Funeral in Berlin

"The Ipcress File" introduced us to Harry Palmer, the anti-James Bond. This movie is even better than the first. Both are based on novels by Len Deighton, who rivals John LeCarre as the most sophisticated thoughtful spy novelists. Michael Caine's Palmer has a cockney accent, avoids fights, can't afford the finer things in life, has no fancy cars or technological gimmicks. What he has is the brain to figure who's triple crossing all the double crossers in Cold War Berlin's espionage underground. It helps that all the other characters underestimate him. This movie is sharp, intelligent, and unsentimental. It ranks with the very best spy movies ever made. Outstanding.

In my second Harry Palmer film of the weekend, "Funeral in Berlin" (1966), Michael Caine, as Cockney thief turned secret agent Palmer, is given the mission of smuggling a Russian defector (Oscar Homolka, playing Colonel Stok) out of East Berlin. Guy Doleman appears again as Harry's obnoxious boss, and once in Berlin, Harry is aided by an old wartime friend, Vulkan (Paul Hubschmid, who you might better know as Paul Christian, star of "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms"). Palmer also gets involved with an Israeli secret agent in this film, played by the beautiful Eva Renzi, who, in real life, was Paul Hubschmid's wife. As might be expected, the smuggling of Col. Stok does not go quite as planned, and once again, plot complications ensue to the point that the viewer can just barely keep up with all the double crosses and secret agendas of all the players. And yet again, the ties to the Bond franchise are there, what with Harry Saltzman's production, Guy "Goldfinger" Hamilton's direction, and Ken Adam's sets. In all, a highly pleasing affair, with fascinating background scenery of the dreary Berlin environs, but only if you are willing to really pay attention and keep up!

Funeral in Berlin, in my view, remains the best of the 3 Harry palmer films. Dispensing with the mandatory 60's 'brainwashing'and over-played 'spy' sequences of the Ipcress file. Funeral in Berlin benefits greatly from being shot on location, adding to the authenticity and nervy cold war tension of the original novel. (Actually at least 2 other sub-plots are ditched to save on running time & viewer brain fatigue)The plot, although condensed, remains coherent and totally logical. For anyone wanting explosions, car chases and all the other dreary staples of the 'spy thriller' - forget it. Harry Palmer travels to see his boss on a bus and only receives a gun (at his request) over half way through the film! Watch it for atmosphere, razor-sharp dialogue and a great in-joke regarding Lownbrau beer... Michael Caine is at his world-weary best and supported by a fine cast, all adding to arguably the most 'authentic' spy film of the 60's. as for Billion dollar brain- Have you ever seen it? Listen to the theme tune & turn off!!

I picked up this movie from one of the remote corners of the DVD shop. What attracted me was the picture of Caine stooping against a wall. Even after buying it, I kept the box unopened in my table for a couple of weeks. Suddenlt, yesterday it was raining, and I decided to see it. I was blown away! From the first escape sequence, I was taken back to the days of the cold war, to the rivalry, the brutal undercover violence, and all in the backdrop of post WWII Europe. The scenes are so good, the dialogs perfect. Caine is sublime as the British agent. The surprises in the movie have been delivered with an artists's touch. I wonder why we no longer make movies like this. A wonder too, how they were able to make movies like this without all the gadgets and technology that we have today. Maybe because they didn't, they could. It is a very enjoyable movie, almost making you wish the cold war wasn't over. . . .

Taking Harry Palmer to cold-war Berlin, 'Funeral In Berlin (1966)' sees its hero tasked with handling the defection of a Russian general. Of course things don't go exactly to plan. The plot includes all manner of codenames, back-stabbings and stiff upper lips. It gets very complicated very quickly and it's honesty hard to keep track of. More often than not, you're at the mercy of the narrative. That isn't always a bad thing and it does lead to a few surprises, but it also prevents you from being as attached to proceedings as you perhaps could have been. It's a rather cold affair, overall; it isn't emotionally affecting. It is typically an enjoyable experience, though. It's not quite as good as its predecessor, but it's a solid spy movie nevertheless. 6/10