Topkapi (1964) - Kino Studio Classics - October 7, 2014

[Akijama]

Topkapi Blu-ray PRE-ORDER

Topkapi Official Trailer #1 - Robert Morley Movie (1964) HD - YouTube

[John_Drake]

I never thought I'd see this released on BD.

[javi92]

I really hope the transfer for this title is a good one. Love this film.

[Scottie]

How is this in terms of Jules Dassin's other films?

I really enjoyed Rififi and I consider it one of the best, if not the best, film about heists. I have also seen The Naked City, which I enjoyed, and Night and the City, which I hated.

[javi92]

Originally Posted by iScottie

How is this in terms of Jules Dassin's other films?

I really enjoyed Rififi and I consider it one of the best, if not the best, film about heists. I have also seen The Naked City, which I enjoyed, and Night and the City, which I hated.

I think if you enjoyed Rififi, you will enjoy this. It has more comic elements than Rififi, and is less dark overall, but the heist scene is similarly tense.

[trip66]

I'm a huge fan of Dassin and thought this was a complete swing and a miss.

[Arkadin]

so excited about this one coming to bd.
such an intelligent, witty throwback to the days when real artists made real films.

[obscurelabel]

Originally Posted by iScottie

How is this in terms of Jules Dassin's other films?

I really enjoyed Rififi and I consider it one of the best, if not the best, film about heists. I have also seen The Naked City, which I enjoyed, and Night and the City, which I hated.

I have to say I am not a big fan of this. IMHO Mercouri and Schell have ZERO chemistry together and their relationship is a key element. The tone should be light and breezy and these two are dull and clunky (although of course they have been fine in other films). Also, the whole plotting of the heist had been logical and precise, and then at the end we get this ludicrous twist:

[Show spoiler]Simpson suddenly is found to have exceptional strength? Apologies to Peter Ustinov, but it looks as if the heaviest thing he lifts is a cafeteria tray.

The heist itself is interesting but not worth the trouble.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by javi92

I think if you enjoyed Rififi, you will enjoy this. It has more comic elements than Rififi, and is less dark overall, but the heist scene is similarly tense.

Originally Posted by obscurelabel

I have to say I am not a big fan of this. IMHO Mercouri and Schell have ZERO chemistry together and their relationship is a key element. The tone should be light and breezy and these two are dull and clunky (although of course they have been fine in other films). Also, the whole plotting of the heist had been logical and precise, and then at the end we get this ludicrous twist:

[Show spoiler]Simpson suddenly is found to have exceptional strength? Apologies to Peter Ustinov, but it looks as if the heaviest thing he lifts is a cafeteria tray.

The heist itself is interesting but not worth the trouble.

Thanks for the opinions, guys.

It sounds like a movie worth seeing, but not necessarily worth the trouble of blind buying. I'll try to find a copy before I commit to a purchase.

[MifuneFan]

It looks like an oddball kind of movie, but I do enjoy heist movies, especially in exotic locales, so I'd like to see this one day. It's available to rent on Vudu, so I might just go that route

http://www.vudu.com/movies/#!content/140949/Topkapi

[Bucky]

I read this book a few years ago and enjoyed it, might have to check this out.

[Pirate King]

Very excited about this release. Very good film.

[penguin]

anyone know if subtitles are planned? Old soundtracks benefit so much and the hearing impaired and those to whom English is not their first language need them too.

[JMK]

Topkapi Blu-ray Review

[baheidstu]

Just watched my copy of this blu-ray. The film is wonderful as usual, but the transfer is horrible. The print is full of damage, scratches, color fluctuation... the review on this site is kind, to say the least. Clearly, as usual, KL have just taken what has been given to them and slapped it on the disc. If this is one of the titles that TT allegedly turned down because the transfer wasn't up to scratch, then it wouldn't surprise me.

[tylergfoster]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Just watched my copy of this blu-ray. The film is wonderful as usual, but the transfer is horrible. The print is full of damage, scratches, color fluctuation... the review on this site is kind, to say the least. Clearly, as usual, KL have just taken what has been given to them and slapped it on the disc. If this is one of the titles that TT allegedly turned down because the transfer wasn't up to scratch, then it wouldn't surprise me.

A film of this age, I think calling it horrible is pretty extreme, especially because while all the things you say are true, the vast majority of the film looks fine on the whole, and it's undoubtedly a significant improvement over the DVD edition. Of the Kino releases I've seen, it is the most weathered, but still something I would recommend to anyone to upgrade.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by tylergfoster

A film of this age, I think calling it horrible is pretty extreme, especially because while all the things you say are true, the vast majority of the film looks fine on the whole, and it's undoubtedly a significant improvement over the DVD edition. Of the Kino releases I've seen, it is the most weathered, but still something I would recommend to anyone to upgrade.

Age has nothing to do with it. Clearly no effort has been made whatsoever to clean this up before putting it on blu-ray. The old standby that it looks better than the DVD, or is an improvement over the DVD, doesn't wash. By virtue of being put on to a high-def format will make it look better than the DVD. A better comparison is, how does it look compared to other films on blu from the same time period? Maybe I was more sensitive to it because I just watched the blu-ray of Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines and it was absolutely gorgeous, but the last release I saw that was this shoddy was "Bang Bang You're Dead" from Olive - another company that slap-dashes their releases and overcharges for them.

I would still recommend an upgrade over the DVD based on the quality of the film and the format, but this could have and should have been much better.

[tylergfoster]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Age has nothing to do with it. Clearly no effort has been made whatsoever to clean this up before putting it on blu-ray. The old standby that it looks better than the DVD, or is an improvement over the DVD, doesn't wash. By virtue of being put on to a high-def format will make it look better than the DVD. A better comparison is, how does it look compared to other films on blu from the same time period? Maybe I was more sensitive to it because I just watched the blu-ray of Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines and it was absolutely gorgeous, but the last release I saw that was this shoddy was "Bang Bang You're Dead" from Olive - another company that slap-dashes their releases and overcharges for them.

I would still recommend an upgrade over the DVD based on the quality of the film and the format, but this could have and should have been much better.

I have seen many Blu-rays that I sold and returned to the DVD due to inferior picture quality. (While I hope all transfers have no problems, in general, I would always prefer a mediocre or underwhelming transfer to be naturally beat-up than digitally manipulated.) Certainly, there are better transfers of films from the same era, but I guess I go into KLSC or Olive knowing they're not likely to have done restoration work.

I agree enough with your final point, that it could've been better.

[smirnoffski]

A new restoration was premiered at the Turner Classic Film Festival last month described as follows: "Photochemical restoration by The Film Foundation in collaboration with Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc."

Hopefully, this means an updated release is around the corner, especially considering that the prior Kino release appears to be OOP.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by smirnoffski

A new restoration was premiered at the Turner Classic Film Festival last month described as follows: "Photochemical restoration by The Film Foundation in collaboration with Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc."

Hopefully, this means an updated release is around the corner, especially considering that the prior Kino release appears to be OOP.

I saw this at the TCM festival and am hoping for the same thing.