Customer Reviews

The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A project that took time to get off the ground but in 1983 U.N.C.L.E. fans were treated to the return of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin one last time. Both agents had left U.N.C.L.E. to pursue other careers -- Solo as a computer salesman and Kuryakin as a fashion designer. Mr. Waverly had passed away and the organization is now being run by Sir John Raleigh (Patrick MacNee of the AVENGERS). A nuclear crisis brings the two back into the fold. Some witty dialogue:
Illya: They're all men! What happened to all the beautiful girls that worked for U.N.C.L.E?
Solo: They're in the U.N.C.L.E. home.
Look for George Lazenby in a cameo as "JB". Directed by Ray Austin, better remembered for his work on THE AVENGERS. Cast includes Geoffrey Lewis (EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE, ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN) as Janus, Anthony Zerbe as Justin Sepharim (the head of THRUSH) and Tom Mason as the new generation U.N.C.L.E. agent. The old-time chemistry between Vaughn and McCallum is still there 15 years after the series ended. Unfortunately, after being brought together again the two are sent off on separate directions. Still, as Robert Vaughn said at the time, the minute he put on the tuxedo it felt like 1966 all over again. A new U.N.C.L.E. logo appears. THE RETURN OF THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.: THE FIFTEEN YEARS LATER AFFAIR. A long wait but ultimately worth it. A nice transfer this time. Only extra is the trailer.

Quite a lot of effort was expended during the 1970's and early 1980's in putting together a Man from U.N.C.L.E. reunion movie (at one point, Italian sex symbol Laura Antonelli had actually been signed to play Serena in the movie, reprising the role originally played by Senta Berger in "The Double Affair/The Spy With My Face"). However, at the end of it all, what we got was something of a molehill for the mountain of effort, a TV movie that was originally run on CBS in the spring of 1983. It;s not really bad, but it could have been so much more than it ended up being.

It's 15 years after the events of the original series, and Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin have both parted ways, not entirely happily, with U.N.C.L.E. Napoleon has become a computer entrepeneur (!) and Illya has become a fashion designer (!!). Meanwhile, Justin Sepheran, one of Thrush's honchos, has escaped from federal prison and has taken charge of the organization's efforts to become a nuclear superpower (shades of "Thunderball" and "Never Say Never Again").

One of the big problems with the movie is that, having expended a lot of effort to get Napoleon and Illya back together with U.N.C.L.E. again, the two agents are then immediately split up to work on their own to defeat the twin arms of Thrush's plot (Napoleon gets a rather annoying 1980's agent as a partner). This pretty much throws out one of the original show's key selling points, the relationship between Solo and Kuryakin.

As a femme fatale for Napoleon, Gayle Hunnicutt is, IMHO, not very much at all; I wish they had stuck with Laura Antonelli instead. Napoleon doesn't use the famous U.N.C.L.E. Special pistol at all (though Illya does). There is a BIG conceptual goof early on where U.N.C.L.E. agents are shown wearing their triangular badges outside headquarters - it was specifically established in the original show that those badges are strictly for purposes of internal security; if agents have to identify themselves to the public, they use the famous gold I.D. cards with the skeleton-globe insignia. And, speaking of, what was with that dull lightning-bolt insignia the new production team designed for Thrush? The new version of the U.N.C.L.E. insignia is pretty cool, though, and it makes sense that the organization would have moved to new offices sometime in the interim as it expanded; it always has struck me that, even in the 1960's, the original quarters "somewhere in the East Forties" were kind of cramped for the continental headquarters of a world-spanning organization.

Robert Vaughn & David McCallum reteam in this 1983 sequel, reprising their characters admirably & accurately, but the overall tone of this (one of the earliest of the tv "reunion" movies) fails to match the jaunty tongue-in-cheekness of the original, despite screenplay credit by series-creator Sam Rolfe, nor does it have the original hep music by Fried & Goldsmith.
The plot is typical of the '60s series: U.N.C.L.E.-vs-THRUSH, in the process dragging an innocent bystander into the fray. But besides the two leads, nothing remains of the original U.N.C.L.E. mythos. By 1983 the MGM backlot had been bulldozed for condos, so they shot entirely on location--even interiors. The result feels a little too raw. Sadly, the design ditched the sleek steel-panel walls of the original HQ, the cute miniskirted G3s & the gee-whiz technology that made the show fun. The old HQ "somewhere in the east '40s" has been boarded up and operations moved a few blocks away to new offices that smack of a mid-sized corporation somewhere in Wisconsin, with wood panelling & fluorescent overheads. In fact, the only elements reprised from the series are the pen-radio, the briefing-room TV sequence and a few "old-world" computer blinking consoles dragged out of the proproom.
The shtick of this remake is that the current staff of U.N.C.L.E. (the full "United Network Command for Law and Enforcement" emblazoned on the hallway walls; apparently U.N.C.L.E. is heavily into branding now) comprises vanilla-bland PC yuppies, possessing none of the silky suaveness of Napoleon Solo, and the entire agency seems to have a bureaucratic feel hanging over it. Perhaps with good reason: the international terrorist agency, THRUSH, is said to have been disbanded some years ago. The feeling is that without a worthy adversary, U.N.C.L.E. has lost its way. But now THRUSH rears up Phoenix-like, precipitating Solo's return to the fold, and he finds himself very much a fish out of water (a ploy used, perhaps more effectively, some years later in the first Brosnan "Bond" film where JB's predatory sexual mores clash with the PC feminism of the late 20th century).
Patrick McNee ("John Steed" of the Avengers) replaces the late Leo G. Carroll in a clever bit of type-casting, and there's a cameo by an even earlier "James Bond," but otherwise the show is unremarkable. Our aging fellows, drawn out of civilian retirement (explained for Ilya, but not for Solo), make a few slips being so long out of practice, but they're still in shape and eventually regain their old groove. Both see lots of action, make many witty comments & wind up regaining to a comfortable cameraderie. Curiously, it's never explained what kept them out of touch through the years (was there a falling out?), why top-agent Solo didn't get promoted to an admin position within U.N.C.L.E. (perhaps even Waverly's?), and what led to the ultimate demise of THRUSH years back.
Technically, the show is low-budget with a heavy '70s kitsch (film stock quality is marginal, typical of the era, with lots of stock footage -- one clip through an airplane window shows unprocessed blue-screen). The audio is poorly dubbed in places, with lots of distracting background noise. The stuntwork is pedestrian: a few cars get rolled "A-Team" style, dazed henchman stumbling from the wrecks, a villain dangles precariously from a helicopter skid but only a few inches from the ground, an U.N.C.L.E. swat team rapells down Boulder Dam identified as "Somewhere In Syria." This was a made-for-TV movie and it definitely shows as made on the cheap.
Come to think of it, though, that was the perverse charm of the '60s series, using cardboard sets and lots of smoke bombs. This sequel may ring more true to the series than I thought. --Edward A. Rapka

One thing I've learned over the years is that if you didn't think much of a film when you saw it 20 years ago or so, you're still not going to think much of it years later. This film proved that again for me.
U.N.C.L.E. was my all-time favorite tv show, I absolutely loved it from the night it premiered on NBC (and loving it wasn't always that easy considering its disasterous 3rd "Camp" season.) I was very excited about this film and couldn't wait to watch its initial airing on CBS. What a total mediocrity it turned out to be. Vaughn and especially McCallum are quite good. Parick MacNee was an inspired choice to play the new head of U.N.C.L.E. However he is given little to do. Some of the other performances are not so good however. Anthony Zerbe is his usual professional self as the head of THRUSH. Tom Mason is a total embarassment as a new moronic U.N.C.L.E. agent named Kowalski. The biggest embarassment however is George Lazenby driving around Las Vegas is a second-hand looking Aston Martin, with the license plates J.B., just in time to help Solo in a very unexciting car chase. I find this scene very sad considering Lazenby's great Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." The action scenes are pathetic attempts to rip off Bond films. The conclusion with totally exposed U.N.C.L.E. agents in motorboats taking on an army of concealed and highly armed THRUSH agents and easily defeating them is ludicrous.
I once read a long article on the making of this film. Apparently there was a young writer, (whose name escapes me,) whose dream is was to bring U.N.C.L.E. to the big screen along the lines of the first few Star Trek films. He got a script together and even got Vaughn and McCallum to agree to the project. He was very close to purchasing the rights to make the film when another producer swooped in and bought the rights instead. Thus instead of a major film, we got this mediocre made-for-tv job. This film was basically a pilot of a possible U.N.C.L.E. return. It came in about number 20 in the ratings and CBS passed on a return to U.N.C.L.E. It is interesting to ponder a big series of major U.N.C.L.E. films along the lines of the Bond and Trek films. Instead we got this mess, too bad.
I wouldn't buy it unless you can get it very cheaply, buy the original series instead.

I still have the VHS tape recording that I made when this originally aired back in the early 80's. Finally, a QUALITY DVD transfer that will allow me to retire my old VHS!

In my opinion, this is one of the most FUN and enjoyable reunion movies ever made. It's obvious that Robert Vaughn and David McCallum are having a lot of fun reprising the roles that defined their careers. And what a classy choice as the new head of U.N.C.L.E, non other than "John Steed" himself, Patrick McNee (The AVengers)! The first 15 minutes are a total blast, and even includes a special cameo from James Bond himself (George Lazenby)!

There are fans of the original series that tend to rate this effort lower than I do. However, I honestly cannot think of a better reunion than this. It was the perfect time to do it, includes great guest stars, has an excellent updated theme song, and is well written and directed! In my opinion, it's actually better than MANY of the original epsiodes!

Grab it while you can!

The last time "Return Of The Man From U.N.C.L.E." was released on DVD, the company that released it did a lousy job with two five second lapses in audio (and it was supposed to be digitally remastered) and disgusting trailers for other movies released by that company. In fact, the DVD release was so bad that I panned it here at Amazon.com and vowed not to buy it until somebody did it properly. Well, CBS Home Video has released "Return" properly and I'm glad to have it in my DVD collection. I only wish that they had put in better extras because it would have been nice to have the surviving actors who appeared in "Return" talk about the movie and what they thought of it. However, you can't always get what you want, especially when the DVD cost fourteen dollars, so I'm glad that I can see the movie properly for the first time in a long time.

Yes, this not a perfect reunion film but it is entertaining. Robert Vaughn said that when he put on the tux it felt like 1966 all over again. The biggest problem is that once Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin are reunited they are sent off. One of the hallmarks of U.N.C.L.E. was the chemistry between Vaughn and McCallum. When they are in scenes together it like the show never stopped. The plot? Thrush steals a nuclear weapon -- gadzooks, could this be THUNDERALL? Never it's a fun romp with George Lazenby appearing in an Aston Martin with plates that say "JB"! Anthony Zerbe appears as the head of Thrush and Tom Mason as a part of the new generation of U.N.C.L.E. agant. With the passing of Leo G. Carroll three years after the show left the air, the task of being head of U.N.C.L.E. falls to Avenger alum Patrick MacNee as Sir John Raleigh. When Solo and Kuryakin return to U.N.C.L.E. for the first time, Illya notices that all the agents they pass in the hallways are men.
Illya: All men! What happened to all the beautiful girls who worked for U.N.C.L.E.
Solo: They're in the U.N.C.L.E. home.

"Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair" was a welcome affair. It is hard to go home again but Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo and David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin pull this one off as best as they can. Yearning for their days of glory this reunion TV movie plays about as well as one could expect. Yet it does capture some of the charm of the original series at times. It gets some endearing moments with the help of one of the original composers Gerald Fried.

Open Channel D.

The most surprising omission in the recent "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Complete Series" collection was the 1983 reunion movie (I assume because the rights were owned by a different studio), so the newly-released "The Return of Man from U.N.C.L.E." is a 'must' for all us fans of Solo, Illya, and the immortal spy network, to truly complete our collections...and be aware, if you are purchasing this as a 'stand alone' tape, there are no 'Special Features'; if you want to hear Vaughn and McCallum's observations about the reunion, you'll find them in the "Complete Series" collection!

"Return of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair" (the original title) doesn't compare with the best episodes of Seasons 1 and 2 (writer/producer Michael Sloan reportedly used episodes from Season 3...the worst year for the series...for his research), and some of his wry 'twists' don't make much sense (aloof, shy Kuryakin retired to become a women's fashion designer? Skirt-chasing, yet dedicated Solo now peddling computers and losing in Vegas?), but there are nice touches, as well; Patrick Macnee, 'John Steed' in the classic "Avengers", makes a perfect successor to the late Leo G. Carroll, as head of U.N.C.L.E. (there are some very welcome references to the beloved older actor); villain Anthony Zerbe puts a nice spin on how both THRUSH and U.N.C.L.E. aren't as much fun, anymore, in the new world order; and Vaughn and particularly McCallum, look remarkably unchanged after 14 years ("good makeup man", Solo quips).

While some 'surprises' seem out-of-place (George Lazenby, spoofing his one 007 film, here playing 'J.B.', and rescuing Solo), and a dumb decision to split up Solo and Kuryakin, teaming them with different people, is an obvious mistake, there is still magic in the franchise, Vaughn and McCallum are obviously enjoying themselves, and "The Return of Man from U.N.C.L.E." offers ample opportunity for fans to relive that crazy era when U.N.C.L.E. saved the world, each week!

The last time I saw this movie I found it fun and inviting.
David McCallum looked as hot as ever and his acting was as always incredible. It seems the chemistry between David and Robert Vaughn was as cool and fun as ever. The imagination and chemistry was incredible it seems that most shows and movies are so incredibly lame these days with very few exceptions. I can't wait for them to sell this movie because I will certainly try to get it I would love to have it in my collection.