Customer Reviews

Matt Helm Lounge (The Silencers/ Murderers Row/The Ambushers/The Wrecking Crew)

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I admit to having a great affinity for Dean Martin. To me he was the essence of cool in the 1960's. Considering he was 49 years old when he did the first Matt Helm movie, The Silencers, that's really saying a lot about his popularity and influence back during that period. I Just loved watching these films on TV as a kid. My brother always preferred the Bond films, but even as a youngster I appreciated the humor and charm that martin brought to his role as Super Spy Matt Helm. The plots of the four films are almost secondary to Martin's scenery chewing, and that's just how I like it.

In "The Silencers" Helm, an agent for ICE (Intelligence and Counter Espionage) is out to stop the usual baddies The Big O from detonating a nuclear bomb and starting world war III. The gorgeous Stella Stevens is along for the ride as is dancer Cyd Charisse. Victor Buono best know as Batman villian King Tut, plays a Chinese baddie!

"Murderer's Row" is the second Matt Helm film and this time Karl Malden plays the villian role as Julian Wall who has kidnapped a scientist with the intention of using his new device to blow up Washington D.C. This time Dean is joined by the lovely Ann-Margaret who plays the scientist's daughter, Suzie.

"The Ambushers" is up next and there's a lot of debate on if this film is better or worse than Murderer's Row. I rate them this one a bit below the previous one due to there being no real top name female co-star this time. An experimental U.s. space ship has been stolen and it's up to Matt to get it back...in-between drinking and lusting after the ladies!

The "Wrecking Crew" is the last Matt Helm film and I think one of the best. It contains a bevy of 1960's beauties including Gilligan's Island's Tina Louise, along with Elke Sommer, and the late Sharon Tate. As usual the plot of Helm trying to recover a fortune in stolen gold, is secondary to the hi-jinks of martin's character. Bruce lee choreographed the fight scenes.

Anyone who goes into the Matt Helm films trying to take them seriously is in for trouble. These were pure, tongue-in-cheek spoofs of spy films and a vehicle for Dino to romp with a lot of beautiful women. Expect anything more and you will be disappointed. But if you love Dean's 60's cool then this is a great set to have.

It wasn't until 1971's DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER that the James Bond films decided to cut loose and have some fun, but Dean Martin had already started the Sixties spy party four times with the Matt Helm series. The OUR MAN FLINT movies (2 of them) with James Coburn seemed hipper, partly because of Coburn's serious convinction as he went through the spy motions, but Dino's spoofs mixed the spy film with the party atmosphere of a Rat Pack show and the casual cool comedy of his TV show.

The films go from best (first) to worst (last)--but who's squawling, baby?
One of my favorite moments happens in MURDERER'S ROW, when Dean wanders into an apartment, plays a record (where he sings "I'm Not the Marryin' Kind"), and helps himself to the bar--until a dead girl falls out of a refrigerator. Not a big deal, but there was something incredibly hip about it.
And another review points out the purely Sixties moment when Dean, driving a wood-paneled station wagon, pushes a button to pop out a fully-stocked bar--while he's driving!

The only part of these films that rises to the level of the Bond films--hear me out--is the ladies.
Stella Stevens, already a stunning Playboy model and the incredibly sexy actress who appeared in THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, and a couple of other Dino flicks, SHOULD have been a Bond girl. Daliah Lavi and Beverly Adams (as Lovey Kravezit). Ann Margaret and Senta Berger. Wow.
In the least film of all, THE WRECKING CREW, you have Elke Sommer, Tina Louise, Nancy Kwan, and Sharon Tate.
A Sixties Babe-a-thon Hall of Fame right there.

If you're brand new to these films, you'll probably be a little disappointed: they're really not that good. You'll either be mystified as Dino pulls a bag out of his trunk and builds a helicopter out of it in WRECKING CREW--or you'll laugh out loud.

But for pure Swingin' Sixties nostalgia, put on one of these DVDs, shake or stir your martini, and take a trip back to the crazy, hip universe of the super-spy Austin Powers wishes he was.

This is a review of the DVDs and not the movies. I like all four movies and I am a big Dino fan. However, I am greatly disappointed in the current presentation of these movies. None of the formats are in widescreen and they have all been edited for television. This is ridiculous and unacceptable. With the world moving to high definition, these formatted to fit your tv DVDs will soon be outdated. You know that once this occurs the DVD company will re-issue this box set in widescreen format and charge us more money !!! Booo !!! As for the editing, I am calling it censorship. If you want to edit your product for whatever reason, then let us (the buyer) know somewhere on the package. I bought these movies under the false pretense that I was getting the full version of each picture. I don't care what is edited out or the reason why, but the DVD producer should inform us that these are edited versions and let us determine whether we want to buy them. Don't waste your money on something that will be replaced in a few years and for which you will eventually have to shell out more money !!!!!

Dean Martin's Matt Helm was a superspy who never let a good case get in the way of a drink, smoke or lady. My favorite moment in the films is when he's in his superspy car (a stationwagon) and he has a secret bar so he can drink and drive. Where else can you see a character get boozed up on the road and not have to pay the price.

This boxset was supposed to come out on August 2, and then Sony did something weird. Hopefully this will be out at the end of August so I can put it in the collection next to Our Man Flint, Danger Diabolik and Modesty Blaise.

Okay I grew up on James Bond, Derek Flint, and Matt Helm. So I say it is about time they put all the Matt Helm out together for a decent price. When "The Silencers" came out last year for $21.99 I thought that was a bit pricey and I am glad I waited. Don't get me wrong I love the movie, it was just overpriced. Anyone that likes campy movies or Sixties movies should enjoy this set. Fans of Austin Power's movies should get a kick out of it too. If for no other reason buy it to get a snapshot of the 1960s fashion and cars. Dean Martin was a fairly funny comedian and even if your not a fan you have to appreciate the tongue-in-cheek of these movies. These offset the serious tone of the early James Bond movies. If you enjoy these you will probably like James Coburn in "Our Man Flint" and "In Like Flint". I'm sure the gadgetry and comedy of the Helm and Flint movies influenced the later Bond movies for the better.

I want to echo all that has been said by the other, positive reviewers regarding the fun nature of these films. I was a kid in the 60s and Matt Helm was the anti-Bond, an American spy who totally out-cooled that British guy. Definitely not to be taken seriously but a fun romp on a retro weekend of martinis and lounge music. Also note that the aspect ratio on these films is 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen so they look great on a 16:9 Hi Def set. Please Amazon, make sure you list the technical details for your products.

In the 1960's, there was Bond, James Bond. Then there was the Man from U.N.C.L.E, Wild Wild West and Our Man Flint...and the biggest Poke in the eye to Bond, Matt Helm.

Dean Martin did four Matt Helm films. These films were all tongue and cheek, all done for laughes..always poking the spy genre in the eye. These four films in this collection have action with so much comedy twists. If you want humor with a 60's bent, this is it.

Martin slick Helm is fun to watch. He essays the Helm role with a girl in his bed, a martini and satire humor (One film the girl is listening to Frank Sinatra-Martin deadpans "You like Perry Como?"). These are cute thrillers will no real substance, but you dont go to an Austin Powers movies for a real mystery either.

This is spy fluff that is funny and filling. Worth ten stars, but they only allow me five

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

Although not true to the original book series, Dean Martin personified Cool as Matt Helm. In every scene Martin looks relaxed and natural, and while Bond may have invented the clever quip, the Helm movies honed them to a fine art.

The box set is a must-have for anyone who remembers these films fondly or wants to complete their collection of 60's spy memorobilia. While I wish there could have been lots of extras and behind the scenes, these films come from an era where Hollywood was not quite as ready to let you glimpse behind the curtain so there is little archival material available, and all of the principle actors are deceased making commentary impossible. They are represented well, however, in these excellent transfers. The clear sound and precise letterbox picture with fantastic color and clarity leave behind any previous broadcast. While The Silencers and Murderer's Row are unquestionably the strongest entries, there are great momements to be found in The Ambushers and particularly the little-scene Wrecking Crew, which was Sharon Tate's last film. Get this collection and dissappear for a few hours into the world of Comic Book spies where everything is in Brilliant Color, the girls are always elegantly coiffed, the cars had chrome and Dean Martin as gadget toting, hard drinking and smoking Matt Helm suavely saves the day.

There's really no way for me to not give this five stars. None of the movies would come close to qualifying for a five star rating on their own, but given the consumer who is investigating this collection, it gets five stars because it delivers all the way.
The movies are comically bad and everyone knows it, especially Dean who nods and winks and deadpans his way through the lot of 'em. Thankfully we are given his "promo" spots for the film, promo in name only because Dean rolls his eyes and sarcastically recommends these exercises in farce with as much enthusiasm and droll humor as he executes his lines throughout the quartet of films. In the same cheesy category (and sharing the same musical director in Nelson Riddle) as the Batman movie and series from roughly the same time period, these movies are campy fun from one horribly bad scene to the next. There are plenty of outrageously hilarious moments, at times unintentional such as the special effects of a nuclear missle launch or other attempts at high-tech movie making, and others just plain pandering to the stereotype of Dean Martin - swinger, like the pop-up bar in a car as Dean and Stella Stevens get crushed tooling down the highway.
These movies are great fun and would go over well as a social event as well. It's just a shame that movies aren't made like this anymore. Certainly our culture needs lampooned with such endearing charm as Dean and co. did with these classics.

This is a great collection of movies for both Matt Helm and Dean Martin fans. Most viewers will find Dean Martins' slightly comedic approach to the Matt Helm character very entertaining. In addition to some pretty funny moments, the movies are also full of clever songs, such as "When Your Sweetheart Puts A Pistol in her Pillow."

These movies provide a fascinating look at American culture of the 1960s. They contain old cars, scantily clad women, and a surplus of sexual innuendo. The behavior exhibited by Dean Martin is also rather interesting. In a scene from "The Silencers", he rips the dress off of Stella Stevens as an incentive for her to start talking. Today, such behavior would be called "assault." In another movie, Dean is drinking from a flask while driving his car and receiving instructions from Headquarters. Obviously, drinking and driving was not an issue in the 1960s. These films contain some of the big name actresses of the day, such as Stella Stevens, Ann Margaret, and Sharon Tate. Sharon Tate, unfortunately, is better known for being murdered by Charles Manson and his family.

The quality of the movies is excellent and there were no problems with the DVDs. All four DVDs fit into two slim containers. The entire collection fits into one box the size of a normal DVD case. Unfortunately, the set has the appearance of a rental from the local video store, vice something that was intended for sale. "The Silencers" contain several movie trailers for unrelated films such as "Fun with Dick and Jane." There is no trailer for "The Silencers." The other movies do contain Matt Helm movie trailers, but not on the disk of that movie. The set also contains multiple trailers for "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and an upcoming release of the Seinfeld DVDs. Finally, one DVD came with a small anti theft tag used to prevent shoplifting.

Despite these minor anomalies, this is a very entertaining set of movies. Dean Martin is as enjoyable now as he was in the 1960s. The viewer can certainly see how these films were a likely source of inspiration for the Austin Powers movies.