Product Details

• Actors: Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, Jess Hahn
• Directors: Jules Dassin
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: December 11, 2001
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005PJ6Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,736 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Topkapi" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

TOPKAPI - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great movie, but truly lousy MGM DVD transfer, December 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Topkapi (DVD)

This '60s heist movie sparkles, dazzles, and charms with its strong international cast, story adapted from an Eric Ambler mystery novel, and typically great direction from Jules (Rafifi) Dassin. Dassin gets a truly captivating performance from his wife Melina Mercouri as a thief obsessed with stealing the Topkapi emeralds, and an Academy Award-winning comic turn from Peter Ustinov. This was my favorite movie of all time when watching it on tv as a child. I waited a while to see it on DVD. Sadly, MGM seems to have transferred the movie through a vat of mud. The source print is faded and looks lousy. The movie is great, as is the theme song.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully entertaining, with great Ustinov performance, December 30, 2000

By 

James Daly (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Topkapi [VHS] (VHS Tape)

One of my favorite films, and quite possibly the most entertaining caper movie of all time. A jewell thief (Melina Mercouri) has her heart set on a fabulous emerald-encrusted dagger. The priceless object is being kept at the high-security Topkapi Museum in Istanbul. Mercouri enlists the aid of sometime lover (and professional thief) Maximilian Schell to devise and execute an intricate plan of stealing the dagger. Schell assembles a team that includes Robert Morley as an inventor and electronics expert, and Peter Ustinov as a small-time con man who doesn't realize that he's part of the scheme. Ustinov is persuaded to spy on Mercouri's group by Turkish authorities who think the gang members are terrorists, but he is eventually made aware of the actual intentions of the thieves. The first few minutes of TOPKAPI may lead you to believe that you're in store for one of those hopelessly fluffy "comedies" of the 60's. But don't be fooled. From the moment the jovially frantic music score is played over the opening credits, rest assured that you're about to be treated to a light-hearted, fast-paced movie that expertly combines humor, suspense, and thrills. The international cast is great, but Peter Ustinov is especially delightful to watch in the role that won him the 1964 Oscar for best supporting actor. As Arthur Simpson, a shifty yet sympathetic character who gets used by just about everyone in the film, Ustinov easily steals the movie (although Akim Tamiroff also has his share of funny moments as a drunken cook). This film has all the elements for a first-rate piece of entertainment: an engaging cast, exotic locales, good dialogue, and artful direction by Jules Dassin whose earlier work in RIFIFI partly inspired this movie. TOPKAPI is a wonderfully entertaining motion picture that should appeal to everyone.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Starring Istanbul, co-starring Mercouri, Ustinov et. al., May 19, 2006

By 

Susan E. Wood "Susan" (Rochester, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Topkapi (DVD)

18 years ago, I traveled to Turkey, fell in love with the magnificent city of Istanbul, and then searched in vain for videos of this movie, which every guide book mentioned when describing the museum in the exquisite Topkapi palace. I'm delighted that it's finally available. Much of the movie was shot on location, and it does as much justice as film can do to the great monuments of that city, as well as its picturesque but ramshackle poor districts. The wrestling championship that the jewel thieves use as their alibi during the heist was fascinating, and the competitors look like authentic Turkish athletes rather than actors. The competition seems to be a direct descendant of ancient Greek and Roman athletics, including the athletes' practice of covering their bodies with oil before the contest.

The plot is entertainingly complex, especially because although you see the preparations underway for the heist, you don't know just how they are supposed to work until you see the plans unfold. So although this movie makes no pretense to be intellectual, it does require you to use your brain in order to follow the plot. All the performances are wonderful, although frankly, Mercouri was too old for the character she's playing. The close-ups of her heavily made-up face, unfortunately, tend to undermine her bravura acting. But Ustinov makes the most of his unprepossessing physique to create a wonderfully comic character as the poor "shmoe" caught up in her schemes. He deserved his Oscar, but I wish there were a prize for best performance by a city.

P.S. -- after seeing this movie, check out the short film "The Wrong Trousers" on the DVD "Wallace and Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures." The parody of the jewel heist in Topkapi, complete with jewel thief dangling from a museum ceiling, is priceless.