The Ipcress File [Blu-ray]

Overview

Len Deighton's creation, English spy Harry Palmer, is assigned to locate a missing scientist, and in the process unmasks a traitor within his own organisation. This was the first of a trilogy of spy movies intended as a more down-to-earth alternative to the Bond extravaganzas of the 60s.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/27/2020
UPC:	0738329250942
Original Release:	1965
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	1:49:00
Sales rank:	20,511

Special Features

Audio Commentary by Director Sidney J. Furie and Editor Peter Hunt; Audio Commentary by Film Historian Troy Howarth and Film Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer; Interview with Star Michael Caine; Interview with Production Design Ken Adam; Trailers from Hell with Howard Rodman; 4 Radio Spots; 2 theatrical trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Michael Caine	Harry Palmer
Nigel Green	Dalby
Guy Doleman	Maj. Ross
Sue Lloyd	Jean
Gordon Jackson	Jock Carswell
Aubrey Richards	Radcliffe
Frank Gatliff	Bluejay
Thomas Baptiste	Barney
Oliver MacGreevy	Housemartin
Freda Bamford	Alice
Pauline Winter	Charlady
Anthony Blackshaw	Edwards
Barry Raymond	Gray
David Glover	Chilcott-Oakes
Stanley Meadows	Inspector Keightley
Peter Ashmore	Sir Robert
Michael Murray	Raid Inspector
Anthony Baird	Raid Sergeant
Tony Caunter	ONI Man
Charles Rea	Taylor
Ric Hutton	Records Officer
Douglas Blackwell	Murray
Richard Burrell	Operator
Glynn Edwards	Police Station Sergeant
Zsolt Vadaszffy	Prison Doctor
Joseph Behrmann	Prison Guard
Max Faulkner	Prison Guard
Paul S. Chapman	Prison Guard
Otto Heller	Actor
Sidney J. Furie	Actor
Harry Saltzman	Actor
Maurice Askew	Actor
Ben Rayner	Actor
Nicholas Stevenson	Actor
Norman Wanstall	Actor
John Barry	Composer

Technical Credits

Bill Canaway

James Doran

Sidney J. Furie	Director
Harry Saltzman	Producer
Bill Canaway	Screenwriter
James Doran	Screenwriter
Ronald Kinnoch	Executive Producer
Charles Kasher	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

Advertised as "The Thinking Man's Goldfinger, The Ipcress File (1965) was widely considered one of the best Cold War spy films. Based on the novel of the same name by best-selling author Len Deighton, the film's plot was a ludicrous mishmash involving psychedelic brainwashing of the U.K.'s top scientists. Just as in the long-running series of James Bond spy thrillers, however, what set The Ipcress File apart were top-notch production values (particularly director Sidney J. Furie's magnificent use of the extreme widescreen properties of Techniscope) and a riveting central character. Michael Caine became an international movie star on the basis of three performances in only three years, in Zulu (1964), The Ipcress File (1965), and Alfie (1966). It's easy to see why Caine's portrayal of reluctant sleuth Harry Palmer so captivated audiences, as Caine played him with a reserved elegance that barely masked Palmer's lower-class Cockney roots and seething anti-authority attitude. The comparisons to Bond didn't end with the marketing of The Ipcress File. The film was brought to the screen by Bond co-producer Harry Saltzman, and many long-time Bond regulars did fine work on The Ipcress File, including composer John Barry and editor Peter Hunt, who cut the first three Bond features and eventually went on to direct On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The opening sequence of The Ipcress File was an extended, tongue-in-cheek reference to Bond, setting up Palmer as an anti- 007 "common man" who woke up alone, was nearly blind as a bat, and needed coffee to wake up in the morning. The Ipcress File was quickly followed by two sequels, Funeral in Berlin (1966) and Billion Dollar Brain (1967). Caine returned to play Palmer once again in 1995 with two made-for-American-television movies, Bullet to Beijing and Midnight in St. Petersburg.