Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Pluskylang Great Film overall

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

clanciai What struck me from the start when I first saw this film 50 years ago was its dominating stylishness. It has a very particular style of its own all the way, evident in the environment, the fascinating camera angles, the very laconic dialogue, the austere almost militarily disciplined stringency and the total lack of any make up lustre to the characters - as far from Hollywood as possible, especially Michael Caine as Harry Palmer himself, the very opposite of any James Bond or hero agent with his stolid glasses.The stylishness also dominates the composition of the film, which is almost architectural: no action at all to begin with, very careful hints at what is going on, large desolate offices with stiff strictness, and only gradually the intrigue is introduced with the visit to the abandoned factory and Gordon Jackson's first discovery of the secret - and then the shocks start building up, to culminate in the great brainwash scene as an awesome finale.But that on the other hand is the weakness of the film. It's not credible. The stylishness is overdone in artifice and far-fetched methods bordering on absurdity, but it's the book that here goes off into incredibility. The enemy nation for which the spies are working is never mentioned, but Albania is, and Albania was at the time a satellite of Communist China, and it's more credible that China could have contrived an espionage intrigue like this and with those means than Russia.On the whole, it's almost a masterpiece, and it was a great joy to see it again after 50 years and get even more impressed than the first time above all by its artistic qualities.

ferbs54 Just had myself a little Harry Palmer weekend, watching all three films in this classic trilogy starring Michael Caine as the Cockney thief turned secret agent. First up was 1965's "The Ipcress File," costarring Nigel Green and Guy Doleman as Harry's two superiors (both of them far more disagreeable than James Bond's M), as well as Sue Lloyd as the agent who Harry gets involved with. In this initial outing, Palmer is tasked with finding a British scientist who had recently been kidnapped, and discovering why so many other scientists have been turning up with their brains completely drained. Ultimately, Harry gets to the bottom of things, but not before he himself is subjected to some pretty harrowing mental torture. The film is directed in a very stylish manner by someone named Sidney J. Furie; most of the film's images are really something to look at, and off-kilter camera angles and bizarre camera setups abound. Like the Bond films, this Palmer outing was produced by Harry Saltzman (as were the following two); other elements that connect to the 007 franchise are Peter Hunt as editor, a wonderful score by John Barry, and set design by the great Ken Adam. But this is a far cry from the universe of 007; Palmer and his world are far more realistic and credible. Thus, we see Harry shopping in a supermarket, asking about his salary and so on. The Bond movies were pure escapism; the Palmer movies are set very much in our humdrum world, and the London settings are anything but glamorous, but rather drab and dingy. In all, an excellent opener for this trilogy, and challenging as well, as the viewer tries to keep up with all the plot complications and double crosses. In Harry's world, nobody, it seems, is what he or she seems, and everyone seems to have a secret agenda....

robertguttman "The Ipcress File" was produced at the height of the James Bond craze. However, while also a British secret agent, The Ipcress File's Harry Palmer is entirely different sort of character altogether. An Army Sergeant convicted of racketeering, Palmer has been given the choice of working for British Intelligence or going to prison. He is a working-class James Bond with a cockney accent. Harry Palmer lives in a modest flat in London and, rather than driving around in an posh Aston Martin, one gets the distinct impression that he probably commutes to the grubby office from which he works on the bus.There is nothing glamorous about Palmer's associates, either. All are either civil-servant bureaucrats or stuffy military types. On the other hand, Harry Palmer is a wise-guy who is smart enough to carry out his assigned tasks efficiently but who also doesn't quite fit in.The Ipcress File is a rare type of film, a smart thriller. Don't expect massive explosions, spectacular car chases or eye-popping special effects. Instead, The Ipcress File is an intelligent film about intelligent people, none of whom can necessarily be trusted. In Harry Palmer's world, brains count far more than brawn. This is one spy thriller that is well worth going out of one's way to see.

l_rawjalaurence THE IPCRESS FILE covers familiar territory of a Cold War spy thriller; it contains an incomprehensible plot, a fair share of untrustworthy characters, and a subject (The Ipcress File) which is never satisfactorily explained. Suffice to say that Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) discovers the cause of all the trouble, but only after a considerable degree of suffering at the hands of a torturer (Frank Gatliff).What makes Sidney J. Furie's film so memorable is its shooting-style (photography by Otto Heller). It makes use of the basic shot- reverse shot sequence, but every frame is partially obscured by an object, or person placed close to the camera; we seldom see the characters' faces in full profile. This strategy helps to create an atmosphere of menace, where nothing is quite as it seems, and every mission suggested to Harry by his two bosses Dalby (Nigel Green) and Ross (Guy Doleman) appears to have ulterior motives behind it that Palmer remains blissfully unaware of. Palmer himself retains his integrity throughout, even if he perceives himself as something of a rebel within the Secret Service.THE IPCRESS FILE is a direct antithesis of the Bond canon of films, also popular at the time of release. It is set in a grimy, rain- sodden London full of gray buildings and dark interior; no exotic locations for this spy. The most colorful aspect of the mise-en- scene are the big old-fashioned Routemaster buses that drive up and down familiar streets - Piccadilly, Whitehall, Oxford Street. Palmer himself lives in a shabby apartment; his one concession to the so-called 'Swinging Sixties' spirit is an ability to cook, but no one, not least his colleague Jean (Sue Lloyd) seems especially interested. The film inevitably incorporates some of the sexist attitudes of the time - for Palmer all women are "birds," and they do not become actively involved in any espionage activity. The film is a very masculinist piece, with legions of actors dressed in long coats, trilby hats and dark suits. Palmer himself has a good sartorial sense, but even he adopts the same uniform, especially when in pursuit of the enemy.Michael Caine, in a pre-ALFIE role, shows all the cockiness characteristic of his youthful period, when he really believed he could challenge the status quo. Whether he succeeds or not is very much open to debate.