Rating: 
Summary: THE RETURN OF THE BAD BLOND NAZIS , PART ONE : THE CHILDREN
Review: Poor John Frankenheimer ! Forced to defend a movie he has obviously directed to pay his taxes. Allright, at that time (1985), few directors have resisted the Cannon Group pressure. This company hired well-known directors, screenwriters and actors and produced a lot of bad (when I say bad, I'm still nice) movies.Now, we have a Robert Ludlum novel about a nazi conspiracy, a good actor, Michael Caine, two or three old public favorites, Lilly Palmer and Mario Adorf and an action movies director : John Frankenheimer. Result : great cinematography but a marmalade thriller which will not be the highlight of Frankenheimer's filmography. Too bad MGM chooses to present this movie because sound and image are first rate. Berlin and Lake of Geneva's country are well photographed and the first five minutes of the movie, shot in black and white, are the only reason why I don't give a 1 to THE HOLCROFT COVENANT. An unnecessary DVD.
Rating:
Summary: My copy of the DVD was defective,
Review: The DVD lacked some chunks of the movie. There was no viewer menu, no ability to navigate the scenes. As for the show, it was pretty good. For some reason, however, the bad guys had to prove they were evil by engaging in incest. I guess Hollywood couldn't expect an audience to understand killing for money as a bad thing. The plot is somewhat corny and ripe for satire, but the movie has good production values. Michael Caine plays his role perfectly, of course.
Rating: 
Summary: Stank
Review: The Holcraft Covenant is nothing more than your average 80's thriller that has the benefit of having a top-notch leading man and director attached. The picture looks excellent and there is just enough intrigue added to the film's premise to keep the viewer on board the whole way. Frankenheimer displays his trademark visual flair without going over the top(as many were guilty of at the time). The one thing that really detracts from the film is it's obviously low budget and irritating synth score. It is an overall average adaptation of a fairly decent Ludlum thriller that is worth picking up only for the excellent picture quality and commentary by the director. It is a delight to hear Frankenheimer discuss one of the film's most exciting scenes being filmed and constructed around of the absence of a leading man! For Fans of the star and director only.
Rating:
Summary: For Caine and Frankenheimer fans ONLY
Review: The Holcraft Covenant is nothing more than your average 80's thriller that has the benefit of having a top-notch leading man and director attached. The picture looks excellent and there is just enough intrigue added to the film's premise to keep the viewer on board the whole way. Frankenheimer displays his trademark visual flair without going over the top(as many were guilty of at the time). The one thing that really detracts from the film is it's obviously low budget and irritating synth score. It is an overall average adaptation of a fairly decent Ludlum thriller that is worth picking up only for the excellent picture quality and commentary by the director. It is a delight to hear Frankenheimer discuss one of the film's most exciting scenes being filmed and constructed around of the absence of a leading man! For Fans of the star and director only.
Rating:
Summary: Stank
Review: This film was one confusing blob of a mess. One of the worst films I've ever seen. It made me never want to read a Ludlum novel, since that's what it was based on. When I heard an audiotape of Ludlum's memoirs, and he said how he LIKED this film, it REALLY made me never want to read one of his books. Even Michael Caine in his autobiography says that when he got on the set, he read the script more closely, only then to realize it didn't make any sense. But he was stuck, and had to film the darn thing.
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