Gambit

I didn't know what to expect going into this watch. Usually I'm not a fan of older movies but this one intrigued me mostly because i had read Kino Lorber worked extensively to restore this at 4k although committed only to blu-ray. This movie looks great in technicolor, the color density levels are amazing. The set pieces are great. My hats off to Shirley McClaine she had great talent both as an actor and showed herself to be quite athletic. Michael Caine is also quite good. Story is good and kept my interest all the way through. At some point this will be worth a re-watch my myself. I give this 4.5 stars or 87/100.

One of the 'Per Request' recent releases by the major studios, who have finally realized there is good money to be made from digging into their treasure trove of forgotten films. Hardcore cinephiles have spent years, no, decades, walking into the darkest corners of the collectibles world; dealing with the opportunistic predators that populate it and paying nose-bleed prices for video that is barely recognizable: Skittering, pan-n-scan, washed out colors, audio scratches, bad tracking; basically the crummiest early video recordings from the 1970s and 1980s repeatedly copied over and over and over and over. Enduring all of that garbage in order to watch a film that never received a post-theatrical commercial release. The advent of DVD burners turning out One-Disc-For-One-Paying-Customer has been the blessed key that released all of us from those foul sewer pits - and I'm terribly grateful. I'm amazed to read some complain that the prices are too high. Well, then you haven't been where I've been, heard what I've heard, and seen what I've seen. Twenty-something bucks is reasonable. I admit, it's not pocket change, but then you haven't spoken to some of these so-called dealers who demand $40-$60-$80 or more for their "has-never-been-released" piles of 1970s and 80s home video rips or the cleverer 8mm/16mm film repro guys who manage to obtain rare material from the 1920s-30s. You haven't had to knuckle under to these creeps, so you don't know how lucky you are at twenty-something a pop. Damn lucky. Sorry, but this is an important moment in the history of films and I want to savor every minute of it. <g> 'Gambit' is one of these very special movies. Starring Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine and the always enjoyable Herbert Lom, this production takes us on a humorous heist adventure in what was then the very exotic worlds of Hong Kong and Malaysia. Caine plays Harry Dean, a short con specialist who has spied himself a very valuable bauble. The trick here is the man who owns it is a billionaire industrialist with resources and access to the most advanced security money can buy. Keep in mind that in 1966 the concept of a 'billionaire' would be the same as saying "That guy owns the moon". It was both bizarre and off-putting, since the concept of ultra wealthy typically meant you were a 'millionaire'. The b-word term itself was only used to describe economies of entire countries, not a single person. So, how to obtain said bauble? Best known and oldest distraction in the grifter handbook: A beautiful woman. But this is no regular mark. Lom's character is wise, intelligent and very cautious. The distraction has to be something special. And Ol' Harry has found that special girl. Working in a cheap Hong Kong dancehall is Ms. Nicole Chang - aka the truly stunning Shirley MacLaine. And why this particular woman? Because she's the very image of the billionaire's late wife and the ultimate bait for Harry's hook. The plan: Accidentally bump into billionaire, attract same and quietly allow them time alone. Then cat burglar his way to the bauble and voila' - everyone is rich. What made this so darn funny is the set-up, the first twenty minutes of the movie. Just when you think you're watching Harry's ludicrous plan going off without a hitch - it being almost too easy - you realize it actually is. It's revealed that he has yet to initiate contact with Nicole (a fun adventure in and of itself) and that everything seen up to that point had been his fanciful fantasy. Real life isn't like that. And you know what happens to all best laid plans, things never go as expected do they? <g> An extremely enjoyable film for heist fans. And more so for heist fans that love a romantic-comedy-adventure. Very much in the vein of ' How to Steal a Million '. Maybe even better in some ways, 'Gambit' is that good.

A really fun little comedy with a number of unexpected twists. Extremely well played by Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine and Herbert Lom. MacLaine is utterly delightful, giving us a nicely nuanced performance as a dancehall girl stuck in Hong Kong (that alone is something of a major feat in a comedy). Caine comes across as an inventive and low-tech, if not very physical, James Bond wannabe. Lom does a very nice job as the intended mark and gives a performance far superior to those in the Pink Panther series. Most of the action takes place in the Middle East (without terrorists, explosions or gunfire). The con game involves a plan, a statue, a deceased wife and a doppelganger. Sit back and enjoy. This is a delight.

I saw this when it came out, and have been waiting to get it on DVD since DVDs came out. Just got it and watched it last week, and oh, what a romp! As good as I remembered. So much of it, I had not remembered - it was almost like watching a new movie that someone had told me the highlights of with photos or mini-clips, but those mini-clips had certainly stayed in my head. We bought a copy of the Alan Rickman version, and gave up watching it just a few minutes in -- the characters in it just seemed petty and mean. But these guys you actually cared about. You wanted them to succeed. Anyway, maybe I'm just a product of the 50s and 60s, but I loved it then, and I loved it again now. The writers never missed a beat, the actors never missed a cue. The photography was gorgeous -- as were Ms. MacLaine's costumes. I loughed 'til I coughed.

I bought this DVD just over three years ago. It was great. I really like the movie. The case is still good, the disc still plays. But tonight when opened the case, I was greeted with what you see in the attached photo. WHAT?! Okay, clearly the printed(?) label on the disc proper has failed. Why? It was not exposed to chemicals, heat, cold, etc. I pulled off of the same shelf as hundreds of others that show no signs of this whatever. Is the failure gonna stop with this? Is there some sort of error in the ink/paint/whatever of the label that has also affected the plastic of the disc and reduced its lifespan? I hope not.

"Good, clean fun"...as the saying goes. I saw it in the theater when it first came out; so you know how old I am. Why can't they make more movies like this...(again, you know how old I am.) Yes, I very much recommend this, unless you've already seen it on TV, which some of my younger friends have; hopefully it was not edited! Clever story, unexpected twist, which lays the foundation for the humorous-ness that follows. Not sure, but I think the costumes were by Edith Head; if not, they were quite beautiful nonetheless. Shirley M. does them all justice; and Michael Caine was the perfect fit for the character he plays.

Not a great film, and showing off all the flaws of 1966 production cheapness. But it's a fun film where you get to see an young Michael Cain play off against a young and talented Shirley MacLaine. Mostly slow paced and lacking the vigor and spark of modern (and similar) films. But still fun, if a bit corney. Transfer is quite good looking. Fairly shapr & detailed most of the time, with great color. Supposedly from new 4K capture & transfer of the original film. The airports locations used were Ontario Airport and Long Beach Airport (the way they looked in the 60s). In these 1960 comedies, you never got distant location shots (with the actors actually being there). That's all part of the charm. I think I prefer another similar film from 1966 (How To Steal A Million with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole).

This is a great film, and, as far as I know, this Amazon exclusive DVD-R is the only legal way to get it on disc--and it's not cheap. Most DVD-Rs I've purchased work fine, but not this one. I've no way of knowing whether the skipping and freezing is a problem just with my copy or with the entire run, but I would not recommend this disc. If I find a better copy somewhere (or if Amazon replaces this one), I'll come back and revise this review.

Blu-ray 出版社: Universal Pictures (2020/6/18) 言語: 英語, ドイツ語 ASIN: B086PKNJT9 発売日： 2020/6/18 画質はよくない 映画はいい

le scénario est bien ficelé et original, le jeux des deux acteurs attachants est convaincant. Ce film tient aussi de la comédie .Une bonne soirée assurée.

Ein bisschen ähnelt die Anfangsszenerie der aus A Countess from Hong Kong: Die Eurasierin Nicole Chang (MacLaine) verdient sich ihre Brötchen als Tänzerin in einem Hongkonger Nachtclub. Dort wird sie von dem englischen Dieb und Gentleman Harry Dean (Caine gibt in seinem US-Debüt einmal mehr den Cockney) und dessen französischen Komplizen Emile (John Abbott) für ein raffiniert ausgetüfteltes kriminelles Unterfangen engagiert: Die beiden Gauner haben es auf eine wertvolle Büste abgesehen, welche dem arabischen Milliardär Shahbandar (Lom) gehört. Da Nicole dessen verstorbener Frau zum Verwechseln ähnlich sieht — welche wiederum ein Ebenbild der antiken Büste war —, hofft Harry, durch sie in Kontakt mit Shahbandar zu kommen. Also fliegt das Paar in den Mittleren Osten, um die Bekanntschaft des Milliardärs und seiner Kunstsammlung zu machen. Shahbandar ist auch sofort schwer begeistert von Nicole, doch Harrys ungeschicktes Verhalten ruft rasch berechtigtes Misstrauen in ihm wach… Der erste Drehbuchentwurf entstand bereits 1960. Kein Geringerer als Bryan Forbes hatte es geschrieben. Die Story sollte als Basis für ein Cary Grant-Vehikel dienen. Als sowohl Forbes als auch Grant das Projekt verlassen hatten, erfuhr das Skript einige Überarbeitungen, in deren Verlauf Nicole die zentrale Figur wurde. Als Shirley MacLaine den Zuschlag für den Part erhielt, setzte sie durch, dass Michael Caine, den sie in »The Ipcress File« (Regie: Sidney J. Furie) gesehen hatte, als ihr leading man angeheuert wurde. Herbert Lom indes wurde ohne ihr Wissen besetzt. Der aus London stammende Ex-Kameramann Ronald Neame (1911-2010) war ein versierter Regisseur mit einem untrüglichen Gespür für Esprit und Timing. »Gambit« war seinerzeit ein Hit an den Kinokassen und ein Liebling der Kritiker zugleich, eine rundum gelungene Krimikomödie, ein klassisches heist movie mit Anleihen bei »Topkapi« (Regie: Jules Dassin) und »Du rififi chez les hommes« (Regie: Jules Dassin). Der Film heimste je drei Nominierungen für den Oscar (Bestes Szenenbild, Beste Kostüme, Bester Ton) und die Golden Globes (MacLaine, Caine, Bester Film/Komödie oder Musical) ein, ohne jedoch eine der Trophäen gewinnen zu können. Heute ist der amüsante Streifen leider fast vergessen. — »Gambit« hält einige überraschende Wendungen parat; am Eindrucksvollsten dürfte die 28minütige Eingangssequenz sein (über deren Inhalt und Auflösung ich nichts sagen werde), in der Shirley MacLaine originellerweise kein einziges Wort spricht. Den Vorschlag hatte die Schauspielerin selbst eingebracht — ein wirkungsvoller Schachzug. Der Begriff »Gambit« kommt übrigens aus dem Schach und bezeichnet das Opfern einer leichten Figur für einen Stellungsvorteil in der Eröffnung des Spiels. Im Englischen hat der Ausdruck zusätzlich eine übertragene Bedeutung angenommen. Gemeint ist eine riskante und trickreiche Strategie bzw. eine geschickte Eröffnung eines Gesprächs oder einer Verhandlung, um einen Vorteil zu erlangen. Im Film ist MacLaines Figur das »Gambit«; sie wird wegen ihrer Ähnlichkeit zu Shabandars verstorbener Frau als Eintrittskarte für das Apartment des Millionärs benutzt. MacLaine und Caine traten im Folgejahr noch einmal in »Woman Times Seven« (Regie: Vittorio De Sica) gemeinsam auf, allerdings mit einem weitaus weniger ansprechenden Ergebnis. »Gambit« wurde 2012 mit Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz und Alan Rickman in ziemlich uninspirierter und witzloser Art und Weise neu verfilmt. Doch obwohl das Drehbuch von Joel und Ethan Coen geschrieben wurde, floppte das Remake verdientermaßen. Man sollte sich lieber die Mühe machen und das Original auftreiben; die deutsche DVD allerdings sollte man aufgrund des zerstörten Bildformats (aus 2,35:1 wurde 1.77:1!) allerdings tunlichst meiden.

Nell'ambito di una filmografia su Michael Caine desideravo vedere questo film, che in Italia si è visto pochissimo, vede l'interpretazione di Michael Caine e Shirley MacLaine alle prese con una truffa , in un clima orientaleggiante . Come è nella realtà i propositi non sono quello che succede e la rapina ha momenti di commedia brillante con il lieto fine assicurato. Ronald Neame il regista. Un film delizioso. Più diffuso il secondo Gambit con Colin Firth (che impersonifica il ruolo precedentemente di Caine) Cameron Diaz e una delle ultime interpretazioni di Alan Rickmann , la storia è stata scritta dai fratelli Coen, premi Oscar mentre la regia è di Michael Hoffmann. Peccato che i film con Caine spesso non si trovino sarebbe il momento di rendere giustizia a questo grande attore del secolo breve.

Good crime caper with Shirley maclaine who actually discovered Michael Caine. They have good Chemistry. Good twist at the end. Don't reveal.. Thomas Collopy.