Rating: Summary: Please release this movie in DVD format Review: One of the most delightful films ever made. Pure entertainment. It's easy to get lost in Matthau's world of intrigue. It's a true shame we can't get this on DVD.
Rating: Summary: "I don't remember you being so short Myerson...." Review: This is one of Walter Matthau's best movies. And as with all of his movies there is a great background musical score. They picked just the right actor for each character. I was impressed when he asked the man behind the counter if he knew German (not if he spoke German). Talk about nepotism David Matthau plays Ross and someone needs their eyes checked in the credits. The seaplane pilot was defiantly female (suppose to be his doughtier-in-law) Walter Matthau plays a top CIA agent who's being confined by office politics (Myerson) to a desk job for not taking out the Russian agent Yaskov played by Herbert Lom. The disgruntled Matthau quits the service and heads to Austria, where he links up with former lover (a fellow ex-agent) Glenda Jackson. All goes smoothly until Matthau acts on the advice of Yaskov, who suggests that Matthau, his memoirs (his life in the CIA.) Spitefully, Matthau sends out copies of his first chapter to the heads of the spy agencies throughout the world--and from that point on, he and Jackson don't have a moment's peace. This delights Matthau: now that all of his former colleagues are chasing after him, he has a reason to get up in the morning. As written by Brian Garfield, Hopscotch was a conventionally serious espionage novel. As adapted for the big screen by Garfield and Bryan Forbes, Hopscotch is a lively exercise in cloak-and-dagger comedy, even when the pursuit of Matthau turns surprising towards the end. There were several different angle takes and depending on your copy you may see Sam Waterston's face when he is standing on the cliff. Other versions show his shadow only.
Rating: Summary: What a shame! Review: This is one of Matthau's best works, intelligent and hilarious, with outstanding performances by a number of actors who have since become household names. What a shame that the publishers have not seen fit to re-release this film on VHS or DVD, and those of us who would love to own a copy are at the mercy of scoundrels attempting to sell a previously rented copy with a ripped box for $75!!! If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this movie for $20, please let me know.
Rating: Summary: Funniest ,most cynical spy film Review: This is one of the funniest anti-spy films ever made. The combination of wry wit and twists of circumstances make this amust see for action and comedy viewing.
Rating: Summary: Matthau and Mozart Opera Review: The other reviews omit that the CIA character that Matthau plays is a Mozart opera fan who hums and sings or plays selections of arias from Mozarts' operas.
Rating: Summary: HOP Review Review: This is an excellent movie starring Walter Matthau at his very best. The movie is relatively fast moving and intriguing with some strange twists which keeps your attention. It never grows old.
Rating: Summary: one of the best comedies of all time Review: When our Beta machine died, we wept bitter tears because our only copy of Hopscotch was a Beta one. Considering how many dull, barely-worth-watching-once movies appear in DVD; it's a crime that this wonderfully intelligent & amusing film isn't even available in VHS.
Rating: Summary: I love this movie! Review: Miles Kendig (played Walter Matthau) is a CIA agent who is used to doing things his way. When his new chief, the abusive and bombastic G.P. Myerson (Ned Beatty), decides to retire him behind a desk, Kendig decides that the CIA needs a house cleaning--and that his memoirs would make the perfect broom. Now Kendig is on the run from the Agency: sending out new chapters, playing hide-and-seek with old associates. It's all a game, a game of hopscotch, and Kendig needs to keep one step ahead. Will he succeed? [Color, released in 1980, with a running time of 1 hour, 44 minutes.]I have loved this movie since it came out in 1980! It is just the perfect mix of adventure and humor. Humorous, but not a comedy movie--it's an adventure story with a sense of humor. And now for the bad news: to make his character more dislikable, Ned Beatty swears incessantly in this movie, which makes it a little much to watch in front of small children (I have two). That said, though, I do not know why this movie deserved its R rating. There is no nudity, and practically no violence. And I must add, the swearing is not too much for adult viewers; I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't break into uproarious laughter when Myerson angrily gives his opinion of what FBI stands for!
Rating: Summary: Hopscotch - Needs to be DVD Review: Fantastic music, wonderful acting from the profane Ned Beatty to the stoic Walter Matthau. A great peek inside a large beaurocratic organization (the CIA, but it applies to many). Because of the music and the scenery, this movie is begging to be re-released on DVD. It's a crime that it's not already!
Rating: Summary: seven stars Review: This movie needs to come out on DVD. Pure and simple, people are fighting over copies onEbay. This is superb delicious fun. If you have ever had a total jerk of a boss like Meyerson you can live vicariously the hilarious humilation Miles Kendig (Matthau) achieves on his boss Meyerson (Ned Beatty) after getting shafted by him. It is revenge most sweet and you get no felony convictions watching it! This is true competence triumphing over the mindless bureaucratic lockstep. The comedy is really wonderful. Glenda Jackson is in this and she is great too. The movie is what twenty five years old and nearly everyone that has seen it still adores it. PUT IT OUT ON DVD. I list it among my top 25 movies.
|