Billion Dollar Brain on DVD (1967)

A bondesque romp

Mike from Manchester, England , 14/07/2005

An interesting typical 60's film - Ken Russell and Harry Saltzman in combination to produce an eccentric and engaging film. Michael Caine dons the Harry Palmer spy persona running around Finland and Latvia trying to infiltrate a bond style organisation.

Surprisingly this has stood up well given it is approaching 40 years old - and with the subtext of the plot on good and evil this is a sardonic and insightful view on American imperialism that fits well to the world we now live in.

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Crusade for Freedom - sounds familiar

GeorgeLazenby from Greater Manchester , 18/02/2005

On its own merits, the best of the three adaptations of Len Deighton's spy thrillers about a nameless working class spy that the film series calls Harry Palmer. Produced by Harry Saltzman, who also created the James Bond franchise, Palmer is the anti-Bond - confused, disloyal and reluctant to stick his neck out. Michael Caine is entirely unafraid of sending himself up as the reluctant spy attempting to find out the plans of a communist-hating Texan Millionaire. It's deliberately odd and offhand, with superb, fluent direction from Ken Russell. Compared to the OTT excesses of his later films, it's comparatively restrained, but nevertheless very stylish and visually witty.

However, the other reason to see this film is how relevant it seems. Though it's a cold war film, the villain turns out to be General Midwinter, a God-loving fascist oil millionaire obsessed with regime change in the Soviet bloc. Change communism for Islamic fundamentalism, and you would have a smart satire on George W. Bush, right down to the cheesy speeches and good ole boy Texan mannerisms. Bush probably wouldn't like the way in which Russell constantly uses Nazi imagery to show what he thinks of Midwinter, but if the cap fits...

Anyway, this is a great spy movie and a telling satire, and I highly recommend it.

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Did Deighton cringe?

IanStewart from Melton Mowbray [Highly rated reviewer] , 14/07/2007

I wonder if Len Deighton cringed when he saw what the screenwriters for this film had done to his novel? Deighton's Harry Palmer is basically a tough guy, who admittedly doesn't deal well with the 'establishment' and hence tends to be down on his luck. But he's never comical and never twee. The Harry Palmer in this film is both. The film falls between the two stools of trying to be a thriller and trying to be a comedy, and doesn't do either thing very well. For sure, it's obvious that 'Colonel Midwinter' is a take-off of U.S. neo-con machismo, and that sure as hell needs taking off. But by the time Col. Midwinter had made his entry to this film, I had long since stopped believing in either the story or the characters. 'B.D. Brain' isn't a patch on 'The Ipcress File', which did accurately convey the Harry Palmer character as Deighton wrote him. And this film was directed by Ken Russell - I can hardly believe it!

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Great lead, shame about the plot

bluegary from Enfield , 27/03/2008

The third of the Harry Palmer series of films, Billion Dollar Brain falls well below the standard of the previous two. Ken Russell's attempt to imitate the Bond franchise not only suspends belief, but leaves it firmly out to dry.

OK...so the Bond films are hardly what one would call believable but Bond has glamour, Bond has gadgets and Bond has downright nasty villains who want to rule the World and all put together with tongue firmly in cheek. In this installment of the Palmer trilogy, Harry is an ex-spy, down on his luck and not making a great success of the PI industry. Not much glamour there then. Add to that a ludicrous plot about an oil tycoon who wants to invade Latvia (yep! LATVIA) in a fleet of oil tankers and, well, you see what I mean.

This film gets three stars because of the Harry Palmer character played consistently well through all three films by Michael Caine. And, I suppose, this is where the film falls down the most. Its not Caine, but the plot which is more suited to Mike Myers' Austin Powers than Caine's Harry Palmer.

Ah well...

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Great lead, shame about the plot

bluegary from Enfield , 27/03/2008

The third of the Harry Palmer series of films, Billion Dollar Brain falls well below the standard of the previous two. Ken Russell's attempt to imitate the Bond franchise not only suspends belief, but leaves it firmly out to dry.

OK...so the Bond films are hardly what one would call believable but Bond has glamour, Bond has gadgets and Bond has downright nasty villains who want to rule the World and all put together with tongue firmly in cheek. In this installment of the Palmer trilogy, Harry is an ex-spy, down on his luck and not making a great success of the PI industry. Not much glamour there then. Add to that a ludicrous plot about an oil tycoon who wants to invade Latvia (yep! LATVIA) in a fleet of oil tankers and, well, you see what I mean.

This film gets three stars because of the Harry Palmer character played consistently well through all three films by Michael Caine. And, I suppose, this is where the film falls down the most. Its not Caine, but the plot which is more suited to Mike Myers' Austin Powers than Caine's Harry Palmer.

Ah well...

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Bondified but not stirring

Martinbuckley from London , 04/01/2007

Bondified Len Deighton. The original novel is a very witty rollercoaster ride, Deighton's working class hero a far savvier and more entertaining read than Ian Fleming's upper class hero. But it's all vulgarised in typical 1960s movie fashion for movie audiences, with Maurice Binder title sequence, grandiose Ken Adamsish sets, etc, managing to lose Deighton's downbeat point along the way. The script is flat, and Ken Russell's direction is unintelligent --excitable but surprisingly unimaginative. Having said all that, the film has some good scenes and mostly decent performances (in particular from the Eastern European cast members). The Richard Rodney Bennet score is terrific. But Billion Dollar Brain is nowhere near as edgy and innovative as The Icpress File.

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