Topkapi

Starring:Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, Jess Hahn, Gilles SÃ©gal, Akim Tamiroff, Titos Vandis, Ege Ernart, Senih Orkan, Ahmet Danyal Topatan, Joseph Dassin, Despo Diamantidou, Amy Dalby, Bedri Ã‡avusoglu
Director: Jules Dassin
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Director Jules Dassin (Night and the City, The Naked City) fashioned this breezy and intricate 1964 thriller with a sly comic bent, and it enjoyed international popularity and became an influence for other high-toned European caper films. Peter Ustinov (Spartacus, Death on the Nile) won an Academy Award for his performance as a hapless driver, clueless to the plans of his cohorts, two jewel thieves who plan to steal a priceless dagger from the Topkapi museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Maximilian Schell (Deep Impact, Judgment at Nuremburg) and Melina Mercouri (The Victors, The Gypsy and the Gentleman) play the jet-setting thieves, who choose a motley band of amateurs instead of pros in order to throw off the authorities. But when Ustinov is apprehended by the cops, he agrees to act as a spy in order to thwart the robbery. Eventually, Ustinov must choose between saving his own hide and remaining loyal to the seductive Mercouri as the machinations of the robbery become ever more complex. Sleek and entertaining, Topkapi is filled with intrigue and thrills at every turn. --Robert Lane

Description

A 'skillful blend of romance and comedy (The Hollywood Reporter), Topkapi shimmers with hilarity, action and great performances! Fun-filled and suspenseful, it's an incredibly ingenious affair [and] a considerable pleasure to watch (Newsweek)! Trouble brews beneath the exotically curved towers of Istanbul when the equally exoticand equally curvedElizabeth Lipp (Melina Mercouri) recruits her former lover (Maximilian Schell) in a scheme to heist the pride of the city's Topkapi museum: a jewel-encrusted dagger. But the job soon turns into a high-tension, high-wire performanceliterallywhen the bumbling fall guy (Peter Ustinov) and other amateurs they ve hired as help find they'll have to lift their prize while dangling from the museum's vaulted ceiling!

Customer Reviews:

A Delightful Adventure.......2007-06-12

Ustinov is over the top, but won an academy award as best supporting actor for this little romp. The idea is based on the cliche of robbing a secure museum. Robert Morely steals the show, by the way. He's as good as Ustinov, and just as funny.

As Fresh Today As It Was In 1964.......2007-02-19

which is due, in large part, to the quality of this particular DVD (wide-screen version). The colors are vibrant, the sound good.

An early "caper" film, Topkapi set the standard for the genre, with an interesting plot, a beautiful location (many consider the city of Istanbul to be the star of the film), and a great cast (Peter Ustinov later won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film).

Although I purchased it after a (much-enjoyed) trip to Istanbul as a way to relive that visit, I found myself enjoying every aspect of the film. This is one you turn on and want to keep watching all the way through to the end.

Sadly, Melina Mercouri (1920 - 1994) and Peter Ustinov (1921 - 2004) are no longer with us. This is a great chance to enjoy them as they were in their primes.

Highly recommended.

A fascinating guide to the jewel of the Dardanelles..........2007-01-15

Melina Mercouri introduces herself as a thief who doesn't hide the way she feels about the most wonderful emeralds... She wants to rob a dagger encrusted with fascinating gemstones...

One of her potential partners is her former lover Maximilian Schell, a very distinguished crook who fights at his best when he fights in a corner... Schell wants to pick his crew from amateurs with no police records, and strike the most protected fortress...

Peter Ustinov won his first Best Supporting Oscar for his amusing performance as the clever middle-aged 'nobody' who could have gone far but he always plays for small stakes...

Ustinov is the victim of circumstances, caught at the Turkish border with a riffle and six grenades... For that, his mission is to spy on the spies, and report to the Turkish security everything he overhears-no matter how trivial it may seem to him... The police gives him a chance to prove that he is not a terrorist... He accepts to work with them...

With a funny toy man who proposes to get into the palace museum without touching the floor; a mute acrobat who talks with his whole body; a mad muscle man who hates a drunken cook; a showman with no problems at the customs border; plus Islamic mosques; ancient streets; colorful bazaars; oiled wrestlers; talented belly dancers; and fable roofs; "Topkapi" overlooks both the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus, offering bright moments with a final suspense sequence in the 'Rififi' manner...

Fun and quality.......2007-01-04

This is a very delightful film. First, the enormous sex appeal of Melina Mercouri, her lovely and endearing smile, and those eyes... Then, of course, her partner, Maximilian Schell, in a role that resembles so much his own life (as bon vivant, not as a thief, or course) and last, but not least, the wonderful Peter Ustinov. Each comedy he plays he gives us the gift of his extraordinary talent as comediant. He is elegant,with thousand faces, ductil, he is a chamaeleon who can play any role he wants. All his misfortunes are ours in this film, achieved through his mastery in acting. I do recommend this film as a must.
Eugenia Lizalde

Excellent Adaptation of Eric Ambler Book.......2006-09-08

The 1964 movie Topkapi was based on British novelist Eric Ambler's 1962 best seller "The Light of Day". I am often wary of watching movies of books I have liked but director Jules Dassin has done a terrific job. He has taken one of Ambler's more lighthearted, almost whimsical, suspense novels and turned it successfully into a lighthearted, funny suspense movie.

The plot is straightforward. Elizabeth Lipp and Walter Harper (wonderfully played by Melina Mercouri and Maximillian Schell) plan to pull off the heist of a lifetime. They want to steal a priceless, jewel-encrusted knife and scabbard from the famed Topkapi palace/museum in Istanbul. Harper realizes that if they are successful the world's police will go after every known jewel thief in the world. Harper and Lipp decide to recruit non-professionals with useful skills to pull of an ingeniously planned heist. To that end they recruit Arthur Simpson. Simpson is something of a part-time con man. Part English and part Egyptian Simpson makes a living hustling tourists in Greece.

As the plot develops Dassin takes us on a grand tour of Istanbul as it looked in the early 1960s. Dassin and his cinematographers do a great job conveying the sights and sounds of the city. Although the movie is played for laughs in some respects the planning and execution of the robbery makes for great viewing. The robbery itself is bold and audacious and Dassin and the cast do a great job in creating a feeling of tense anticipation as the movie reaches its climactic moments. It should not be a surprise that the creator of the TV series Mission Impossible was inspired by Topkapi. It may be a surprise to find out that there was a museum robbery in New York six months after Topkapi whose planning and execution was based on the film.

The acting throughout is excellent. Peter Ustinov won a Best Supporting Actor Academy award for his portrayal of Simpson. Mercouri was both funny and flirtatious and carried off her role flawlessly. The great character actor Akim Tamiroff also did a great job playing a the always drunk, raging chef to the jewel thieves.

Topkapi is a fun, lighthearted movie. It is well worth seeing.
L. Fleisig

Average customer rating:

TOURING TRAVEL ISTANBUL TURKEY

Manufacturer: Questar
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EPAPS8

Product Description

Discover Istanbul·the city that bridges the ancient and modern worlds of Europe and Asia. Enter the domed Aghia Sophia, the stunning church-turned-mosque that has survived wars and earthquakes. Explore the Grand Bazaar, the 67-street hypermarket that dates from the Middle Ages. The family jewels of 18 Ottoman sultans welcome you to Topkapi Palace. Visit the sacred Eyup Mosque, named after a close friend of the prophet Mohammed. Encounter towering modern hotels that entertain guests with a risqué European version of belly-dancing. Experience the mysterious and intriguing city of Istanbul.

Average customer rating:

Topkapi [NTSC] [DVD]

Manufacturer: Film Prestige
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Comedy Thriller

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