Banco à Las Vegas

The story of financing and putting together this movie is probably even more remarkable than the intricacies of Oscar-winning scriptwriter Peter Stone's adaptation of Paul Erdman's 1974 'financial thriller' which brings together a once-in-a-lifetime international cast under the direction of Czech emigre Ivan Passer (who died recently, and ten years earlier had been considered the equal of Milos Forman) on picturesque locations that look suspiciously as if they were selected for their tax status as much as their visual attractiveness.

This is an underrated gem, its a cracking film, good acting, stunning scenery, good music score, well directed and edited, and an excellent story.

This is supposed to be one of Michael Caine's lesser films, not as big as Zulu, the Harry Palmer trilogy or The Italian Job etc, but for me its just as good as those. It has a stellar cast, along with Caine is Louis Jordan, Joss Ackland, Martin Balsam, Cybill Shepherd, Stephane Audran, David Warner, Charles Gray, all excellent actors, even Jay Leno was Ok, even the supporting actors, all were good, so congratulations must go to the Director Ivan Passer for keeping them going as a team and with the pacing of the film. I wish more were made like this.

"Silver Bears" is a great little effort from Czech master, Ivan Passer. It's funny well acted and neatly done comedy caper, that wont let you go until the end. I don't know why it was so badly reviewed when it easily counts among the top 20 comedies of the 70's. Michael Caine is great as usual as Cockney mafioso who in order to make a buck for himself gets a green light from Italian mafioso to start a bank in Switzerland in order to launder some funds, but there's a catch. In fulfilling that mission, without getting himself a brand new pair of cement boots, Caine is greatly helped by Louis Jourdan as sleazy Prince Di Siracusa, and an odd couple of blockheads consisting of Jay Leno in his best role to date, apart from the "Tonight Show", and Tony Mascia as Marvin Skinner. Cybil Shepherd is always great as a decoration, and the movie slides along beautifully with turns on every corner. Passer later proved to be great as a director of many layers, showing his skills most notably in the "Cutter's Way", but here he does it strictly by the numbers. Great fun, catch it if you can, if you like comedies with style, you wont be disappointed.

Excellent movie that actually shows how the world of finance and banking works even today, and shows it with a touch of style and intelligent humor. Great cast, lovely story and for me, above all else, very simplified yet precise way of how things actually work in the finance world, even 30 years after the film was made (this is obviously thanks to Paul Erdman who wrote the novel in the first place). It is always interesting to see and recognize someone like Jay Leno in this movie and to actually see him act quite good. Michael Cain is great as always and Cybill is a nice addition as a pretty face. Definitely an easy going must watch movie that is quite intelligent and interesting beyond bombs, car chases and similar stuff..

This is easily one of top 100 favourite films, and having just watched it again last night I felt compelled to finally write a review on it.

The casting is wonderful, the acting is superb, the script is involved but very well thought out and so it makes for an intelligent film, the scenery and camera work are excellent, the dialogue is subtlety written, and the film has a wonderful ending. So what's not to like?

For me this is one of those rare films where scene after scene is memorable, and each for their own reasons. My favourite scene is probably the one where Caine confronts his boss by the pool: the respect the two have for each other is wonderfully portrayed and presented, and Caine's look up to the sky immediately following the encounter shows the stress he was feeling during the confrontation - beautifully written, acted and shot!!

Bad points? Honestly, there ain't many that this reviewer can find. I guess Shephard's character may seem over the top, but she would have charmed me every bit as much as she did Caine, and so his interest in her feels completely authentic.

Another issue for some viewers may be the subtle dialogue and involved plot, but that's always going to be an issue with an intelligent film.

So why would I not give this film a 10 like I would Ben Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, My Fair Lady, Charade, Lord of the Rings, or other classic masterpieces? Because those films all have some magic in them, and that's the one thing that Silver Bears lacks. It is superb in almost every way, but it lacks magic.

To sum up, I regard Silver Bears as a highly underrated film, and if you appreciate great acting and intelligent plots, I reckon you'll really enjoy it.