Ipcress

The best thing about this film is the fascinating period atmosphere. When this film was made, 1965, Britain, and British filmmaking, was exactly on the cusp between the old, class ridden, Imperial culture of films like 'Zulu', and the gritty, modern, realist school that began with films like 'Get Carter'.

In '65 Britain had a Labour government after a long period of Conservative rule, and sweeping changes were about to happen which would utterly change the face of British life. 'Ipcress' bridges the gap between these two eras.

On the one hand we have the upper-middle class army officers lunching at their clubs and strolling along in bowler hats with tightly furled umbrellas, and at the other extreme we have the way-out psychedelia of the interrogation chamber scene, and the grimy world of offices, warehouses, and men jumping out of vans that defined the TV and films of the 70s such as 'The Sweeney'.

In the middle somewhere is Harry Palmer, who rather than being working class, is classless. He has no discernable accent, dresses plainly, likes cooking and classical music and lives in nondescript surroundings. It is only his military rank, that of sergeant, that enables us to make any kind of judgement on his social status.

I think this is part of the enduring appeal of the film. Although the Dalbys of this world are long gone, Palmer would not be out of place in 2003, in fact the Palmers of this world are now the norm in many positions of British authority.

Overall a fascinating period piece but one which has worn well.

Although conceived and produced by Harry Salzman and scored by John Barry, this is a film which deliberately positions itself miles away from the up until this time familiar James Bond espionage ethos. Palmer is a short sighted, class-ridden, form-signing petty criminal, co-opted into the spy service to avoid a year in jail. He lives in a bedsit and wakes up with an alarm call and not a stunning sexual conquest. Unlike Bond too, he operates in an environment which is recognisable and totally believable: big echoing offices ruled by "passed over Majors", where filling out forms is as important as tedious leg work and the idea of a Aston Martin as a company car would be ridiculous. The glamorous stereotypes of 007 have been replaced by the grinding, self effacing reality of the civil service, with its believable day to day grind. In short Ipcress has roots in the contemporary wave of 60's kitchen-sink drama, and not garish Bond fantasies.

This is a film taking a fresh look at what has passed for a spy film before. It's fitting then that a lot of the imagery revolves around sight and seeing. Palmer's glasses are an obvious symbol of imperfect vision (exemplified by a couple of 'blurred vision' special effects in the film). The camera in turn plays avant garde tricks, shooting alternately through the crowded window of a phone booth, through glasses, ornaments and other objects and so on. This is a film in which vision, or *comprehension* - deciphering 'Ipcress' or identifying 'Albania' as really London, for instance - is finally of paramount importance. Palmer has to both see, then understand, the web that surrounds him before he identifies the traitor. At the most basic level this 'knowing' extends to his own self, through the psychological trauma he undergoes.

Class, too, is an important element. Whereas the public school educated Bond would be at home conversing with Palmer's superiors, Palmer is the working class staff man, insubordinate perhaps and cocky, but one who ultimately knows his place. Even the main villain is fairly aristocratic. This makes Palmer's final choice of shot all the more relishable. In the class-ridden snobbery of the secret service it proves to be one of the elite who is suspect and must be killed. Palmer is the better man - and not just morally either: his appreciation of Mozart ('proper' Mozart, too, not the appalling bandstand variety pushed on him by Daulby) and fine cooking, marks him out as a man of taste, in contrast to the surrounding snobbery and elitism.

This theme of class, as well as the locations chosen for 'The Ipcress File' mark it out as a very British spy film - possibly the best one ever in contrast to the Bond cycle, which represented an attempt to create a deliberate trans-Atlantic product. One parallel serves to illustrate this difference: Bond has an American agent friend (Felix Leiter), an occasional minor character in the series. In contrast Palmer shoots an American agent dead by mistake and they tail him in revenge, while another dies in his flat. There is no camaraderie here, and the snug special relationship is nowhere in sight.

Over the years 'The Ipcress File' has lost none of its edge (with the possible exception of the dated 60's psychedelia which confronts Palmer in his torture chair) or punch. Utterly compulsive as a spy drama, it remains one of Caine and Furie's best films, an example of a contemporary fresh approach that still remains a classic.

THE IPCRESS FILE covers familiar territory of a Cold War spy thriller; it contains an incomprehensible plot, a fair share of untrustworthy characters, and a subject (The Ipcress File) which is never satisfactorily explained. Suffice to say that Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) discovers the cause of all the trouble, but only after a considerable degree of suffering at the hands of a torturer (Frank Gatliff).

What makes Sidney J. Furie's film so memorable is its shooting-style (photography by Otto Heller). It makes use of the basic shot- reverse shot sequence, but every frame is partially obscured by an object, or person placed close to the camera; we seldom see the characters' faces in full profile. This strategy helps to create an atmosphere of menace, where nothing is quite as it seems, and every mission suggested to Harry by his two bosses Dalby (Nigel Green) and Ross (Guy Doleman) appears to have ulterior motives behind it that Palmer remains blissfully unaware of. Palmer himself retains his integrity throughout, even if he perceives himself as something of a rebel within the Secret Service.

THE IPCRESS FILE is a direct antithesis of the Bond canon of films, also popular at the time of release. It is set in a grimy, rain- sodden London full of gray buildings and dark interior; no exotic locations for this spy. The most colorful aspect of the mise-en- scene are the big old-fashioned Routemaster buses that drive up and down familiar streets - Piccadilly, Whitehall, Oxford Street. Palmer himself lives in a shabby apartment; his one concession to the so-called 'Swinging Sixties' spirit is an ability to cook, but no one, not least his colleague Jean (Sue Lloyd) seems especially interested.

The film inevitably incorporates some of the sexist attitudes of the time - for Palmer all women are "birds," and they do not become actively involved in any espionage activity. The film is a very masculinist piece, with legions of actors dressed in long coats, trilby hats and dark suits. Palmer himself has a good sartorial sense, but even he adopts the same uniform, especially when in pursuit of the enemy.

Michael Caine, in a pre-ALFIE role, shows all the cockiness characteristic of his youthful period, when he really believed he could challenge the status quo. Whether he succeeds or not is very much open to debate.

Intriguing espionage drama, based on the Len Deighton novel.

Decent, reasonably complex, plot. Not 100% watertight, but the holes aren't big.

Solid direction by Sidney J Furie. Movie moves along at a decent pace and he builds the tension well. Does miss a few beats though. Some scenes are quite flat and almost pointless.

Good final few scenes which make it all worthwhile and bring everything together.

Good performance by Michael Caine in the lead role. Not your average spy - he is almost the anti-James Bond. Resourceful, but slovenly and, well, human. Seemed much more like a real agent would be than James Bond.

Good support from Nigel Green and Guy Doleman.

This film is, in a word, fantastic. Caine plays a British secret service agent who is assigned to find out who is brainwashing the country's top scientists. This is an interesting slant on the usual cold war thriller plots and is much more believable than James Bond films, although it lacks the latter's explosive action. this is the antithesis of Bond as Caine lives on a meagre wage, has a bedsitting flat and does his own shopping! He also wears glasses and in one scene, chats up his female work colleague whilst cooking. The plot is also a lot more grown-up than its Bond counterpart - there are no cat stroking madmen intent on world domination. What makes the film is the idiosyncratic camera angles and the grainy film quality which adds to the oppressive cold war drama. The brainwashing scene is quite amusing and cliched by todays standards with psychodelic images, trippy music and "You-are-getting-sleepy..." type-quotes. Guy Doleman and Nigel Green head up a brilliant supporting cast which include a few familiar British faces. It is interesting to note that the film was produced by the same people who bring Bond to the screen and even the excellent soundtrack is courtesy of John Barry.