Top Secret! [Blu-ray]

Director: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker David Zucker

Overview

The second of Zucker-Abraham-Zucker's theatrical-feature spoofs (Airplane was the first, discounting the patchwork Kentucky Fried Movie), Top Secret! lampoons practically every film genre. Specifically, however, this is a hybrid of an "Elvis" movie and a World War II "underground resistance" thriller. In his film debut, Val Kilmer plays Nick Rivers, a Presley-like American rock idol sent behind the Iron Curtain on a goodwill tour. Before long, he is involved in a complex espionage scheme thanks to beautiful Lucy Gutteridge, the daughter of a scientist (Michael Gough) held captive by the Communists. Also essential to the action is flamboyant resistance leader Christopher Villiers, who behaves like Victor Mature in Betrayed (1954) and talks like James Mason. Adhering to Z-A-Z's cheerful disregard for people, places and events, the East Germans are depicted as Nazis, while the Underground is comprised of Frenchmen. The plot is mainly an excuse for the Z-A-Z team's fondness for joke-a-minute lampoonery, skewering cinematic targets ranging from The Blue Lagoon (1980) to The Wizard of Oz (1939). As in Z-A-Z's other efforts, Top Secret! scores its biggest yocks when invoking cliches that we never realized were cliches-and falls on its face whenever attempting a too-obvious gag (the biggest clinker: that pigeon statue in the park). Everyone has his or her favorite bits in this film: our faves include the resistance fighter named Deja Vu ("Haven't we met somewhere before?"), Kilmer's horrible nightmare while being tortured (he arrives too late to take final exams), the army-booted cow, the sensitive Pinto, and the East German National Anthem, sung to the tune of the Shorewood (Wisconsin) High School marching song. But let's say no more: comedy of this nature is designed to be seen, not written or read about.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/17/2022
UPC:	0191329219942
Original Release:	1984
Rating:	PG
Source:	Paramount
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	4,858

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Val Kilmer	Nick Rivers
Lucy Gutteridge	Hillary Flammond
Peter Cushing	Bookstore Proprietor
Jeremy Kemp	General Streck
Christopher Villiers	Nigel
Warren Clarke	Colonel von Horst
Harry Ditson	Du Quois
Jim Carter	Déjà Vu
Eddie Tagoe	Chocolate Mousse
Omar Sharif	Agent Cedric
Tristram Jellinek	Major Crumpler
Billy J. Mitchell	Martin, Nick's Manager
Ian McNeice	Blind Souvenir Vendor
Michael Gough	Dr. Paul Flammond
Gertan Klauber	East German Mayor
Dimitri Andreas	Latrine
John J. Carney	Klaus
Marcus Powell	Little German,Underwater Barkeeper
Major Wiley	Porter
Richard Mayes	Biletnikov
Vyvyan Lorrayne	Madam Bergerone
Louise Yaffe	Cafe Diner
Charlotte Zucker	Cafe Diner,Chef
Susan Breslau	Cafe Diner
Michael Burlington	Waiter
Richard Pescud	Priest
Orla Pederson	Bruno
Russell Sommers	Student
Sara Montague	Crying Girl
Gerry Paris	Back-up Singer
Geoff Wayne	Back-up Singer
Steve Ubels	German Soldier
Chas Bryer	German Soldier
Mac McDonald	German Soldier
Mandy Nunn	Young Hilary
Lee Sheward	Young Nigel
Janos Kurucz	Wagon Driver
Sydney Arnold	Albert Potato
Nicola Wright	Der Pizzahaus Girl
Lisa Gruenberg	Der Pizzahaus Girl
Andrew Hawkins	Pilot
Richard Bonehill	Scarecrow
Daisy the Cow	Herself
Nancy Abrahams	Pregnant Woman
David Adams	Back-Up Singer
Maurice Jarre	Composer

Technical Credits

David Zucker

Jim Abrahams

Martyn Burke

David Zucker	Director,Director,Screenwriter,Screenwriter,Executive Producer,Executive Producer,Producer
Jim Abrahams	Director,Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Martyn Burke	Screenwriter
Hunt Lowry	Producer
Jon Davison	Producer
Susan Arnold	Casting
Frederick Zollo	Producer
Lucy Boulting	Casting
Mary Selway	Casting
Derek Ball	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

While critically less admired than Airplane! (1980), Top Secret! (1984) nonetheless proved a successful follow-up for the team of Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and David Zucker. As with the previous movie, the directors continued to develop a new kind of comedy for the '80s. Top Secret!'s zaniness owed more to a Marx Brothers' classic like Monkey Business (1931) or a free-for-all like Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974) than its contemporaries, leaving aside such niceties as plot resolutions and character development. While some reviewers complained about the nonexistence of the plot, Roger Ebert pointed out that "One does not attend movies like Top Secret! in order to follow the story line." Critics enjoyed Val Kilmer's unlikely -- in retrospect -- acting debut. Playing an outdated hero with aplomb, he is aptly matched by the deadpan innocence of Shakespearian actor Lucy Gutteridge. The Zuckers and Abrahams would continue to explore anarchic comedy in later films like The Naked Gun (1988) and Hot Shots! (1991).