RELEASE DATE

17 July 2024

The Ipcress File (1965)
Starring Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Guy Doleman, Sue Lloyd, and Gordon Jackson.
Based on Len Deighton’s bestselling novel, the realistic, landmark spy thriller of espionage and counter-espionage centres on Harry Palmer, an intelligence agent assigned to investigate fears over British security. 
Produced by 007’s Harry Saltzman, with music by John Barry, The Ipcress File provides a downbeat, yet realistic and exciting portrayal of 1960s espionage.   
Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 1080p high-definition master from a restored 2K scan by ITV Studios
• Audio Commentary by director Sidney J. Furie and film editor Peter Hunt (1999)
• Audio Commentary by film historian Troy Howarth and film historian/filmmaker Daniel Kremer (2020)
• Michael Caine is Harry Palmer – interview with Michael Caine (2006)
• The Design File – interview with production designer Ken Adam (2006)
• Locations Report with Richard Dacre (2021) 
• Through The Keyhole – interview with 2nd assistant director Denis Johnson, Jr. (2021)
• Counting The Cash – interview with assistant production accountant Maurice Landsberger (2021)
• Isolated Music & Effects audio track 
• Textless Material, Theatrical Trailers, U.S. Radio Spots and Extensive Photo Galleries
• DTS HD 5.1 surround / LPCM 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English subtitles

Funeral in Berlin (1966)
Starring Michael Caine, Paul Hubschmid, Oscar Homolka, Eva Renzi
Harry Palmer is sent to Berlin where he is to extricate a Russian general who wants to defect. 
Director Guy Hamilton’s follow-up to The Ipcress File is the second in the film series based on Len Deighton’s novels. 
Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 1080p high-definition transfer by Paramount Pictures
• Audio commentary by Rob Mallows of The Deighton Dossier (2021)
• Fun in Berlin – interview with editor John Bloom (2021)
• Afternoon Plus – interview with Len Deighton (1983) 
• Candid Caine: a self portrait by Michael Caine – documentary (1969) 
• Michael Caine: Breaking the Mold – documentary (1994)
• Theatrical Trailer and Photo Gallery
• LPCM 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English subtitles

Billion Dollar Brain (1967)
Starring Michael Caine, Karl Malden, Ed Begley, Oscar Homolka, Francoise Dorleac
Harry Palmer is blackmailed into working for MI5 again on his wildest – and most dangerous – assignment yet as he pits his wits against an insane billionaire and his supercomputer. 
From 007 producer Harry Saltzman and acclaimed director Ken Russell come the final film in the 1960s Palmer trilogy. 
Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 1080p high-definition transfer by MGM 
• Audio commentary by film historians Vic Pratt and Will Fowler (2021))
• Interview with Rob Mallows of The Deighton Dossier (2021) 
• Photographing Spies – interview with cinematographer Billy Williams (2021)
• Billion Dollar Frame – interview with associate editor Willy Kemplen (2021)
• This Week – excerpt of Michael Caine discussing the British film industry (1969)
• Theatrical Trailers 
• LPCM 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English subtitles

I guess this is a rerelease of the 3 film collection that sold out in 2021.  Might be the last chance to get all three films in one collection. Under $40 at Diabolik DVD. 

Blimey, now there's something I could go for.  You could scarcely find 3 films in one series MORE DIFFERENT from each other, it's almost like you're looking at 3 completely different universes, except for Michael Caine & Guy Doleman.

THE IPCRESS FILE was THE movie that really convinced me of the incredible importance of seeing a theatrical film IN WIDESCREEN.  I first taped it off a local channel, and I got to like it based soley on the characters and the plot.

But then one day I taped it again-- almost certainly from TCM-- in stunning, crystal-clear widescreen.  And it was like... HOLY S*** !!!!  It was like watching an ENTIRELY-DIFFERENT MOVIE.  Up to that point, I had NEVER seen any director design every shot in the film to take fullest extreme advantage of widescreen.  It struck me the guy had deliberately set up every single camera shot so that IMPORTANT elements were at the extreme left or right edges of the film frame-- often, BOTH at the same time.  Which made any viewing in "fullscreen" / "PAN-AND-SCAN" an absolute atrocity.  If 2 people were standing facing each other talking, you could only see one or the other, not both.  Sometimes, neither.

On top of that, the MUSIC SCORE on that print TCM ran was twice as loud as it had been on the local channel print.  I don't know how that happened, if the film was originally that way in the theatres, or if it had been remastered that way for some reason, but in that TCM print, John Barry's score just BLASTED out at you, much louder than any of the film's dialogue.  It all made for a VERY intense experience.

Meanwhile... to date, I have still never seen EITHER of the 2 sequels IN WIDESCREEN.  I can only imagine, there's DRASTICALLY-better viewing experiences waiting for me.

I currently have a region-free BR player, so I could get a Euro version of this if it's Region 2... but if Region 1, or, better, Region-FREE is avaialble, even better.


Until mid-1986 (just before I started art school, 9 years later than I should have), I used to wear shell-rimmed glasses JUST like Michael Caine did back then.