BLU-RAY REVIEW / SCREENSHOTS
(1-3) Austrian actor Maximillian Schell plays Walter Harper, who leads the gang on top of the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, Turkey to steal a priceless dagger, adorned with emeralds. Tom Cruise used the same stunt as Ethan Hunt in “Mission: Impossible” (1996).
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“TOPKAPI” 60th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Blu-ray; 1964; Not Rated (there’s nothing objectionable here)
Best extra: The only extra is a commentary by film historian/writer Julie Kirgo and writer/filmmaker Peter Hankoff
JULES DASSIN’S (“Naked City,” “Rififi”) classic heist movie, “Topkapi,” has aged well over the past 60 years. It’s still loads of fun, with wonderful performances by its international stars, Melina Mercouri from Greece, Maximillian Schell from Austria, and British actors Peter Ustinov and Robert Morley. There are plenty of laughs, lots of glamour, and, of course, the iconic heist sequence that is sure to make viewers hold their collective breath, and which has inspired so many films since – including such franchises as “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Mission Impossible.”
The caper takes off with what is now a typical heist movie trope, the gathering of a grab bag of variously talented miscreants to execute a seemingly undoable theft. Masterminded by Elizabeth Lipp (Mercouri) and Walter Harper (Schell), the team consists of Cedric Page (Morley), the gadget guy; Arthur Simon (Ustinov), the “Schmo” who provides distractions; Giulio (Gilles Ségal), a mute acrobat for the many physically challenging aspects of the robbery; and Hans Fisher (Jess Hahn), the strongman.
The object of the theft? A fabulous jewel-encrusted dagger, displayed on a costumed mannikin, under a glass case in the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Being a comedy as well as a thriller, you can count on everything that can go wrong going wrong, as poor schmo Arthur is quickly nabbed by the police and forced to be something of a double agent. With its colorful locations, lively score, snappy dialogue, and superb acting by a melting pot of seasoned pros, “Topkapi” is a blast from start to finish.
(1&2) Greek actress Melina Mercouri plays Elizabeth Lipp, who conspires with Walter Harper, played by Austrian actor Maximillian Schell, to steal the precious jewels. (3) The first recruit is Cedric Page, the gadget man, played by British actor Robert Morley. (4-6) Next, they pay peddler Arthur Simon, to drive a 1963 four-door Lincoln Continental Convertible from Greece to Turkey. It just happens to be stashed with a rifle and smoke bombs. Peter Ustinov won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role. (6&7) Simon is arrested at the border and becomes a stooge for the Turkish police.
VIDEO/AUDIO
For decades, this spoof suffered from an old 2K master with soft imagery, but in 2014, Kino Lorber presented a respectable Blu-ray with digital cleanup removing scratches and marks. Now, MGM/Amazon, which owns the original Filmways production, scanned the original 35mm camera negative (1.66:1 aspect ratio) and the best-surviving elements for damaged sections for a complete 4K restoration.
This new Kino 1080p presentation is impressive, with on-screen clarity (wide shots and closeups) and defined natural film grain throughout. The colors are nicely saturated. Only during short composite fades and the usage of secondary elements does the resolution drop. The only thing missing is a true 4K Ultra HD version.
The original 2.0 Mono soundtrack keeps everything front and center, including the soundtrack by which has Turkish and Greek themes.
EXTRAS
In the worthwhile commentary, Kirgo and Hankoff point out “Topkapi’s” unusual opening titles, featuring cameos of Mercouri laughing in her inimitable toothy way. As the movie proper begins Mercouri, in character as professional thief Elizabeth, addresses the audience, which Hankoff says immediately establishes her as “the seductress.” Kirgo points out the 1960s-era “mod outfits” Mercouri wears, and Hankoff seems to appreciate the sexiness of those garments, noting that the actress is often braless in them.
Hankoff gives some background on the Topkapi Palace, such as that it was built in 1924 for a sultan, and is enormous at 7 million square feet. Hankoff believes that the Turkish government at the time was eager for good press, and interested in boosting tourism, and so was willing to allow access to the palace for the movie’s production.
(1-3) Director Jules Dassin captures travelogue imagery of Istanbul, while also playing a bit part as a Turkish policeman. (3) Left, Gilles Ségal plays Giulio the human fly, a mute acrobat for the physically challenging aspects of the robbery and Jess Hahn plays Hans Fisher the strongman. (4) Left, character actor Akim Tamiroff (“Touch of Evil”) plays Gerven the drunken cook. (5) A little romance between Lipp and Harper. (6) They plan out the details for the heist.
Kirgo says that Connecticut-born Jules Dassin, who would marry Mercouri in 1966, began his career in New York’s Yiddish theater. He went to Hollywood in the 1940s, where he directed many films noir including “Brute Force,” “Naked City” and “Night in the City.” During the McCarthy hearings, Dassin was named by director Edward Dmytryk, and blacklisted. Soon afterward, Dassin moved to Europe, where his directing career continued, and he made the 1955 French film “Rififi,” an earlier heist thriller, albeit a dark and tragic one. Kirgo says that when Mercouri came into Dassin’s life, she “brought playfulness to (him).” She starred in his 1960 film “Never on Sunday,” and won best actress honors at Cannes for her portrayal of a cheerful prostitute. “Topkapi” was Dassin’s first film in color. Hankoff says that although the director never returned to his home country, he managed to have “the happiest career of anyone who was blacklisted.”
Kirgo discusses the location shooting in Greece and Turkey that took place for “Topkapi,” – with “no CGI – in this period, movies took us someplace!” The film is like a travelogue, adds Hankoff: “Dassin loved Europe and the Middle East” and part of “Topkapi” is “like a little documentary about Turkey.” Kirgo notes that there were “no Americans on the production team,” although Dassin has a bit part as a Turkish policeman, his son, Joe Dassin, plays a carnival worker who’s in on the caper, and Jess Hahn was an American expatriate who lived in France.
Manos Hadjidakis, who composed the score, was also responsible for the well-loved music in “Never on Sunday.” However, Kirgo and Hankoff both express admiration for the times during the 20-minute heist scene that are unaccompanied by music, “almost like a silent film,” which greatly adds to the tension. They compare that to today’s thrillers, often having constant background music during their most exciting scenes.
Hankoff credits “Topkapi” with having “set the structure for what a heist movie is.”
— Peggy Earle
The Heist
(1) A Turkish outdoor wrestling match becomes the gang’s alibi. (2-6) Climbing on top of the Topkapi Palace Museum and lowering Giulio toward the glass case.
The menu screen
Topkapi remains a top-draw film. Dassin again proved his mastery of the medium, as he had done with so many movies before this gem (Phaedra, Rififi, Night and the City, etc, etc). America lost a master when they blacklisted him. Superb music, Color (his first) cinematography, and casting make this a winner not to be missed.