The Ipcress File

Michael Caine creates probably my favorite spy character ever. A smartass who loves Mozart, knows how to cook champignon and finds his way around women. Pace is a bit slow - for a spy movie there are very little action, but good cinematography and acting makes it a very fine comic thriller.

Wonderful anti-Bond film; great supporting cast of characters, plus Caine is very good in lead.

A cool melodrama-free atmosphere of suspicion mixed with some slightly over-the-top 60s psychology. Great visuals and Cain is wonderful as the swaggering and sarcastic spy.

Only my second Harry Palmer film, and my first in 25 years; I really must start catching up. A serious, mature espionage thriller with a believable, likable hero well-shot in 2.35:1 against the backdrop of swinging '60s London

An excellent old-fashioned thriller about identity anxiety, double agents and counter-counter-espionage. The cinematography is dynamic and art-house-y, with moments of chiaroscuro, that ups the tension in seemingly monotonous scenes. Acting is also top-rate. Highly recommended.

Pretty straightforward spy thriller with some peculiar stylistic flourishes. Extra points for the inherently interesting chronotope of sixties' Britain.

Excellent.

Conceived as a reaction against the Bond series (by the same producer, too), THE IPCRESS FILE takes a realistic, dryly humorous look at the spy game--although when the IPCRESS procedure itself begins, the film begins to get campy. Still, it's a finely put-together thriller, showing no hints of the apparent production turmoil; Furie's direction and especially Otto Heller's cinematography are unnervingly stylish. And Michael Caine's performance here secured his stardom. It's not hard to see why.

Classy spy flick with solid pacing and inventively assured camera work. Caine's at his cocky, swaggering best as he eases his way through the mystery. Wraps up a little too neatly, but this is a smooth ride and worth taking.

Superbly directed spy thriller. The plot is intriguing enough, but predictably for Len Deighton lacks a bit of balance and wraps up a bit too neatly. But this film is all about the bold and inventive shot construction and the acting of Michael Caine and Guy Doleman. Every scene with these two is a gem.

2014-08-01: 75; Great direction and surprisingly well acted.

A classic spy thriller.

karakterle konuşan plot izlemesi eğlenceli bir seyirlik çıkartıyor fakat sonunda kendini ciddiye alan tarafın ağır basıyor olması ortada olay örgüsü adına pek de bir şey olmaması sebebiyle potansiyel etkiyi kırıyor. yine de casus filmlerindeki problemli durumlar düşünülünce mis gibi film o ayrı.

A pretty brilliant and engaging thriller to start off with. Then just as it begins to fatally wane, it picks up in third act greatly by way of an almost complete genre change (and odd one, but entirely suitable).

"The Ipcress File" might be somewhat cheap, but overall it's a well-written and engaging film. John Barry gives us yet another terrific score, Michael Caine is agreeable in the lead role and the photography ranges from amateurish to artistic and inspired. It's nothing earth-shattering but is well worth a viewing.

Caine is great, but the pacing is a bit sluggish and the story isn't really that impressive. I prefer Bonds frankly.

Michael Caine stars as 'middling charismatic guy'. He likes champignons, Mozart and staring creepily at women. I kept waiting for him to tip his fedora and go "M'lady". The plot is interesting at first but the pacing is terrible. The film has a quick start, gets bogged down in a swamp only to end in about 5 minutes. The villains aren't given any motive, which makes the Scooby Doo reveal near the end only sillier. Oh yeah, and the music is sleep-inducing and awful.

A bit of fun, but it didn't blow me away. The third act is a little silly. I couldn't help but laugh at Caine's absurd eye makeup.

Wow! The cinematography and music really elevate this spy thriller to a higher level. Michael Caine was excellent as well. Think, a more realistic James Bond movie.

ending made it interesting

A very good, old fashioned plot driven thriller. Strong casting, simple and effective plot and direction with some twists that although predictable by todays standards are still handled well. Worth watching

Somewhere between Ian Fleming and John le Carré, and much, much better when it's closer to the latter: tedious bureaucracy, residual pre-war class dynamics, humdrum London locations (aside from anything else the film is a valuable record of London in the mid-60s), the US as a source of resentment and suspicion rather than glamorous idealisation. Becomes more Bond-like towards the climax: evil men with suspect foreign accents and some dated, Dr Who-style special effects.

From the opening scene I can identify one of the problems with this production: lack of knowledge about brewing coffee.

Rock solid British 60s spy thriller. A typical slow burner in which for the first 70 minutes or so very little actually happens, cause it's follows the procedural legwork of actual espionage. Which is all very watchable thanks to a vintage Michael Caine who caries the movie with ease.

Neat spy thriller with a memorable performance from Caine. Lots of dry humour and droll one-liners, but also a great story with lots of twists, intrigue and paranoia. It verges on silliness towards the end, but pulls itself together for a fantastic final scene

A pretty good movie, but sometimes confusing. It unravels at the end though, so it's not a bad movie at all.

a tad campy as soon as the eponymous ipcress procedure begins, but apart from that superbly directed & acted. bonus points for the dry humour & fantastic soundtrack by John Barry.

Tries to jazz up a very dry story with clever photography, and to be fair, nearly succeeds.

2017-01-10

This movie works because of a good performance by Michael Caine. The script has some slow moments and some exciting ones. Overall I would recommend this film.

Classic 1960's spy thriller, with some interesting camera angles and very British characters.

15 minutes in and the slow pace and barrys ultra subdued anti-jamesbond score put me to sleep. I dozed in and out for 45 minutes...rather than go back i decided to catch up with wikipedia...turns out i missed only a paragraph of plot in 45 minutes...didn't realize though and read two more paragraphs thus spoiling the next thirty minutes. Caine is always cool though and i did like the story even if it didn't lend itself to a very lively film

Michael Caine makes the movie worth watching. As a spy thriller, it's just ok.

Dated maybe, but excellent. Very different to Bond but still stylish. Part of the Caine collection for sure.

Caine is fine but it's actually rather boring.

Bleak, cool, and smooth.

what a delight! can do an annual revisit, among a scant handful of films.