Le Cerveau

Though it was a long time ago I watched this movie, I remember most of it and also the laughter it provided; in fact this was the time I got to know David Niven and Jean Paul Belmondo fine comedy acting. At the time I was about 15 and was getting started in the fine art of watching good movies, so this one really impressed me. . It is 60's style humor alright, if you're into special effects and high tech stuff, you may not appreciate it. I would love to see it re-released it on DVD, it is as good or better than the inspector Clouseau's Movies (and the Pink Panther, featuring David Niven too, is a fine comedy movie) Don't let it go into oblivion. If you ever watch it, prepare yourself for some good laughs.

...more for actors than for story. Adventures, unluck, interesting characters, David Niven giving a good job and the chemistry between Bourvil and Belmondo being adorable. A smart chain of adventures and a hold up in ironic perspective. And, sure, laugh in huge doses. Short, well made French comedy .

Occasionally seen on TV in France, this film has now been issued on a double DVD in France with French subtitles only. Picture quality is superb ( THX Standard ). The film is extremely entertaining, to say the least, quite normal as the directer is the great Gérard Oury and on a par with such films as Le Corniaud or La Grande Vadrouille. I'm sure it's well known across the world, even if people don't know its title, if only because of David Niven's head that slants to one side because his brain's too heavy. There's a mixture of actors here, some French, some foreign and it has that light hearted happy-go-lucky-swinging-sixties look as typified by the Italian Job and other similar films. Knowing the perverse nature of things, now that this commentary has been written, the film will probably turn up on DVD in the coming months !! Let's hope so anyway !

Ah, the characters: David Niven as a British Officer/Master thief, played with his usual ironic assurance and poise, Eli Wallach as a frantic and choleric mafioso (he is a contender for Louis des Funés as the most explosive screen presence ever) and the delicious duo of Belmondo as an ambitious and inventive but somewhat hapless small time crook with Bourvil as his more cautious straight man and partner in crime.

A movie with great dialogue, fantastic pace, a swinging soundtrack and an incredible mix of physical, situational and verbal comedy - laugh-out-loud funny throughout.

If "The Brain" should really not be available on DVD this would just be further proof of how little brain these entertainment-industry executives have.

I first saw this movie in 1971. My brother and I liked it so much that we saw it twice (we still use lines from it in conversation). Wish it would be issued on DVD. When I saw it again after a lapse of over 30 years, I was delighted to see skits I had forgotten about. This movie is stuffed full of hilarious moments. I have a badly scratched VHS version (a former rental), but it's still a lot of fun to watch. Bourvil (Anatole) and Jean-Paul Belmondo (Arthur) have some memorable bits of dialog and wonderful on-screen rapport. David Niven (Colonel Matthews) is the dashing villain with the brain, and he delivers his usual polished performance. I was never much of a fan of Eli Wallach's movies, but he's pretty good here as a gangster guarding his sister's virginity.