day for night shots are awful) and it does move along at a fair pace. The bad? The story is so far fetched, I was patiently waiting for a crocodile who swallowed an alarm clock to turn up.  The acting is so hammy you expected to see less on a fat pig on a spit roast.  Caine is OK in this, I think he was miles better than his soporific turn in 'The Holcroft Covenant. The ugly? Don Henderson, Dudley Sutton and Colin Jeavons. 5/10
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magnumpi
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by magnumpi on Jun 5, 2016 10:03:55 GMT
Agreed, the island is a film you want to be much better then it is. I always watch it when it is on and always abandon it half way through
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Post by felixdeburgh on Jun 5, 2016 13:54:55 GMT
Re. Pegasus - I'm sure I've got one of their b&w releases which has their logo in the top left corner throughout the film - obviously to disguise the name of the satellite channel they recorded it from off the TV.
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Post by dscarter1975 on Jun 5, 2016 16:35:24 GMT
The only thing I liked about The Island was the climax which was rather similar to a Rambo film and the final rescue attempt.
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Post by Lee on Jun 5, 2016 19:09:16 GMT
Just watching Escape To Victory complete with Michael Caine 'blow the bl*ody doors off' accent. I do like him I admit,but I watched a Channel 4 documentary where he was trying to teach kids how to act and I laughed my socks off.He can cry on tap.Hahaha.
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Post by ltd on Jun 5, 2016 19:25:40 GMT
I've already waxed lyrical about The Island on page 1 and have nothing to add, except you're all wrong and need to be made to watch it over and over again until you appreciate its sublime brilliance, either that or you can walk the plank. Arr!
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Post by jno on Jun 7, 2016 19:44:34 GMT
No mention of this on here - love this tune:
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maninasuitcase
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jun 8, 2016 10:24:02 GMT
'Gambit' 1966A caper movie also starring Shirley Maclaine. This is a really good Mike movie with wonderful on screen chemistry with Miss MacLaine. The plot? Caine and his male sidekick plan to rob Herbert Lom's character of some of a priceless antique he owns. To do that they get Shirley involved as she is the spitting image of Lom's deceased wife. As in all those movies the plan doesn't quite go as it should....... The film was entirely made in Hollywood but the fictional Middle Eastern city of Dammuz is convincingly created. You can see on the interior scenes that there is a painted backdrop but it looks pretty darn good. Herbert Lom, sporting a Jim Kirklace widow's peak toupee  , is very good as the rich man that Caine targets as someone they can steal from. Lom rarely gives a bad performance and he is as good as any in this light romantic comedy. A very enjoyable way to spend an evening or afternoon. 9/10
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maninasuitcase
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jun 10, 2016 8:39:51 GMT
Deadfall (1968)
Another Mike film made with Bryan Forbes and Nanette Newman but sadly this is no 'The Wrong Box'. After viewing the superb 'The Wrong Box' I had high hopes for this film shot mainly on Mallorca but it was a bit of a let down to be honest.
Mike plays a cat burglar who gets involved with Eric Portman's character and his beautiful younger wife. They plan a robbery. This is no caper movie like the brilliant 'Gambit'. It is a melodrama with a controversial (for its day) homosexual relationship between Portman and his "young male friend". The storyline was written by Forbes and I just think he should have concentrated on a bit more action and less on the not very likeable characters who you don't really care about.
The cast? Caine and Portman are good despite the rather dull lines they have to say. Leonard Rossiter, Vladek Sheybal and David Buck all make brief appearances. I am really not sure why Nanette Newman bothered to turn up as her part was so brief.
John Barry (who appears in a very boring cameo as the orchestra conductor) does a superb job with the film's score. There are definitely touches of James Bond in it.
It is not a bad movie but over long at 98 minutes and well outstays its welcome.
6/10
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Post by ace5150 on Jun 10, 2016 17:41:41 GMT
Try these out.
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Post by ace5150 on Jun 10, 2016 17:42:48 GMT
There's a few others, but you get the idea.
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Post by jno on Jun 16, 2016 3:10:02 GMT
I have just slung the Pegatuss DVD in the bin and replaced that in the CFA with the MGM version. Well done for posting the differences here mias. Pegasus clearly just looking to make a quick earner putting that print on the market. ace5150: had completely forgotten about Harry Enfield taking the wotsit with this character.
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Post by ltd on Jun 16, 2016 5:42:49 GMT
There's a few others, but you get the idea. Probably my favourite sketches from that series. I read somewhere that him looking out of the upstairs window is a nod a scene in the Ipcress File.
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Post by KarinB on Jun 16, 2016 10:25:45 GMT
A lot of kids won't know Caine's good acting performances, many of which were early in his career. My son noticed Caine in a film on tv and promptly said "That's Alfred from Batman Begins !" (I've since educated him with 'The Italian Job').
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magnumpi
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by magnumpi on Jun 16, 2016 12:55:54 GMT
Just seen this nice picture from The Italian Job of Michael with Valerie Leon. Would be a good one to get signed by the both of them. Valerie was without a doubt one of the hottest models/actresses in the 1960s. If I had a time machine I would head back then and knock on her door. Now there is a real woman!
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magnumpi
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by magnumpi on Jun 19, 2016 22:05:50 GMT
Currently enjoying the much under-rated Without a Clue
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maninasuitcase
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jun 20, 2016 5:48:57 GMT
I've seen a few Mike movies of late, I must post my thoughts!
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maninasuitcase
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jun 25, 2016 12:05:53 GMT
1964 Zulu 1965 The Ipcress File 1966 Alfie 1966 The Wrong Box 1966 Gambit 1966 Funeral in Berlin 1967 Hurry Sundown 1967 Billion Dollar Brain 1968 Deadfall 1968 The Magus 1969 The Italian Job 1969 Play Dirty 1969 Battle of Britain 1970 Too Late the Hero 1970 The Last Valley 1971 Get Carter 1971 Kidnapped 1972 Zee and Co. 1972 Pulp 1972 Sleuth 1974 The Black Windmill 1974 The Marseille Contract 1975 The Wilby Conspiracy 1975 The Romantic Englishwoman 1975 The Man Who Would Be King 1976 Peeper 1976 Harry and Walter Go to New York 1976 The Eagle Has Landed 1977 A Bridge Too Far 1978 Silver Bears 1978 The Swarm 1978 California Suite 1979 Ashanti 1979 Beyond the Poseidon Adventure 1980 Dressed to Kill 1980 The Island 1981 The Hand 1981 Escape to Victory 1982 Deathtrap 1983 Educating Rita 1983 The Honorary Consul 1983 The Jigsaw Man 1984 Blame It on Rio 1985 Water 1985 The Holcroft Covenant 1986 Hannah and Her Sisters 1986 Sweet Liberty 1986 Mona Lisa 1986 Half Moon Street 1986 The Whistle Blower 1987 The Fourth Protocol 1987 Jaws: The Revenge 1987 Surrender 1988 Without a Clue 1988 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 1990 A Shock to the System 1990 Mr. Destiny 1990 Bullseye 1992 Noises Off 1992 Blue Ice 1992 The Muppet Christmas Carol 1994 On Deadly Ground 1994 Then There Were Giants 1995 Bullet to Beijing 1996 Blood and Wine 1996 Midnight in Saint Petersburg 1998 Shadow Run 1998 Curtain Call 1998 Little Voice 1999 The Cider House Rules 2000 Quills 2000 Shiner 2000 Get Carter 2000 Miss Congeniality 2001 Last Orders 2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember 2002 The Quiet American 2003 Quicksand 2003 The Actors 2003 Secondhand Lions 2003 The Statement 2004 Around the Bend 2005 Batman Begins 2005 Bewitched 2005 The Weather Man 2006 Children of Men 2006 The Prestige 2007 Flawless 2007 Sleuth 2008 The Dark Knight 2008 Is Anybody There? 2009 Harry Brown 2010 Inception
Stanton and I have been busy adding to our Mike DVD list however those not emboldened we still need. If you have a DVD of any of those films can you please PM me?
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magnumpi
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by magnumpi on Jan 23, 2017 21:39:39 GMT
The Holcroft Covernant is on TNT right now (repeated at 10pm on TNT +1+). It appears to be the MGM print they have, screen quality is good.
Have to say, I'm actually enjoying it. Caine is good, the story is shaky at best but it's good fun. I like the soundtrack too.
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