Mes funérailles à Berlin

This is my favourite of the three Harry Palmer films (I don't count the 90s remake.) This film is accurately done and goes at a sensible pace – however, those people looking for computerised special effects and exploding cars are watching the wrong film.

The plot is really good and makes absolute sense – if you follow it closely. There is also the wonderful dry wit between Palmer and his commanding officer.

Palmer: I didn't pick her up; she picked me up.

Ross: Well you'd have to say that to get it on expenses.

Also, you should watch this in widescreen – there are some subtle details, which are left out at the edge of the screen. Including the subtle way in which Sam first picks up Harry at the hotel. However, unlike most "Spy" films we are not subjected to the obligatory soft porn sequence.

Listen carefully for the references to Suvorov – a Russian general, part of the priceless banter between Palmer and the Russian who wants to defect.

They don't make films like this anymore – simply because they don't write books like this anymore. This was Len Deighton and it is first class.

I picked up this movie from one of the remote corners of the DVD shop. What attracted me was the picture of Caine stooping against a wall. Even after buying it, I kept the box unopened in my table for a couple of weeks. Suddenlt, yesterday it was raining, and I decided to see it. I was blown away! From the first escape sequence, I was taken back to the days of the cold war, to the rivalry, the brutal undercover violence, and all in the backdrop of post WWII Europe. The scenes are so good, the dialogs perfect. Caine is sublime as the British agent. The surprises in the movie have been delivered with an artists's touch. I wonder why we no longer make movies like this. A wonder too, how they were able to make movies like this without all the gadgets and technology that we have today. Maybe because they didn't, they could. It is a very enjoyable movie, almost making you wish the cold war wasn't over. . . .

based on Len Deighton's outstanding novel, this sequel to "The Ipcress File" features Michael Caine once again as the the anti-James Bond British spy, Harry Palmer. Palmer wears thick glasses, dresses in a cheap rain-coat, has a cockney-accent, and cultivates an aura of being not too bright. Of course, he is the only one who can keep track of the double-, triple-, and quadruple crosses in a Berlin where Brits, Americans, Israelis, Russians, and East Germans are all pursuing different goals. Even Palmer's superiors in the Secret Service are pursuing different goals. The plot is complex, but rewards close attention. Caine is pitch-perfect as Palmer, and spy stories just don't get any more bleak and cynical. A very superior movie.

As some other reviewers have opined, this is the best of the three Harry Palmer movies set in the '60s. Michael Caine's cavalier attitude coupled with his witty, sarcastic banter is most refreshing. All the stodgy bureaucratic types get bum-rushed by Harry Palmer's rapier tongue. His self deprecating humor, especially in some of the scenes with Samantha Steele (Eva Renzi), is refreshing, since she has the pertness and sense of humor to complement those scenes deftly. Similarly, the scenes with Col. Stock show great flashes of sarcastic wit, juxtaposed with attending to the serious Cold War business at hand.

But the more serious fun is the wonderfully executed plot development, interweaving the various characters such as Johnny Vulcan, Col. Stock, Hallam, Ross (the boss), Kreutsmann, Steele, etc. into a menagerie of complicated intrigue. I'll let others offer a plot synopsis: I'll just say the film keeps you guessing and wondering throughout its hour and forty-five minutes. The overall style of mixing mordant anti-establishment humor and complicated intrigue reminds me of a later film, "The Russia House", with Sean Connery, an equally satisfying Cold War drama.

The only knock I have on this film is the sometimes obtrusive sound track, where the trumpets blare much too loudly to proclaim a given dramatic occurrence. Could have been done a little more tastefully.

All in all, a "must see" for Cold War movie fans!

Taking Harry Palmer to cold-war Berlin, 'Funeral In Berlin (1966)' sees its hero tasked with handling the defection of a Russian general. Of course things don't go exactly to plan. The plot includes all manner of codenames, back-stabbings and stiff upper lips. It gets very complicated very quickly and it's honesty hard to keep track of. More often than not, you're at the mercy of the narrative. That isn't always a bad thing and it does lead to a few surprises, but it also prevents you from being as attached to proceedings as you perhaps could have been. It's a rather cold affair, overall; it isn't emotionally affecting. It is typically an enjoyable experience, though. It's not quite as good as its predecessor, but it's a solid spy movie nevertheless. 6/10