Description
Michael Caine (The Ipcress File) and legendary director John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, Ronin) team up for an explosive action/thriller jam-packed with heart-stopping suspense and international intrigue. Based on the best-selling novel by Robert Ludlum (and scripted by George Axelrod, Edward Anhalt and John Hopkins), the adventure unfolds "with a crispness that suggests acid etching a nightmare on glass" (Los Angeles Times). Noel Holcroft (Caine) is a New York architect who receives an unexpected inheritance from his ex-Nazi father: $40 billion in funds stolen from the Third Reich, now intended to aid Holocaust survivors. But as Holcroft delves into the treasure's mysterious history, he is thrust into a pulse-pounding adventure in which he alone stands in the way of a plan that is moving inexorably toward its terrifying conclusion: the rise of an all-powerful Fourth Reich!Amazon.com
The 1980s weren't too kind to John Frankenheimer, but this film stands out as a top-notch spy thriller. A Nazi pact to steal a fortune from the Third Reich to aid Holocaust survivors results in a bizarre inheritance 40 years later, with architect Michael Caine having to come to terms with his father's past and the terrifying prospects of a Fourth Reich. The whole thing becomes a metaphor for a witches' covenant. It's exciting and well-paced and full of precious little moments (though Caine and Victoria Tennant fall short of being interesting characters). Supporting actors Mario Adorf, Michael Lonsdale, and Bernard Hepton really shine. The film was based on Robert Ludlum's bestseller and coscripted by George Axelrod (The Manchurian Candidate). Terrific audio commentary by the director provides valuable insight--for instance, allowing Lonsdale to carry a long exposition scene through his commanding presence. --Bill DesowitzAlso Recommended...
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful:
A Robert Ludlum brought to lifeMichael Caine of "The Ipcress File" (1965) fame is once again caught in a web of mystery as he must fathom the meaning of the Covenant and who if any are the good guys among all those trying to help him sign and activate the Covenant
The film is well paced and you get wrapped up in the story. The only drawback is that the music and special sound effects are extremely loud and they people are almost mumbling.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful:
Excellent story2 out of 2 people found this review helpful:
What film did these other people watch?0 out of 0 people found this review helpful:
Truly Awful1 out of 1 people found this review helpful:
Unbelievable you say? Guess what...Granted, "The Boys from Brazil" was far superior, in impact and horror, but this one is far more accurate than one may suspect.
While in "Boys" you had a Doctor Mengele (Gregory Peck, giving a powerful, if not overpowering interpretation) traveling around the world, trying to clone and recreate Adolf Hitler out of children (which truly sounds like science fiction to even the more far-fetched conspiracy theorist), you get here a very plausible and actually accurate depiction of a more than probable Nazi conspiracy.
Those who have watched "The Formula", starring George C. Scott and Marlon Brando, got to know that during the final days of the Third Reich, the Nazi planned contingencies to save their own neck, if not their ideology, from being annihilated by the impending Allied invaders.
In "The Formula" they tried it with synthetic fuel, negotiating with U.S. officials, still during the "Battle of the Bulge" (which by now seems to have been a fact, not fiction).
In "Holcroft Covenant", we have a bunch of SS officers convening secretly in a Bunker in Berlin and swearing an oath of allegiance to the Black Order to which they belonged, swearing that what they had started had to go on throughout generations to come and sealing the pact through what the title of the movie defines as "The Holcroft Covenant".
Such an occurrence did in fact take place, although earlier in the war and just after the fall of Stalingrad. The members of the SS knew right there and then that the war was lost and did prepare for the future.
Eerily as it may seem, many of these officers managed to slip through the network of Nazi hunters, either through monetary compensations or through other secret dealings and either landed up in South America or in other States, such as South Africa, Namibia and so on.
But some never escaped truly. They just managed to merge in the confused situation in which Europe found itself after the war, and managed to pop-up in very respectable activities and functions in the entire tissue of society, not just in neighboring Countries, but in Germany as well.
What we tend to forget, or would likely want to forget is, that they had an agenda, to which they clung to their last breath.
After all an ideology (especially extreme ones, whether from the Right or from the Left) cannot be simply swiped of through talking or reasoning. More drastic means would be needed.
But in order to do so, some compromises with the concept of a Fre World and Freedom should be made. Failing to do so, means that you won't be able to effectively do it.
I am talking about reconditioning of brains, or if you will, "brain washing"...
In this movie, although taken from a fictional novel, we see the failings of our system to do what is needed, when it is needed.
The propagation of certain unhealthy doctrines and ideas throughout generations is nothing new and although it always failed to be successful in its more negative forms, it still resides as a pure illusion in the minds of people who always dream to be masters of the world.
Paranoia or maniacal sense of persecution by others can affect people in this way.
Given that there are still many Fascist and National-Socialist groups throughout the world, brings forth the question whether or not such "Covenants" were ever issued. Fact is, that "they" are still among us.
Considering all this and in the face of a work of fiction such as this movie, it is refreshing to know that someone tried to take a peak at this shady, underground world and show it for what it is and was.
Just because people seem to be nice, forthcoming or just "respectable" does not mean they truly are.
Beware of false friends. The Devil is seldom what he or she appears to be. Besides, it never comes in the form of a Monster.
It is you, it is me, it can be anyone you know and can be as charming and as trustworthy as your neighbor,... until one day...
This is what this movie is all about and as such, it is a marvelous conveyor of a message that should be heeded preciously, because no one knows his neighbor as well as he or she thinks...
Paranoia? Maybe, but also a healthy dose of wisdom and realism.
In my view, just for these qualities, the movie deserves a second watching and an introspection.
The present version of the DVD is far clearer than its VHS predecessor, and being presented in a matted format of 1.85:1 makes it more enjoyable. The sound is adequate and discreet, but very well balanced.
The acting by Michael Caine is a bit theatrical, but nevertheless very much felt. Victoria Tennant is lovable as the source of our hatred, while astonishingly so, Anthony Andrews, an otherwise brilliant actor, is left out cold. His interpretation is uneven and kind of wooden, compared to his TV-performance of "The Scarlet Pimpernel".
But still, this is a movie that would deserve a more balanced judgment.
In my view, if you are a lover of conspiracy thrillers, then this DVD must belong to your shelve collection.
It is your choice...