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Up until his recent official retirement in October 2023, actor Michael Caine had been a part of cinema history for well over half a century. However, many fans aren't aware that, had it not been for the silver-tongued persuasion of a fellow gigantic movie star, the silver screen never would have seen Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Dr. Wilbur Larch, Harry Brown, or any of his other memorable late-career turns.

Why did Michael Caine want to retire from acting in the early 90s? The reasons were plentiful, but the final straw that broke the camel's back was the extremely troubled production (and utterly abysmal success) of a little-known movie called Bullet to Beijing. On the set of that film, Caine had to deal with everything from the Russian mob to potential radiation concerns, and when it was all said and done, the actor finally felt like he had had enough.

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Michael Caine considers the Harry Palmer sequels, "Bullet to Beijing" and "Midnight in Saint Petersburg," among his worst experiences. Sequels felt cheap and rushed, lacking the quality of the original Harry Palmer films, with little to no compelling character development. Despite Caine's talent, the sequels failed to make an impression, serving as a waste of his return to the character of Harry Palmer.

Michael Caine has one of the most illustrious acting careers in modern film, but two of the sequels to his James Bond-esque The Ipcress File linger as his most disliked acting experiences. Michael Caine has been a consistent presence in movies for over fifty years, with his early starring roles in films like The Ipcress File, The Italian Job, and Alfie establishing him as one of the 20th century's best screen actors. His career continued well into the 21st century, highlighting his adaptability from goofball comedies...

While we were all sad to hear that Michael Caine is retired, he most certainly earned the right to just kick back and just spend his days reading…or writing. And that’s just what Michael Caine has done, releasing his first novel at the age of 90.

Michael Caine’s thriller, Deadly Game, finds career criminal catcher Dci agent Harry Taylor tracking down a mysterious box of uranium and various nefarious types who might be tied to the contents. While I haven’t read the book in its entirety, the first few pages – and the plot itself – give off the sort of vibe of the movies that Michael Caine would have starred in in the ‘60s and ‘70s. No doubt that the lead character’s name, Harry, calls to mind his recurring spy character Harry Palmer and vigilante Harry Brown, the titular character that gave Caine one of the meatiest...

Of all the great, classic spy and espionage films or TV shows— Bond, “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,’ the Jack Ryan films and TV shows, the “Kingsman’ series, “Three Days Of The Condor,” and all the classic spy films from the 1960s and ‘70s, etc.—the one that mainstream audiences probably know the least well is “The Ipcress File.”

Based on the globally renowned Len Deighton spy novel of the same name, “The Ipcress File” series starred Michael Caine as Harry Palmer and ended up as a trilogy of films: “The Ipcress File” (1965), “Funeral in Berlin” (1966) and “Billion Dollar Brain” (1967), this of course back in the day when movie studios didn’t really know how to franchise something by including a franchise title to tie the films together (decades later Caine returned to the character in 1995’s “Harry Alan Towers’ Bullet to Beijing” and 96’s “Midnight in Saint Petersburg”).

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Director Sidney J. Furie discusses his favorite films he’s watched and re-watched during quarantine with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Dr. Blood’s Coffin (1961)

The Ipcress File (1965) – Howard Rodman’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Appaloosa (1966)

The Naked Runner (1967)

Lady Sings The Blues (1972)

The Entity (1982) – Luca Gaudagnino’s trailer commentary

The Boys in Company C (1978)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

The Apartment (1960) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)

Twelve O’Clock High (1949)

A Place In The Sun (1951) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Out Of Africa (1985)

The Last Picture Show (1971) – Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Annie Hall (1977)

The Bad And The Beautiful (1952)

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

The Tender Bar...

Myopic Harry Palmer, the great cook, lover and reluctant spy, returns to where his trouble with the British Army began. This time he’s tangled up in a political snarl that might have dire consequences: not only are the Russians involved, ex-Nazis are on the payroll. Israel may have an agent in the field, and not necessarily working in Her Majesty’s interest. Michael Caine’s star quality shines through in this second Harry Palmer spy yarn, filmed on German locations in high style by Guy Hamilton.

Funeral in Berlin

Blu-ray Disc

Paramount Pictures

1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date May 26, 2020 / 20.49

Starring: Michael Caine, Oskar Homolka, Paul Hubschmid, Eva Renzi, Guy Doleman.

Cinematography: Otto Heller

Film Editor: John Bloom

Production Designer: Ken Adam

Original Music: Konrad Elfers

Written by Evan Jones from the novel by Len Deighton

Produced by Charles D. Kasher & Harry Saltzman

Directed by Guy Hamilton

All three...

Ken Nightingall, a Star Wars legend in his own right, has sadly passed away, bringing even more terrible news to an incredibly dark time. A veteran boom operator with decades of experience in the movie industry, Nightingall is particularly well known to Star Wars fans as the "pink shorts boom guy" seen in a viral behind the scenes photo from the set of the original movie. A cause of death wasn't immediately made available, but the legendary crew member reportedly died on May 19 at his home in the United Kingdom. He was 92 years old.

"I first met Ken when I entered the industry over 50 years ago," says Oscar-winning sound mixer Chris Munro in a statement about Nightingall's death. "He was immensely supportive of me as I carved my early career as a young sound mixer. 'Legend' is the word that springs to mind when I try to describe him. He...

Ken Nightingall, who had a long career in the biz as a boom operator and spawned his own cosplay phenomenon among Star Wars fans, has died at the age of 92.

Amps, the Association of Motion Picture Sound, confirmed the news, saying Nightingall passed away at his UK home on Tuesday (May 19).

Oscar-winning Gravity and Black Hawk Down sound mixer, Chris Munro, paid the following tribute, “I first met Ken when I entered the industry over 50 years ago. He was immensely supportive of me as I carved my early career as a young sound mixer. ‘Legend’ is the word that springs to mind when I try to describe him. He will be sadly missed by our film community but his is a life and career that should be celebrated. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

Nightingall had a long and successful career as a boom operator, beginning...

Make way for the parade! Featuring Brian Trenchard-Smith, Eli Roth, Katt Shea, Thomas Jane, our very own Don Barrett and Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Screams of a Winter Night (1979)

Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game Of Death (1975)

I Think We’re Alone Now (2018)

The Rhythm Section (2020)

Atomic Blonde (2017)

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)

The Ipcress File (1965)

Funeral In Berlin (1966)

Extraction (2020)

Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

The Mermaid (2016)

Oklahoma! (1955)

Singin’ In The Rain (1953)

Nightcrawler (2014)

I Think We’re Alone Now (2008)

Ghetto Freaks a.k.a. Sign of Aquarius (1970)

Hostel (2005)

Cabin Fever (2002)

Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)

The Movie Orgy (1968)

Gremlins (1984)

The Goonies (1985)

Hell of the Living Dead a.k.a. Night of the Zombies (1980)

Troll 2 (1990)

In The Land Of The Cannibals a.k.a. Land of...

Here are many more movies to watch when you’re staying in for a while, featuring recommendations from Jim Gavin, Karyn Kusama, Matt Christman, and Jonah Ray.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Three Tough Guys (1974)

Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969)

Tower of Evil a.k.a. Horror on Snape Island (1972)

Blow-Up (1966)

Blow Out (1981)

Body Double (1984)

Rififi (1955)

The Big Clock (1948)

No Way Out (1987)

Funeral In Berlin (1966)

The Ipcress File (1965)

Billion Dollar Brain (1967)

The Innocents (1961)

Miracle Mile (1988)

Femme Fatale (2002)

Main Street Women (1980)

Sleepwalkers (1992)

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

Dracula’s Dog (1977)

Moneyball (2011)

Together (2000)

Contagion (2011)

Panic In The Streets (1950)

The Killer That Stalked New York (1950)

The Satan Bug (1965)

A Prophet (2009)

Point Break (1991)

The Thing (1982)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Hit! (1973)

Outbreak (1995)

The Island (2005)

6 Underground (2019)

Pain And Gain (2013)

The Invitation (2015)

High-Rise (2015)

The ’Burbs (1989)

To My Great Chagrin: The Unbelievable...

If you consider running-time alone, Russian content fills a considerable chunk of space in the official sections of the 2020 Berlinale.

This is primarily because of Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s mind-boggling large-scale simulation of the totalitarian Soviet system, the “Dau” project, which comprises 14 features — two are unspooling at Berlin, accounting for more than eight hours of screen time. “Dau. Natasha,” clocking in at two hours and 19 minutes, premieres in competition.

Described by the Dau website as “a tale of violence that is as radical as it is provocative,” it follows two waitresses in a top-secret Soviet scientific institute who strike up a cautious friendship when one is seduced by a foreign visitor, until the ministry of state security intervenes.

Meanwhile, the Berlinale Special title “Dau. Degeneratsia” has a running time of just over six hours. The story unfolds at the same institute shown in “Natasha,” where scientific and occult experiments aimed at...

Set during the weeks following the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, “Damascus Cover” is, in the strictest sense of the term, a period piece. But Daniel Zelik Berk’s low-key drama actually plays like a throwback to an earlier era — specifically, the mid-to-late 1960s, the heyday of Cold War thrillers in which grim, unglamorous and very un-Bondian secret agents dodged bullets and endured betrayals while playing spy games for mortal stakes. Indeed, this film may have a slight nostalgic appeal for anyone who fondly recalls such ‘60s cloak-and-dagger fare as “Funeral in Berlin” (which “Damascus Cover” periodically recalls), “The Quiller Memorandum” and “The Deadly Affair.” Unfortunately, Berk’s movie is too plodding and predictable to generate anything more than a modest level of suspense; worse, it lacks enough excitement to qualify even as instantly forgettable popcorn entertainment.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers makes a game attempt to be a dour and determined spy guy as Ari Ben-Sion,...

Even after all of your presents are unwrapped and your tree is packed away (or put on the curb), Arrow Video will continue to give the gift of new horror Blu-ray releases for fans looking to expand their collections. The company just announced their impressive February 2018 slate of Blu-rays, including a limited edition version of Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case, The Gruesome Twosome, and much more!

From Arrow Video: "Time for our new announcements! First up two titles coming from Arrow Records and Books this December…

New Arrow Book: The Hitcher (Book)

Pre-order now: http://bit.ly/2BqKmWx

Release date: 29th December

Robert Harmon’s 1986 film The Hitcher is a complex beast: reviled at the time of its release, it has been adored in the long term as one of the most intoxicating, unrelenting highway cult films ever made. Starring Rutger Hauer in the title role whose alluring villainy...

As the summer continues to roll on, that means we have another great week of horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases to look forward to. The folks at Scream Factory are keeping themselves plenty busy this Tuesday, as they’re resurrecting both The Lawnmower Man and Island of Terror on Blu-ray, as well as their high-def The Paul Naschy Collection, and Arrow Video has put together an incredible two-disc limited Blu-ray set of Dario Argento’s directorial debut, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, that any fan of the Master of Horror will want to add to their collections. And, if you missed it in theaters, the horror/sci-fi thriller Life will be available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD formats, too.

Other notable releases for June 20th include the Hack-o-Lantern limited edition Blu-ray, Patchwork, Under the Dome: The Complete Series, Ten Little Indians,...

“I can hear it now: ‘Go to Italy. It’s a peaceful country, nothing much ever happens there’.”

Dario Argento’s The Bird With The Crystal Plumage 2-disc limited edition will be available on Blu-ray + DVD June 20th From Arrow Video

In 1970, young first-time director Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria) made his indelible mark on Italian cinema with The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, a film which redefined the ‘giallo’ genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted him to international stardom.

Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante, We Own the Night), an American writer living in Rome, inadvertently witnesses a brutal attack on a woman (Eva Renzi, Funeral in Berlin) in a modern art gallery. Powerless to help, he grows increasingly obsessed with the incident. Convinced that something he saw that night holds the key to identifying the maniac terrorizing Rome, he launches his own investigation parallel to that of the police, heedless...

Arrow Video is already looking to make this a summer to remember for fans of Italian horror, as they recently revealed that their June Blu-ray / DVD releases will include Ovidio Assonitis' Madhouse (1981) and Dario Argento's first feature film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.

From Arrow Video: "New UK/Us Title: Madhouse (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD)

Fuses slasher elements with the over-the-top excess of ‘80s Italian terror.

Pre-order your copy in the UK: http://bit.ly/2nN0nOK

North American pre-orders links should be live soon!

Release Dates: 12/13 June 2017

Many People Visit … No One Ever Leaves.

Helmed by legendary producer/director Ovidio Assonitis, the man behind such cult favourites as The Visitor and Piranha II: The Spawning, Madhouse is a crimson-soaked tale of sibling rivalry taken to a terrifying and bloody extreme.

Julia has spent her entire adult life trying to forget the torment she suffered at...

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Get the feeling someone is looking over your shoulder? This quiz won’t help! This week we’re investigating the subtle (and not-so-subtle) art of spying in the movies.

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The plot of Hitchcock’s North by Northwest was suggested by this spy film.

The Man Who Never Was I Was Monty’s Double Odd Man Out Correct

Clifton Webb starred in Ronald Neame’s 1956 film...

Which film won this year’s Palme d’Or? Did anyone not have a cameo in Absolutely Fabulous? Tackle these celluloid conundrums and more

TV quiz | Politics quiz | Sports quiz | News quiz | Music quiz

Which action movie star said of the Rio Games: “It’s a sore point I never got to the Olympics. They got seven million for the diving per year. They deserve it. The divers now are just terrific. I started too late. I should have done a different sport.”

Jason Statham

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Dolph Lundgren

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Which footballing icon did Twentieth Century Fox use to promote its movies Independence Day: Resurgence, X-Men Apocalypse Now and Deadpool?

Wayne Rooney

Geoff Hurst

Ryan Giggs

Alan Mullery

Who of the following did not have a cameo in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie?

Christopher Biggins

Judith Chalmers

Sophie Raworth

Ruth Langsford

Which director responded to poor reviews by quoting...

Joseph Losey doesn't normally make trendy, lighthearted genre films, and in this SuperSpy epic we find out why -- an impressive production and great music don't compensate for a lack of pace and dynamism, not to mention a narrow sense of humor. Yet it's a lounge classic, and a perverse favorite of spy movie fans. Modesty Blaise Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1966 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 119 min. / Street Date August 23, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Monica Vitti, Terence Stamp, Dirk Bogarde, Harry Andrews, Michael Craig, Clive Revill, Alexander Knox, Rossella Falk, Scilla Gabel, Tina Marquand Cinematography Jack Hildyard Production Designer Richard MacDonald, Jack Shampan Film Editor Reginald Beck Original Music John Dankworth Written by Evan Jones from a novel by Peter O'Donnell and a comic strip by Jim Holdaway Produced by Joseph Janni Directed by Joseph Losey

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

When I first reviewed a DVD of Modesty Blaise fourteen years ago,...

Guy Hamilton, who directed four James Bond movies including the 1964 classic Goldfinger, passed away earlier today at the age of 93. The filmmaker died on the Spanish island of Majorca where he lived. No details about the cause of death were given at this time, but we'll be sure to keep you posted with more updates as soon as they come in.

Guy Hamilton was born September 16, 1922 in Paris, France, and he got his start in the film business in the late 1940s. He served as director Carol Reed's assistant for five years, before becoming an assistant director on his 1949 classic film The Third Man. He also served as an assistant director on The Angel With the Trumpet, The Great Manhunt, Outcast of the Islands and the John Huston classic The African Queen, before making his directorial debut in 1951 with The Ringer.

He went on to direct An Inspector Calls,...

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Guy Hamilton, who transformed James Bond, dies at the age of 93.

Guy Hamilton, best known for the his work on the James Bond movies, Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun, has died at the Hospital Juaneda Miramar in the city of Palma de Mallorca on the Spanish island of Mallorca. He was 93.

Hamilton raised the profile of the James Bond movies through his work with original film 007 actor Sean Connery and Roger Moore, who played the spy starting with Live and Let Die and in 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun, which Hamilton directed.

"Incredibly, incredibly saddened to hear the wonderful director Guy Hamilton has gone to the great cutting room in the sky. 2016 is horrid," Moore wrote on Twitter.

Hamilton worked with Michael Caine on Battle of Britain and Harrison Ford on the 1978 adaptation of Force 10 from Navarone.

British filmmaker Guy Hamilton has died in Majorca at the age of 93. Hamilton set the template for the James Bond franchise when he helmed 1964's iconic "Goldfinger".

He returned to the franchise in the early 1970s for Sean Connery's final outing with "Diamonds are Forever," and then ushered in Roger Moore's start to the series with "Live and Let Die" and "The Man with the Golden Gun".

In a statement, Bond series producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson say: "We mourn the loss of our dear friend Guy Hamilton who firmly distilled the Bond formula in his much celebrated direction of 'Goldfinger' and continued to entertain audiences with 'Diamonds Are Forever,' 'Live and Let Die' and 'The Man with the Golden Gun.' We celebrate his enormous contribution to the Bond films."

Hamilton's work stretched far beyond Bond as well including directing "Funeral in Berlin,...

Guy Hamilton and Roger Moore on the set of "The Man With the Golden Gun" in Thailand, 1974.

 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Cinema Retro mourns the loss of director Guy Hamilton, who has passed away at age 93. Guy was an old friend and supporter of our magazine and a wonderful talent and raconteur. Hamilton, though British by birth, spent much of his life in France. After WWII, he entered the film industry in England and served as assistant director to Sir Carol Reed, working on the classic film "The Third Man". He also served as Ad on John Huston's "The African Queen". Gradually, he moved up the ladder to director and helmed such films as "An Inspector Calls", "The Colditz Story" and "The Devil's Disciple", the latter starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier. In 1964 Hamilton was hired to direct the third James Bond film "Goldfinger" and made cinema history.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Cinema Retro mourns the loss of Sir Ken Adam, the ingenious, Oscar-winning production designer who has passed away at age 95. Adam's work helped redefine films in terms of the elaborate and creative designs he invented, particularly for the James Bond franchise. Adam's work on the first 007 film, "Dr. No" in 1962 was deemed to be nothing less than remarkable, considering that the entire film was shot on a relatively low budget of just over $1 million. His exotic designs so impressed Stanley Kubrick that he hired Adam as production designer on his 1964 classic "Dr. Strangelove." For that film, Adam created the now legendary "War Room" set which many people believe actually exists at the Pentagon. In fact when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President in 1981 he asked to see the War Room, only to be told that it was a fictional creation. Reagan acknowledged that he had been intrigued...

Oscar winning production designer Ken Adam died today in London at the age of 95 according to The BBC.

Adam is most famous for creating the iconic and sprawling lairs of the supervillains who populated the Sean Connery and Roger Moore-era James Bond films. His designs included the Crab Key complex in "Dr. No," the Fort Knox interiors on "Goldfinger," the volcano lair of "You Only Live Twice," Stromberg's supertanker and Atlantis sets in "The Spy Who Loved Me," and Drax's space station in "Moonraker". He also did the production design on "Thunderball" and "Diamonds Are Forever".

Adams' work extended well beyond the Bond franchise though, such as two films in the anti-Bond Harry Palmer film series with Michael Caine - "The Ipcress File" and "Funeral in Berlin". He was a favorite of Stanley Kubrick following his design of the famous war room for "Dr. Strangelove". He was offered "2001" but turned it down,...

A pure-gold Savant favorite, Sir Richard Attenborough's first feature as director is a stylized pacifist epic of the insane tragedy of WW1, told through contemporary songs, with the irreverent lyrics given them by the soldiers themselves. And one will not want to miss a young Maggie Smith's music hall performance -- luring young conscripts to doom in the trenches. It's the strangest pacifist film ever, done in high style. Oh! What a Lovely War DVD The Warner Archive Collection 1969 / Color / 2:35 enhanced widescreen / 144 min. / Street Date September 22, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 16.99 Starring: Too many to name, see below. Cinematography Gerry Turpin Production Design Donald M. Ashton Art Direction Harry White Choreography Eleanor Fazan Film Editor Kevin Connor Original Music Alfred Ralston Written by Len Deighton from the musical play by Joan Littlewood from the radio play by Charles Chilton Produced by Richard Attenborough, Brian Duffy, Len Deighton Directed...

Trey Parker and Matt Stone's 'outrageous, irreverent' comedy is the gusher of pointless profanity and smut that will cheer the myriad fans of South Park. The ultimate message of this cringe-worthy spectacle is that liberals are dupes and traitors, foreigners are either evil or morons, and kicking ass around the world is our national birthright. Go team! Team America: World Police Blu-ray Warner /Paramount 2004 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 98 min. / Street Date October 13, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 9.98 Starring voices of Trey Parker, Matt Stone, others. Cinematography Bill Pope Film Editor Thomas M. Vogt Original Music Harry Gregson-Williams Written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Pam Brady Produced by Trey Parker, Scott Rudin, Matt Stone Directed by Trey Parker    

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Team America: World Police looks like a show designed for the kids, yet it's too raw for most adults. It is an optimal feature concept for Trey Parker and Matt Stone,...

Ahead of American Ultra's arrival in UK cinemas, here's our pick of the 25 finest, sneakiest secret agents in film...

Operatives. Spies. Moles. Infiltrators. Secret agents go by many names. In fact, Britain's national security agency doesn't even call them agents - they're covert human intelligence sources, or simply “officers".

Whatever we choose to call them, secret agents lead necessarily furtive and obscure lives - so obscure that most of what we know about them is defined by what we've seen and read in books and movies.

During the Cold War, the image of the secret agent as a well-groomed sophisticate in a suit proliferated all over the world, and even in the high-tech landscape of the 21st century, that image still stands - just look at such movies as Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and, of course, the Bond franchise. But secret agents can come in many other guises,...

Sam Riley ("Maleficent," "Control") is in talks to star in a BBC film adaptation of acclaimed espionage thriller author Len Deighton's "SS-gb" which James Bond film series regular scribes Neil Purvis and Robert Wade are writing.

The story is set in a UK conquered and occupied by Germany during World War II. Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer, a British homicide detective assigned to Scotland Yard, is called in to investigate a murder of a well-dressed man.

To his surprise, the case draws the attention of the highest levels of the German government and he finds himself in the middle of a struggle between powerful forces.

Award-winning German director Philipp Kadelbach ("Generation War") is attached to direct the prestige project for the Beeb which Patrick Schweitzer will produce. Shooting begins this Fall.

Deighton penned several notable period spy thriller novels including the "Hook, Line and Sinker," "Faith, Hope and Charity"" and "Game,...

Bourne and Mission: Impossible, right back to Harry Palmer and Danger Diabolik - meet the many pretenders to James Bond's throne...

Since 1962, the James Bond franchise has come to define the spy genre, for good or ill. More broadly, every thriller and action film that comes out now either uses them as inspiration, or attempts to ignore or re-work the tropes that have come to be associated with the series.

Coming off the release of Kingsman: The Secret Service, and with the release of a new Bond film this year, now seems like the perfect time to take a look at a sample of the films which have been inspired by James Bond — either as homages, parodies or reactions.

The Ipcress File (1965)

Produced by James Bond producer Harry Saltzman as a more grounded alternative to the largesse of Bond, The Ipcress File is more concerned with the intricacies of real spy-work — the endless paperwork,...

Sneak Peek new images of actor Michael Caine looking 40 years younger, similar to his classic spy movie character 'Harry Palmer', from a VFX-tweaked deleted sequence that will be available on the Blu-ray release of director Matthew Vaughn's "Kingsman: The Secret Service":

"...the images show Caine's character 'Arthur' the head of the spy agency in 'Kingsman: The Secret Service', when he was a young ruthless spy...

"...looking like British secret agent 'Harry Palmer' from the 1960's spy features 'The Ipcress File'...

"...'Funeral in Berlin'...

"...and 'Billion Dollar Brain", based on the novels by author Len Deighton..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Kingsman: The Secret Service" and Michael Caine as 'Harry Palmer'...

David Crow Feb 15, 2019

Kingsman: The Secret Service pulled from a lot of spy movies (and television) to find its tone. We try to list them all!

A few years ago, Fifty Shades of Grey opened on Valentine's Day weekend and shattered all sorts of records... but it was the movie that did almost as well that holiday which has had the longer franchise staying power as the years passed: Kingsman: The Secret Service. With enough charm and gonzo showmanship by director Matthew Vaughn (and comic creator Mark Millar) to be taken seriously, but still featuring the necessary chaos to qualify as a Monty Python gag, Kingsman: The Secret Service was an outrageous dose of bonkers entertainment. Indeed, it found the missing ingredient that James Bond producers have recently lost.

But as the ever dapper Harry Hart (Colin Firth) admits to Taaron Egerton in Kingsman, alongside his worthy foe Richmond Valentine...

By Lee Pfeiffer 

The three Harry Palmer feature films (The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain) have had a rather cluttered history in terms of their video releases. Surprisingly, producer Harry Saltzman didn't stick with one studio in terms of their theatrical releases, as he did with the James Bond films which he co-produced with Cubby Broccoli. Instead, each of the Palmer films was financed by and released by a different studio. Thus, in the ensuing decades, the video rights to these films have been convoluted. The titles have remained consistently available to consumers in some countries, while in others (including the USA), they have appeared and disappeared from the marketplace for years at a time. Now the Warner Archive has reissued Paramount's original DVD version of Funeral in Berlin as a burn-to-order title. The original film, The Iprcress File, was internationally acclaimed as the "thinking man's 007" movie.

The name ‘Broccoli’ has been most closely associated with the James Bond film series over the last 50 years: famously the late Albert R “Cubby” Broccoli, and now his daughter, Barbara (who co-produces the 007 movies with her stepbrother, Michael G Wilson.)

But in the early days — from Dr No (1962) to The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) — another producer shared the Bond film billings with Cubby: Harry Saltzman.

In fact it was Harry, a no-nonsense and flamboyant Canadian, who had originally secured the film rights from Bond author Ian Fleming. Already a successful film producer known for the British kitchen sink dramas Look back in Anger and The Entertainer, Harry teamed up with Cubby and kick-started the 007 franchise with their company, Eon productions.

It wasn’t easy. Harry and Cubby wanted the then unknown Sean Connery to star as Bond while the studio was pushing for a household name. How Saltzman and Broccoli stood their ground,...

Steven Soderbergh is a director that likes to try new things. Aside from delving into a wide array of film genres and experimenting with styles, the man also likes to take a chance on non-actors. In 2009 Soderbergh handed the lead of The Girlfriend Experience to a newcomer to the big-screen, Sasha Grey (though a veteran of the small-screen with her pornography career). With Haywire, the rumored to be retiring director tries his hand with his first all-out action film while also taking a chance on Mma fighter turned actor Gina Carano. The double risk unfortunately doesn’t pay off as much as you would think even though Soderbergh tries his hardest to make it work.

With a script from Lem Dobbs (Dark City, The Limey), Haywire begins with an already exhausted Mallory (Gina Carano) fighting for her life in a roadside diner against her former colleague and lover Aaron (Channing Tatum...

For Steven Soderbergh, directing "Haywire" was a way to alleviate some frustrations he felt as a filmgoer. "Why aren't action movies beautiful?" Soderbergh said following a sold-out screening of his new film at Lincoln Center on Tuesday night. "I see a lot of action films that I think are good action films, but they aren't beautiful to look at. That just doesn't make sense to me." To correct this industry wide mistake, Soderbergh did what any filmmaker would do: fix the problem himself.

Of course, in order to succeed, the Oscar-winning director required some unusual inspiration -- professional mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano.

Soderbergh was flipping between channels late one night and stumbled onto one of Carano's fights. "I see Gina coming out. She's got the cornrows; she's got the warrior affect. I thought, 'Wow, that's interesting.' She destroyed this woman in a cage, and I just hadn't seen anything like this before,...

For Steven Soderbergh, directing "Haywire" was a way to alleviate some frustrations he felt as a filmgoer. "Why aren't action movies beautiful?" Soderbergh said following a sold-out screening of his new film at Lincoln Center on Tuesday night. "I see a lot of action films that I think are good action films, but they aren't beautiful to look at. That just doesn't make sense to me." To correct this industry wide mistake, Soderbergh did what any filmmaker would do: fix the problem himself. Of course, in order to succeed, the Oscar-winning director required some unusual inspiration -- professional mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano. Soderbergh was flipping between channels late one night and stumbled onto one of Carano's fights. "I see Gina coming out. She's got the cornrows; she's got the warrior affect. I thought, 'Wow, that's interesting.' She destroyed this woman in a cage, and I just hadn't seen anything like this before,...

HollywoodNews.com: By Pete Hammond

Clearly Pixar can do no wrong. 12 movies. 12 boxoffice winners in a row. Cars 2 was probably the least well-reviewed Pixar title since at least, well, the Last Cars film in 2006. Nevertheless audiences seemed to like what they saw and gave it an A- Cinemascore rating and the film zoomed to $68 million estimated for the three day weekend and $110 overall worldwide total, well above what most observers were expecting. Disney/Pixar’s strategy of giving the new movie a strong international setting by putting the lead car (voiced by Owen Wilson) Lightning McQueen on the world racing circuit and getting lovable Mater (Larry The Cable Guy) mixed up in a big espionage plot certainly paid off. Pixar may be the only solid movie brand out there these days that is invincible. It’s the equivalent of the Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval for film.

Between the...

Beginning in March 2010, Steven Soderbergh decided to document his cultural diet for the year, noting down everything he watched and read, the results of which have just been made public. Taking in almost a hundred movies, 50 books and several tv shows, Soderbergh also found time to finish shooting two movies, Haywire and Contagion. Put’s us to shame, right?

The list, which is also dated and organised was given to Studio 360′s Kurt Anderson and reveals busy viewing days, possible favourites and no less than 20 viewings of his new film Haywire, 5 of The Social Network (none of the other Oscar noms get a look in!), and several Raiders of The Lost Ark, in black and white! And if he sticks to his retirement plans in the near future, god knows how large this list may grow.

Here is the list of just the movies he devoured and in the order...

Steven Soderberg recently revealed every movie that he watched from April 12, 2010, to March 23, 2011. There are 92 movies in total. These are the movies he watched while he was making his two films Haywire and Contagion.

Check out Soderberg’s list below, 83 of which I’ve actually watched in the last year. How many on the list have you seen this last year? And in case you didn't know Soderberg is retiring from the movie buisness soon.

Haywire

Primer

Exit Through the Gift Shop

All the President's Men

Panic Room

Dune

Please Give

The Godfather

The Special Relationship

The Godfather Part 2

The Tall Target

The Social Network

The Room

The Day of the Jackal

In Cold Blood

Jaws

The Shark Is Still Working

Cloverfield

Rebecca

To Catch a Thief

Inception

Tiptoes

Salt

A Prophet

The White Ribbon

His Way

Catfish

Thrilla in Manilla

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

The King of Kong...

Movie veteran Michael Caine is looking to bring back his most famous character for one last hurrah.

The actor played spy Harry Palmer in three movies in the mid 1960s - The Ipcress File, Funeral In Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain - and he's keen to bring the bespectacled Cold War superagent back to life one more time.

He tells WENN, "I have a script called Cold War Requiem, which is Harry retired and he's living out his fantasy in some middle class area in London and the guys who he screwed have now got rich and they've decided to come and kill him.

"I would like to get that done but we haven't got that financed yet."...