Director: Jules DassinReleased: 1964
Genre: Caper Comedy
The film is named after Turkey's famous Topkapi Museum, the target of the robbery. The crew, led by notorious jewel thief and nymphomaniac Elizabeth Lipp (Melina Mercouri), and her lover, Walter Harper (Maximilian Schell), plan meticulously for the job, planning to steal a priceless royal Ottoman dagger. They hire a crew of amateurs instead of seasoned professionals, who will not be recognized by the authorities. These include a brilliant toy maker who is well versed in electronics and mechanical contraptions, a pair of circus acrobats who are immensely strong and coordinated, and a "schmuck" named Arthur Simpson, a struggling con-artist who ends up with a much larger role in the scheme than anyone intended.
Arthur is initially unaware of the heist, and is originally paid only to drive Walter's car from Greece into Turkey. He is stopped by a group of Turkish border guards, who soon discover a gun and six grenades hidden in frame of the driver side door. Threatened with being charged as a terrorist, Arthur is forced to work as an agent for the Turkish secret police, in order to discover who the owner of the car is. He is then offered ten thousand dollars by Walter to help the group, after one of the acrobats manages to break both of his hands days before the job. By the end of the robbery, he has to choose who to remain loyal to. I won't give any more away, but suffice it to say Arthur's extreme fear of heights puts a definite kink in the plan.
Topkapi would be interesting even without the exotic setting, thanks to the pacing, plot and Peter Ustinov's Oscar winning portrayal of Arthur, but the cinematography and music are what set the film apart. In fact, Topkapi is one of the most kaleidoscopic and serene features I've come across. Watching it is like taking a two hour long vacation; it was filmed on location in Turkey and Greece, and magnificent shots of the Aegean Sea blend seamlessly with the brilliantly photographed architecture of Istanbul. Intensely colorful close up shots of jewel encrusted ornaments and carnival rides add to the visual uniqueness and appeal. The score, a combination Greek bouzouki and Turkish festival music, completes the atmosphere.
The only let down in Topkapi is the ending- as the viewer, I felt I was left out in the cold... you'll know what I mean if you see it. The finale almost seems like an afterthought compared to the momentous scenes leading up to the robbery, and hints at a sequel, though I don't believe there is one. Everything else about Topkapi, however, shines like the jewels in the Topkapi museum itself.
3.50/4.00
Genre: Caper Comedy
Jules Dassin produced and directed Topkapi in 1964. He intended for the film to be a humorous and light-hearted version of his most critically acclaimed work, 1955's Rififi. I will confess, I have not yet seen the latter (although I will soon, thanks to Netflix), but I believe that up to this point in time, Topkapi is the best heist film I have seen. It is far better than The Hot Rock and Ocean's Eleven (both the 1960 original and the 2001 remake), and helped set the standard for the film genre as a whole. The characters are colorful, eccentric, and together possess a very specialized skill set, and the final robbery scene itself is taught, riveting, and brilliantly conceived.
The film is named after Turkey's famous Topkapi Museum, the target of the robbery. The crew, led by notorious jewel thief and nymphomaniac Elizabeth Lipp (Melina Mercouri), and her lover, Walter Harper (Maximilian Schell), plan meticulously for the job, planning to steal a priceless royal Ottoman dagger. They hire a crew of amateurs instead of seasoned professionals, who will not be recognized by the authorities. These include a brilliant toy maker who is well versed in electronics and mechanical contraptions, a pair of circus acrobats who are immensely strong and coordinated, and a "schmuck" named Arthur Simpson, a struggling con-artist who ends up with a much larger role in the scheme than anyone intended.
Arthur is initially unaware of the heist, and is originally paid only to drive Walter's car from Greece into Turkey. He is stopped by a group of Turkish border guards, who soon discover a gun and six grenades hidden in frame of the driver side door. Threatened with being charged as a terrorist, Arthur is forced to work as an agent for the Turkish secret police, in order to discover who the owner of the car is. He is then offered ten thousand dollars by Walter to help the group, after one of the acrobats manages to break both of his hands days before the job. By the end of the robbery, he has to choose who to remain loyal to. I won't give any more away, but suffice it to say Arthur's extreme fear of heights puts a definite kink in the plan.
Topkapi would be interesting even without the exotic setting, thanks to the pacing, plot and Peter Ustinov's Oscar winning portrayal of Arthur, but the cinematography and music are what set the film apart. In fact, Topkapi is one of the most kaleidoscopic and serene features I've come across. Watching it is like taking a two hour long vacation; it was filmed on location in Turkey and Greece, and magnificent shots of the Aegean Sea blend seamlessly with the brilliantly photographed architecture of Istanbul. Intensely colorful close up shots of jewel encrusted ornaments and carnival rides add to the visual uniqueness and appeal. The score, a combination Greek bouzouki and Turkish festival music, completes the atmosphere.
The only let down in Topkapi is the ending- as the viewer, I felt I was left out in the cold... you'll know what I mean if you see it. The finale almost seems like an afterthought compared to the momentous scenes leading up to the robbery, and hints at a sequel, though I don't believe there is one. Everything else about Topkapi, however, shines like the jewels in the Topkapi museum itself.
3.50/4.00
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