Funeral in Berlin

Rating:
Summary: Way to go, Harry.
Review: A film as visually and narratively downbeat as the ethically murky moral world of espionage it portrays. The good guys are cynical compromisers, the idealistic are chilling murderers, the charming are totalitarian stooges, the hero's struggling moral awareness is totally impotent. Berlin has never looked grimmer; action and morality are as enervatingly obscure as the most disenchanted film noir.

The Harry Palmer series is usually seen as the antithesis of James Bond, with his macho flash, gadget-driven action and cartoonish ideology. This is true to an extent. Harry does get beautiful women, but usually because they want to use him - in his crumpled mac, he is more of a seedy voyeur than a superspy. His line in quips is very mundane, his thick glasses and flat Cockney accent are hardly glamorous, and he has to walk or take lifts rather than drive a snazzy car.

However, there is a lack of plodding, le Carre-like detail, a lack of true moral neutrality (when one amiable character is revealed as a villain, he becomes more recognisably a Hollywood baddie) that suggests a cop out. Unlike the books of le Carre or the films of Melville, whose accumulation of seemingly pedantic or irrelevant details can lead to exciting narrative momentum, 'Funeral' is content to stay flat and gray. Which is admirable, but difficult to watch. Two good things, though - the Brecht/Weill pastiche score; and Harry's immortal line to his totty as she makes breakfast - 'You're useless in the kitchen; why don't you come back to bed?' (!)

Rating:
Summary: Gruelling to watch, but features at least one amazing quip.
Review: A film as visually and narratively downbeat as the ethically murky moral world of espionage it portrays. The good guys are cynical compromisers, the idealistic are chilling murderers, the charming are totalitarian stooges, the hero's struggling moral awareness is totally impotent. Berlin has never looked grimmer; action and morality are as enervatingly obscure as the most disenchanted film noir.

The Harry Palmer series is usually seen as the antithesis of James Bond, with his macho flash, gadget-driven action and cartoonish ideology. This is true to an extent. Harry does get beautiful women, but usually because they want to use him - in his crumpled mac, he is more of a seedy voyeur than a superspy. His line in quips is very mundane, his thick glasses and flat Cockney accent are hardly glamorous, and he has to walk or take lifts rather than drive a snazzy car.

However, there is a lack of plodding, le Carre-like detail, a lack of true moral neutrality (when one amiable character is revealed as a villain, he becomes more recognisably a Hollywood baddie) that suggests a cop out. Unlike the books of le Carre or the films of Melville, whose accumulation of seemingly pedantic or irrelevant details can lead to exciting narrative momentum, 'Funeral' is content to stay flat and gray. Which is admirable, but difficult to watch. Two good things, though - the Brecht/Weill pastiche score; and Harry's immortal line to his totty as she makes breakfast - 'You're useless in the kitchen; why don't you come back to bed?' (!)

Rating:
Summary: The Real Cold War
Review: I served as an army intelligence officer in Berlin and in West Germany during the Cold War. Whenever I'm feeling nostalgic and I want to time-travel back to the Cold War 1960's, I turn on Funeral In Berlin. The film has wonderful shots of the Berlin Wall and West Berlin during this time. Michael Caine's Harry Palmer is a mirror image of thousands of intelligence personnel who have had to battle incompetent bureacracy while still trying to accomplish the mission at hand. Watch this one!

Rating:
Summary: The Real Cold War
Review: If you have ever worked for a government bureaucracy and you keep up with history and current evets, this movie will bear out greater believeability than the more popular blockbuster spy movies. Got to be watching it for the story itself, though ( there are NO massive explosions, intense car chases, hot sex scenes, etc.)

Rating:
Summary: Good Spy Story
Review: If you have ever worked for a government bureaucracy and you keep up with history and current evets, this movie will bear out greater believeability than the more popular blockbuster spy movies. Got to be watching it for the story itself, though ( there are NO massive explosions, intense car chases, hot sex scenes, etc.)

Rating:
Summary: Specs,sex,and the Berlin Wall
Review: Len Deighton's working class spy Harry Palmer returns to DVD in the second installment of the series,"Funeral in Berlin".Palmer was created by Deighton as a sort of anti-Bond in a series of books with plots more coplicated than the wiring on a British sports car,Palmer was insolent,insubordinant,and only survived by his wits and intelligence,with nary a gadget in sight."Funeral in Berlin" was the second in the series,and most spy fans consider it the best of them,pretty much neck and neck with the outstanding "Ipcress File".The DVD looks pretty good,the picture and sound are certainly watchable considering the age of the movies,It's also nice to see the movies in their OAR,both movies used the widescreen format pretty creatively,and suffered from being "panned and scanned".Unfortuneatly,"Funeral" doesn't have the excellent extra's "Ipcress" did,the only extra is the trailer.Still,it's an entertaining DVD,both Michael Caine(Palmer) and Oscar Homolka(Col Strok) give great performances,and Eva Renzi is certainly easy on the eyes.The great Guy Doleman returns from "Ipcress",albeit n a smaller role.It would be hard to discuss the plot without giving too much,but suffice to say,in Harry Palmer's world,nothing goes as planned,and nothing is as it seems.The film also does a nice job of portraying Berlin when it was still fragmented by the wall.All in all,viewer's looking for a cerebral spy thriller with no explosions and gunfights will enjoy Deighton's byzantine plot.Mention should also be made again of Oscar Holmoka's amazing performance,it's really worth the price of the DVD alone.You just don't see faces like that in movies(well,maybe on "The Soprano's").An although Caine became something of a joke in the 70's and 80's,he always made a good Harry Palmer.

Rating:
Summary: Quirky Cold War thriller
Review: Michael Caine's second outing as "cool-head" but decidedly un-superspy Harry Palmer is a good deal. The story has ex-black marketeer Palmer...the reluctant con man/secret agent of the classic IPCRESS FILE...transferred from MI-5 to MI-6 provenance to arrange transport (via a FUNERAL IN BERLIN) of a potentially valuable KGB defector. Oskar Homolka is excellent as Colonel Stok the pricey, disillusioned Russian prize who wants to retire in "merry old England". Guy Doleman reprises his role as the smug, drolly humorous Intelligence Services Director, Colonel Ross. The plot of the film...convoluted, pseudo-labyrinthian...is ultimately predictable double-cross, ex-Nazi bad guy stuff. But it is fun watching Caine/Palmer going through his moves being hounded by Ross and baited by Stok. IPCRESS FILE was a suspenseful spy thriller involving a National Security threat where Palmer was ruthlessly used by high level Players in the British Security Establishment to ferret-out and destroy a traitor. FUNERAL IN BERLIN is neither as ambitious or successful. It is a Michael Caine vehicle that entertains with the interesting character premise of an insolent, working-class soldier-spy who is "cool" but not...as all 007 fans observe...suave. The film is also a bit dated as a product of its time; but this is also its appeal as a quirky, Cold War thriller.

Rating:
Summary: Micheal Cain as the anti-Bond....
Review: Micheal is the crook who gets the lucky break from prison to work for British Intelligence. Unlike Bond, however they don't even give him a gun. All that's between him and those dodgy East German Agents is his quick wit, East London nonce and his love of cooking...." I'm going to cook you...the best meal...you've ever had" and if that doesn't get the ladies to bed, I don't Know what does.

Rating:
Summary: It's the Best of the Series
Review: Unlike the "Ipcress Files," which is almost a mockery of Len Deighton's original novel, "Funeral in Berlin" more accurately captures the atmosphere and characters of its written sources. The generous use of real locations rather than studio sets also gives this film an air of authenticity. It's a shame that ethically compromised anti-heroes like Harry Palmer have given way to pretty-boy moralizing idealogues like Governor Arnold. The world is a complicated place. We need more complicated role models like the characters of Len Deighton.

Rating:
Summary: Way to go, Harry.
Review: While not as good as The Ipcress File, Harry is still in fine form. FIB is clever, well acted and well written. Every character is interesting. Its much, much better than the spy movies they make now. If I had to find fault, its with the annoying and inappropriate soundtrack. Even Marvin Hamlisch would have trouble coming up with something this sappy and intrusive. Still, the movie is very entertaining. Very cool.