Customer Reviews

Top Secret

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Top Secret! - the Jim Abrahams/Zucker Bros.' follow-up to Airplane! - does for (or is that *to*) Elvis movies and WWII espionage films what the earlier feature did for/to the airborne disaster genre. The gags are slightly more immature (not necessarily a bad thing, but in some cases may have been better had they been allowed to age a little before being put into production), but some, like the forced-perspective oversize phone or saying farewell to the Scarecrow, rival anything the ZAZ team has ever done.

The music is a mixed bag. "Skeet Surfing" and the Macy's jingle are great. "Tutti-Fruitti" and "Straighten the Rug" are less so (not that every song in an Elvis movie was worthy of screen time, either). Kudos to Val Kilmer, though; even when he's camping it up, the musical numbers remain watch- and listenable.

The only thing I don't care for on the disc is the audio commentary. The production team really rips the movie apart as if they had tried to make a "serious" film that fell apart. In that case, learning why/how it failed would be interesting and instructive. To shred a spoof film, especially a sophomore and sophomoric effort like Top Secret!, is entirely unwarranted. Sure there are plot holes. Sure it makes no sense that submarine would crash into a prison dungeon. Sure some things are only mildly amusing. Drawing undue attention to them is doubly pointless. Sheesh! If you're a big fan, skip the commentary.

I really enjoyed this movie and really (mostly) enjoyed its presentation on the DVD. There aren't a lot of extras, but be sure to hunt for the Easter Egg - it's definitely worth finding.

Just barely nudging out their own "Airplane!," I think Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker's "Top Secret" is the best slapstick comedy ever. It's got all a film should have: action, comedy, romance, great songs. This is unquestionably Val Kilmer's best movie, and he is perfect as Nick Rivers, the Elvis-like troubadour who is so famous that not even Frank Sinatra fits on the bill. The sight gags and puns are horrendously funny. I could spend hours recalling my favorite scenes. The film is a postmodern masterpiece, successfully intertwining and spoofing cliches from just about every film in the genre (most notably James Bond films and Elvis movies). The film openly points outs its flaws ("it's like the plot to some bad movie"), and celebrates film flubs. It breaks all the rules of "classic" cinema, and has made other spoof films basically impossible to be funny (films like "Spy Hard" and "Loaded Weapon").

The ZAZ team (Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker) doesn't disappoint in the laugh department with this movie. This is mainly slapstick and visual gags, but it's the best of them. If you want some stupid, no-brain, sexual innuendo, parody comedy then this is the greatest!

This movie made me laugh like no other movie has. Val Kilmer has a wonderful performance as a rock-star and foreign dignitary. The parodies of popular Beach Boys and Elvis songs are hilarious. The best scene and most creative I thought would have to be in the bookstore. You HAVE to see it to believe it. It made me laugh incredibly hard. You may have to pause the movie every once in a while so you can breathe. Although that may be exaggerating a bit it isn't far off.

This movie is well worth the money you pay for it. The laughs it delivers are tremendous and timeless. Have fun and don't laugh too hard!

This film was done by the same people who made "Airplane" and the "Police Squad" movies. I enjoy this film more. It is just as silly as the others, if not more so. I think the jokes work better in this film.

The film takes place in some unnamed East German-like country. The time is something between today, the 50s, the 40s and somewhere in between. It parodies teen rock-and-roll movies, french resistance films, Blue Lagoon and a bunch of other stuff thrown in for good measure. Val Kilmer plays a rock-and-roll teen idol named Nick Rivers. He gets involved with a bunch of resistance fighters in a represive soviet block country that plans on taking over the world. Funnier than it sounds. Surreal comedy at its best. (The guard falling off the castle wall is one of my favorite gags.)

How can you argue with a movie that starts with a Beach Boys parody called "Skeet Surfing"? ...

From the wacky Zucker brothers that brought you the Airplane and Naked Gun spoofs, we now have a total laugh fest with Top Secret. This movie sits right there at the top when it comes to sight gags, one-liners and a hilarious script.

What do you get when you combine an American rock and roll star with totally inept Nazi's, resistance fighters named after French foods, a fight scene in a saloon under the water, and more comedy mayhem than you can handle? You've got a 3 ring circus of total insanity that never quits!

If you're a fan of any spoof film (Naked Gun, Hot Shots, Airplane, etc.), this is definitely the movie for you and it will not disappoint. Just make sure you pay attention during the movie because there is a lot of subtle but hilarious gags and props in the background while the main action is happening.

It's fantastic to see this movie finally make it to DVD. Some of the nice things on the disc are the the commentary by the directors, the 5.1 Surround sound track, alternate scenes, and storyboard compilations. Highly recommended and enjoyable!

Funny, funny film from the people who brought you "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun". Almost as funny as the film is the commentary track by the creators -- apparently they aren't very fond of this one, and spend a good deal of time during the commentary mocking their own film. But anyway, it's a very funny film. My favorite part: Nick activating the Polaris Mine in the prison lab (check out the submarine guy!). Also recommended (besides "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun" of course): "The Kentucky Fried Movie", also by Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker.

"Airplane" spoofed airplane disaster flicks. "The Naked Gun" spoofed the Dragnet-type cop movie. "Top Secret!", lesser known, but just as funny, if not funnier, actually spoofs two genres--the Elvis musical and World War II movies. Somehow, in the absurd universe of Zucker/Abahams/Zucker, these two go hand in hand. The sight gags are nonstop and relentlessly ... hilarious. Val Kilmer has a great knack for the delivery this kind of comedy requires. He also does all his own singing on classics like "Straighten the Rug", "Skeet Surfin'", and the hauntingly romantic Macy's Semi-Annual Lincoln's Day Sale jingle, "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" Other highlights include the long-awaited clarification of the lyrics to the German national anthem, a dedicated band of French resistance fighters, Omar Sharif's brutal initiation into the world of physical comedy, and two of the Zucker Brothers' most inspired set-pieces--one in a Swedish bookstore and the other in an underwater saloon. Just watch.

Top Secret is the funniest movies that I have ever seen. I laughed from the opening scene right through to the end. Val Kilmer plays the hero in this slapstick comedy and plays one of his best roles ever. Be sure not to miss the stand off in the hide away as it is one of the greatest fight scenes I have ever seen. .
Watchout for all the side gags and the bad, corney jokes that make this movie flow like no comedy has before.
If you don't laugh from the start to the end then save up yopur money so you can go and buy a sense of humor, as you will be hard pressed to find a funnier movie.

Definitely a great DVD to own... I've been waiting forever to have this hilarious movie in my DVD collection.

The downside is the commentary. For one thing, it's extremely spotty. (i.e. three-minute gaps between comments.) For another, starting about halfway through the film, the directors begin to badmouth it relentlessly. I mean, I bought your freakin' DVD! Couldn't you at least say some nice things? Among their comments are: "Do we have to watch the rest of this?" and "I think you could make a really solid 25 minute movie out of this material." It's awful, frustrating commentary.

That said, I've loved the movie for a long time. Audio is great, transfer is nice.

"Top Secret" pales in comparison to "Airplane"--that was my thought when seeing it in a theater during the opening week. The Zucker Brothers seemed to be going through the motions, when compared to their previous effort. Many gags seemed to be formula based and uninspired--in particular, perspective jokes were repeated throughout (scenery moving as opposed to a train, monstrous telephone sitting on a desk, boots with no body attached, etc.).

That's the bad--fortunately, there's enough good about this movie to overcome the weaknesses--and, miracle upon miracles, it gets better with repeated viewings. I have a well-worn Betamax videocassette of "Top Secret" and a VHS version acquired during a "Movie Channel" preview week--it's about time that Paramount put this film on DVD! It may not be the equal of "Airplane," but "Top Secret" still has some wonderfully funny moments , a lot of memorable dialogue, and some great rock 'n roll music parodies as well--not to mention the most anachronistic back-up group ever to accompany a rock star.

Am not certain if this is mentioned on the DVD, but if you have the means to do so, try listening to the scene at the Swedish bookstore in reverse (perhaps "forward" might be a better way of putting it?)--there's one additional gag that never appears in the "subtitles."