qempyrean

It's unfortunate that this gem is so little known, which I'm sure is due in part to its attempt to trade on the name of the original 1955 Rififi, a genuine certified masterpiece. Still this is a very satisfying caper film in its own right, combining the hard-bitten characters and no-nonsense tone of the earlier Rififi with a target that would not be out-of-place in many recent thrillers, namely a high-tech bank vault in Tokyo. I was fortunate enough to see this on a double bill with Un Homme est Mort (The Outside Man), Jacques Deray's existential French-hitman-in-Los-Angeles picture, which is also highly recommended.

This was apparently a spinoff of Don Ameche's stint as host of the TV series "International Showtime" and if the program was anything like this movie, it must have been amazing. These are some of the most incredible circus acts I have ever seen. The moments where performers balance themselves on the points of two knives are particularly astounding; it truly seems to defy both gravity and reality. Most of the featured acts seem to come from various European circuses, so it's definitely not the same old stuff you might have seen from American companies.