Review of Topkapi (1964) by Blake P — 17 Aug 2011

I was not expecting this movie to be this good! Elizabeth (Mercouri) and her lover (Schell) are planning a brand new heist, to retrieve a emerald embedded dagger in one of the most high security museums in the world.

They recruit amateurs as their help-- a trapeze artist and a bumbling small time smuggler named Arthur (Ustinov). Trouble is, the Istanbul police find out that Arthur is part of this plot, and recruit him to spy on his bosses while still working for them, and in return not get any jail time.

Will it work? "Topkapi" is mostly a hidden movie, and I was not thinking I would like it this much! I already really like most of director Jules Dassin's work, but I never thought one of his last movies would have as much "pozzazz" as some of his first.

Heist movies were getting seriously popular in the '60's, and while most are forgettable, this one isn't. "Topkapi" is a colorful, often funny, suspenseful movie that is not to be missed.

It's always entertaining, but even people interested in art can like it too-- most of the movie was filmed in Istanbul. There's so much going for this movie-- it's a comedy, but it's still a crime film.

It sounded like a spoof to me, but it isn't. It all goes from the characters, but what the coolest thing is, is the transition of the genres. The first hour and fifteen minutes is a full on comedy, and giggling is promised.

For the next half-hour, one of the most tense and suspenseful heists is pulled off, almost as good as the scene in Dassin's other movie, "Rififi". The cast is just as appealing-- Melina Mercouri being one of the most fun femme fatales in movie history, Schell is one of the most menacing crime bosses I've seen, and Ustinov makes this movie hilarious and witty, his Oscar was definitely well earned.

"Topkapi" is a hidden gem, and I really liked it. Recommended.