Die schwarze Windmühle

An interesting spy thriller starring Michael Caine.

The film is interesting and well depicts the atmosphere and look of those years. The cinematography is excellent and here we have an authentic look from that time. The music is great and fits in perfectly with the atmosphere of the film.

The characters are interesting, and the story slowly builds and the atmosphere becomes more tense as the film progresses. The details are subtle and realistic and enhance the impression of the film.

Michael Caine is excellent in the role of a cold-blooded spy who tries to save his son.

An interesting film with a tense atmosphere.

In 1965, Caine created the role of Harry Palmer in the Ipcress File. It was good enough to spawn two follow-ups: Funeral in Berlin and the Billion Dollar Brain. By 1974, the movie-going public was used to seeing him in the role of a secret agent. Here he gets in trouble, and although you know that by the end of the film he will emerge victorious, or will he? I'm not telling. But the excruciating fun is in trying to figure our what will happen next. Filmed in Europe, Black Windmill" is directed by Don Siegel. Clint Eastwood credits Don for his success as a director, and, of course, Siegel also directed some of Clint's best movies. The pacing is even throughout and builds to a suspenseful climax. Let it not be overlooked that Donald Pleasence in a supporting role is at his usual best. The human chameleon that adapts beautifully to whatever role is given him. John Vernon is especially menacing. To me, seeing old movies a second or third time is like visiting with old friends. Everybody has their own "Casablanca" and "Shawshank Redemption." If you haven't seen this one yet, please do. It will become one of your "old friends" which I'm sure you will visit again and again.

I just bought and watched the new blu ray of this,and greatly enjoyed it.

I have seen this film before but only on late at night on tv when I was half asleep and the commercials and the pan and scan ruined it for me.

When I concentrated on watching it on wide screen and with interruptions it seems a much better film than its weak reputation.

Perhaps viewers expected more action from the director of Dirty Harry.

The action in the film is fine but it is smarter than just an action film.

So if you are spy or Caine fan or just like good acting seek this film out.

The film has lots of good actors in small parts and the script is good.

But the viewer has to stay alert to enjoy the film.

Now somebody tell me why the same director's Telefon is not on blu ray.

I've read several comments that point out the clumbsiness of the action editing in "The Black Windmill." I think what is being overlooked is that what we have been seeing for the past thirty years on tv and video has been a pan-and-scan version of a Panavision film. The action was designed for a widescreen and we've only been seeing half of it, sloppily panned-and-scanned, making it seem jumbled. I believe that the widescreen dvd release will prove me right.

Admittedly, in terms of Siegel action-drama quality,this flick falls in the middle ground between the great "Dirty Harry" and the so-so "Telefon." But even the low-budget Telefon is much more exciting in its original wide aspect ratio than in "full" screen.

Don Siegel will always be remembered as the man who gave us Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers and Dirty Harry, as well as being the mentor of Clint Eastwood when he was just starting out in the acting business. Here he tackles very atypical material with a low-key British spy thriller based on the book Seven Days To A Killing by Clive Eggleton. Although this is not really Siegel's kind of thing, he manages to coax sound performances from an impressive cast, and gets across a certain degree of excitement. From time to time the suspense slackens a little, but on the whole this is an engaging enough potboiler.

Major John Tarrant (Michael Caine) is a secret agent who is distraught to learn that his son has been kidnapped by a gang who want a batch of diamonds for his safe return. Tarrant's boss Cedric Harper (Donald Pleasance) has never got on well with Tarrant, and even goes so far as to suggest that maybe the kidnapping is an elaborate double-cross hatched by Tarrant himself in order to get hold of the diamonds. Supported by his wife Alex (Janet Suzman), Tarrant steals the diamonds needed for his son's safety, and attempts to elude his own colleagues plus the police long enough to secure the return of the young boy.

Critical opinion at the time seemed to be of the view that The Black Windmill was a bad film. Generous critics were kind enough to call it average. Perhaps everyone still had Siegel's extraordinarily good Dirty Harry fresh in their memories and were unable to accept that he couldn't always make films of that standard. The Black Windmill, while stilted and a touch dry in parts, is certainly not a full-scale dud. It has interesting plot twists, good acting (always good to see John Vernon in any of his '70s villainous roles), intriguing character clashes, and a nice sense of genre. I'd rather have a low-key thriller like this than one of the modern spectacular-but-empty popcorn actioners. Try not to be influenced by the negative buzz.... give The Black Windmill a try. It's no classic, but it's better than you might expect.