The Movie
This Bryan Forbes film is pretty obscure—at least in the US. It's about a cat burgler (Michael Caine), a man who recruits him for a job (Eric Portman), and his wife (Giovanna Ralli). Like most Bryan Forbes movies, it's odd. The problem for me was that most of the good stuff was in the first act and then it unravelled into a mess and never got going again. The "deadfall" is Caine's ability to grab and hold onto a windowsill while he's falling from an upper story, but the photography and editing ruin the effect.
According to the liner notes to the FSM reissue, the part most people remember about this movie is Barry's music, and by far the best part of the movie is the signature piece, "Romance for Guitar and Orchestra," which is being peformed by Renata Tarrago and orchestra (lead by Barry himself) while Michael Caine tries to break into a safe. It really is interesting and remarkable. Unfortunately, that bit occurs about a third of the way into the film.
Bonus goodness for people with sharp eyes: John Barry steps on the train of Renata Tarrago's dress as she walks by.
I won't spoil the ending, but I suggest highly that you don't read the liner notes on the CD if you haven't already seen the movie, because it gives away the big, shocking reveal at the end of the film. Not that it's really such a rock-your-world revelation anyway, but there it is. |
