Customer Reviews

Eurospy Guide

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We Europeans have produced many excellent B-movies, which seem to be unfortunately not so well known in the USA. They are the source of hours of fun and pleasure if you do not take them too serious. Matt Blake and David Deal have written an excellent book about the european spy-movies (without the 007-James Bond Films, which are covered in many other books). The encyclopedia is very complete and covers also the films with spys like Jerry Cotton, Agent 3S3, Lemmy Caution, OSS 117, 077, Harry Palmer and many others. Definitively a brilliant reference-book for the serious filmbook- or moviecollector !
other books about the same genre:
"spies & sleuth" from Cinebooks
"the great spy pictures" Vol. 1 + 2 from James Robert Parish
"les faux espions" from John Carnaby
"George Nader und seine Filme" from Dirk Brüderle

Finally somebody took the time to review this forgotten genre. The James Bond phenomenon of the 60's, especially with the release of Goldfinger, had every studio in Europe, and to a certain degree in the US as well, jumping on the bandwagon and cranking out spy thrillers. Some were terrible, some were enjoyable and some were great. This book gives a very good and honest overview of the genre. Both Matt and David give their honest opinions, no holds barred, on the movies reviewed. The review includes cast overview, locations country of origin, year released as well as a personal review of the films. It also includes chapters on the series (Kommisar X, 077, S3S, etc), the main actors as well alternate titles of the movies. All in all makes for a very enjoyable read. Now to hope that some of the studios released these movies on DVD.

Johan

We were so young. This is a Boomer Book, reminding us of Bond and Helm and now, if we didn't know, our brothers (and sisters) across the pond. My 15-year-old son laughs at "Austin Powers" and now I can show him where the whole damn thing came from.

It doesn't matter if you're a fan. The reviews are quirky, enlightening, funny, and laced with references to what we remember even if we've let it slip a little. This is less a reference book than an overview of a difficult time when some really goofy things happened on film, some of them awful, some less so, some pretty magnificent. Even if you never rent or buy any of these films, you'll get hours of enjoyment from just reading about what it was. This is one for the library, or maybe the bedroom, or possibly the bathroom. The places you read.

I have always been a spy movie fan. It's pretty hard growing up in the United States in the 1960's and NOT be one. I have always been been a fan of James Bond, The Saint, The Prisoner, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and especially The Avengers! But growing up in small town America, I had no idea there was a whole different spy genre going on... this one in Europe! I had hints of it over the years... I would pick up a 16mm film here of a French film called "OSS-117" here, a VHS of a Italian film "Danger: Diabolik" there, but that was it.
Then I was recently introduced to the world of the "Eurospy". It turns out each European Country had at least one major secret agent film series of their own, whether it was the French "OSS 117", the German "Kommasar X", the Italian's "Dick Malloy, C.I.A. Agent 077" just to name three. I suddenly found myself in a world of new Spy Film to watch and many Graymarket and Public Domain DVD titles to choose from. What to pick?
Here is a great answer! Matt Blake's and David Deal's "Eurospy Guide" is a wonderful reference book that lists and reviews these films. Even Limiting itself to the 1960's (When the whole Bond fad hit it's peak with the film "Thunderball") you'll find this book lists hundreds of films, sorted by their English-language titles (and how quick you'll discover how these of these films had multiple titles!). You'll also find Appendices listing Film Series, Biographies of Lead Actors and lots more! I keep my copy next to my computer at home, so when I find myself sorting through Ebay or even Amazon listings, I have a immediate reference to give me a sense of whether I should pursue that bid or not.
I've discovered I've been missing out on some great, (though low-budget),imaginative fun and with this book, I find I don't have to choose films blindly! Thank, guys!

I found the reviews very entertaining, with spicy language but dry humor. Even the movies that got dud reviews were fun to read about.

This book is a MUST! Next to Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, this book is a must for those who crave more in-depth information about films that go "beyond Bond". Frankly I thought I was the only person aware of these types of films, until I found this guide. The authors obviously "get it" and are very good at rating and summarizing film information without talking down or over-explaining the concept of Eurospy movies (although, for those unfamiliar with the genre, the introduction does a FANTASTIC job and I learned several things). If you have seen the Bond and Flint films a million times and are ready for the next step, this is what to get!

The Eurospy Guide is a very interesting book, written with great enthusiasm by a couple of fans of the genre. And, though you're not going to find a better book on this limited subject out there today, you should be warned that the Eurospy Guide, as good as it is, is written by a couple of obsessive film fans and not film scholars or historians. The duo who wrote the book did an amazing job for amateurs, but would have benefitted from a strong editor and a professional fact-checking research team. But you don't get those kinds of resources for books on subjects as deliciously obscure as the one for this one. As amateurs, their research is almost solely based upon versions of the films available in the USA--usually bootleg tapes and dvds (as most of these films are not officially available in the USA at all). So that's the perspective you get. And within those confines, the authors do a great job.

And, though the book is commendably text-heavy, the illustrations--of movie posters and the like--are almost uniformly horrible. The majority of the pics look as though they just lifted jpgs from Ebay--and thus the illustrations are very low-resolution and broken up. They should have held out for better pictures or just done without.
BUT the strength of the book is not pictures, so it's really not a big deal.

All in all, however, this book is still indispensible for anyone interested in the subject. And I have to say that it is much better written and more accurate than the majority of film books from McFarland. Now we just need to get a similar book on the Sword and Sandal "peplum" movies!

Here it is, one of the most complete guides to Eurospy movies available anywhere! This guide is a must-have for fans of the genre and anyone who is interested in learning more about these delightful, if not occasionally silly movies. The authors of this guide really know their stuff and it is packed full of reviews, the low-down on the cast and crew of each film, and plenty of movie posters and other artwork too. It's all here, so enjoy "the exploits of suave secret agents, glamorous femmes fatales and increasingly demented villains" for yourself.

Absolutely the the most complete book of it's type available, and a definate must have for fans of 1960's Euro-spy flicks. The authors have tracked down and reviewed countless examples of the genre. You'll get reviews of such classics as FROM ISTANBUL, ORDERS TO KILL; FX 18 SUPERSPY; KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM DIE; LSD, HELL FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE; LUCKY THE INSCRUTABLE; MARK DONEN AGENT Z7; MISSION BLOODY MARY; THE SECOND BEST SECRET AGENT IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORD; and YPOTRON aka MISSION SECRETE POUR LEMMY LOGAN, among many others. You'll meet all the top agents of their time; Jerry Cotton, OSS 117, Lemmy Caution, Joe Walker, Francis Coplan, Charles Vine, The Monocle, Agent 3S3, 077, The Tiger and James Tont. The plots are over the top, the soundtracks groovey and the scantily-clad Euro-spy babes beautiful and deadly. This is entertainment value at it's highest "cheese" factor. And speaking of cheese, if you were one of the lucky few to have read author Matt Blake's outstanding Eurotrash fanzine CHEESEPLANT then you know what a great time you're in for.
Both Blake and co-author David Deal take turns reviewing the 150+ mostly low (to no) budget spy films presented here, offering tons of info and personal observations. Their writing style is intiment, down to earth, as though a friend were telling you of some must-see movie, or warning you of bad trash. You also get a listing of the series films, a spy biography, an actors, directors, composers cross reference and top ten listings of spies, films, villains etc. And it's all well illustrated with many poster and lobby card photos.
This is one of the best film books I own, and if you (like me) can't get your fill of Euro-spy/police/horror/giallo/trash then you're definately in need of this book too!