Customer Reviews

Triple Cross (EU) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Germany ]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those who still wonder whether this title is available or not in DVD format, the answer is YES but, not in NTSC (U.S. Format).

The only two versions available are in the UK from Amazon.co.uk from an obscure Label called Prism Leisure (An Odyssey Bestseller) and includes the movie in a very shortened format (about 120 min. in PAL, equivalent to about the original U.S. Theatrical Release which in NTSC would come to about 125 to 126min. in length - The British version was originally cut at 140min.), and the other in Germany from another obscure DVD producer called E-M-S.

While I have no idea how the German copy looks like, or sounds like, the British copy I own, despite the 20min. cut-down, is fairly decent, with a clear transfer and a 2.0 channel Monaural sound, which on modern DVD players could be even further enhanced through Dolby Pro Logic.

Funny that at the opening we are served with the legendary WB, Warner Bros. Pictures Shield logo, and indeed, this movie was originally distributed by this Company. Why they didn't decide to release it in the U.S. is beyond me. Perhaps due to copyright fights and other stupid legal stuff going on behind closed curtains.

Anyhow, the picture is presented in a letterbox (non-anamorphic) version, reproducing the original theatrical 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio which, even on Standard Screens shouldn't really be too bad.

Finally, if you are lucky enough to own a code-free (region free) DVD player, you should be able to enjoy this picture without problems. The movie is fully English spoken (even the Germans speak English).

The German copy, probably includes the fully German-spoken version of the film, but as is usual for German internationally released DVDs, (see other titles from Germany such as "El Cid", "Fall of the Roman Empire", "Circus World" or even "55 Days at Peking" which amazingly are all not available on DVD or in Widescreen either in the UK, nor in the States) which all sport an English Track (perhaps in Mono, usually though in 2-channel mono), accompanying its German one.

I only hope that Warner, Paramount, Columbia (through Sony perhaps), may work up the time and the guts to finally find pristine copies of said movies, remaster them either in Stereo (there are copies around) or even in Dolby Surround 2.0/5.1.

In the case of movies such as "Fall of the Roman Empire", one would have expected a rediscovery when in 2000, "Gladiator" was released, which was set in the very same period of time.

But then again, this movie, such as "55 Days in Peking" and "El Cid" were all produced by Samuel Bronston, the black sheep producer.

Funny, because just recently, another product by Bronston has been splendidly released on DVD, and this is "Becket", starring Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole.

"Triple Cross" is not Bronston's child, it is more a James Bond son-in-law, because of who directed it, Terence Young (director of the first 4 Bond movies) and the prominent presence of Gert Fröbe (Goldfinger) in it.
This is why I cannot understand why nobody in the U.S. seems to care about this movie release on DVD.

The story is losely based on a true life adventurer (and jewel thief) of the period (an opportunist if you will). Eddie Chapman, became overnight from a nobody, but in grand-style (he had some very luxurious ambitions and habits), one of the most sought spies in Europe.
Hired at first by the Germans, who actually liberated him from a British jail on the isle of Jersey, when this was occupied by them, he then was caught by the British Military Intelligence and blackmailed into becoming a double agent.
Although caught in the middle, Chapman managed masterfully to play and manipulate the two sides, the one against the other, in order to gain more out of them both, hence the title of the movie: "TRIPLE CROSS".
Originally, the movie was known as just "The Eddie Chapman Story", which subsequently became the subtitle, and then completely disappeared altogether, leaving "Triple Cross" in place.

This is a wise buy, for all those who like spy thrillers of a certain nature, and due to the flamboyant figure played very skillfully by Christopher Plummer, the grand seigneur of the English-speaking stage, and an exceptionally great cast, varying from Yul Brynner to Romy Schneider and from Trevor Howard to Claudine Auger (Thunderball), it shouldn't be too difficult to decide to acquire this DVD.

I gave it just 4 stars, because the extras are a little bit skinny, and a second or a third language track and/or subtitles would have been in order. As said, the transfer is pretty decent and the sound is very clear, enabling everybody to enjoy this movie to the fullest.

In my humble view, a MUST BUY.

UPDATE 2011

Still not available in the United States, yet re-released in Germany in 2010 with a new cover as "Triple Cross - Spion zwischen zwei Fronten" (ASIN: B0030E7NB2) by Best Entertainment (amazingly it appears that it was produced in 2007), it does not change much from the previous UK release, except for the reworked sound.

Be AWARE! It is not 134 minutes long, as specified on the label! More to it later...
Pity! Because it would have been nearer to its original length of 140 minutes.
Not such luck!

The English version, once again, as its British cousin, is just 121 minutes in length, which again, is about 125 to 126 minutes in length, were it shown in NTSC (US TV system).
Only the German version is 134 minutes long and the copy used is not as good as the English version, although not terrible (it is just that it shows
the age of the movie).

I do not understand how they could come up with a longer "German" version and not find its "British" counterpart, since the English version was 140 minutes long when first released. This makes the "German" copy the longest version available to date.

Another thing I do not understand is that the same disc has the choice among the two versions, but once you have chosen, which one to view, you will be stuck with it. You cannot switch among languages, probably because they burned two different movies on one DVD.

Why could they not just Remaster the German movie, adding the missing scenes to the British version, then burn it on DVD and leave the language open for the viewer to chose?

Was it just laziness of lack of funds?

Criterion has released many minor movies of the '50s and '60s. Why can't they take care of it?
I am sure they would be able to transform the German copy of the movie into a masterpiece and do exactly what I have exposed before.

The only thing changing here, as said earlier, is the sound. But seemingly, also just for the German version, which rather than being as they specify on the sleeve in DD 5.1, just in a very discreet 2.0 Stereo mix.
This time we have a re-worked (enhanced) 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Sound. Same applies somewhat to the English version.
Yet, when checking on my OPPO player it correctly states that it was recorded in DD 5.1. Where have the other 3.1 channels gone?
It's funny, because the original copy of the movie just sported a conventional Monaural soundtrack.

It is said that there were some copies which sported a Stereo track, and I would be satisfied with this, but why then boasting that it was remastered in 5.1, when sound-wise all you get is Left, Right and Center channel.

The result is not too bad, mind you, except maybe for an occasional slight echoing of voices and some special audio effects which are really a bit
too bombastic for a movie of this kind.

But in the end it is still a very entertaining and watchable movie.
For those of you, lucky enough to possess a code-free DVD player, this is simply a must.

But if you expected the full-length feature, at least in its English version, then you better pray and wait until they will finally dish it up from some well-hidden vault, or until the people at Criterion take notice and buy the rights to give it the usual luster.

So far, the standard length is 121 minutes (126 in the US), due to different "reading" speeds between PAL and NTSC systems.

So, if you want it in English, it's a game of either or, meaning either the copy available in England (which is just in English), or if you cannot resist the temptation to watch a longer version (but in German), then buying it in Germany.

Oh, and one more thing. The German version seems to be in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, while the English version, on both DVDs (British and German) is just at 1.66:1. Not much of a difference, but still noticeable.

The choice is yours... Do you feel lucky?

Based on a true story, Bond director Terence Young endowed this World War Two era espionage story with his trademark style and panache.
Cat burglar Eddie Chapman finds himself in a jail call on the island of Jersey when the territory is over run by Germany at the outset of the war.
The Germans decide to put Chapmans talents to good use and (after a series of ingenious tests) send him back to England to spy for them. However, Chapman decides his efforts would be better spend working for the allies and begins to send back false reports to mislead his Nazi handlers.
What follows is a taut, fun and entirely satisfying adventure with the admirable cast of Christopher Plummer, Yul Brynner and Gert (Goldfinger) Frobe. This movie deserves a Blu-ray release here in the U.S. (or at very least DVD). There is a DVD release in Region 2.
This movie comes highly recommended.

I have no idea why this film is so hard to find. It's never shown on television, it's unavailable on US DVD, and the VHS version has been cut down from the original. This wonderful film is moving and exciting--and missing in action.

Eddie Chapman is a wily safe cracker who, while stuck in jail, is recruited by the German intelligence to spy for them in WW2. In return, he is promised cash and his freedom. What unfolds is a suspenseful and highly entertaining tale as Chapman runs circles around the British and German spy network. Plummer and the supporting cast are marvelous. Yul Brynner is especially convincing as Chapman's German Colonel boss. An officer of the old world order struggling to keep up with the changing Third Reich. I was wary when I bought this DVD but am glad I did. This is a surprisingly enjoyable film. Why is it not readily available in the US?

This particular DVD issue has the option to play in both German and English. However, all the menuing and extras (trailer and previews) are only available in German. It's Region 4 encoded and runs in PAL.

"One could give him the most difficult of missions knowing that he would carry it out and that he would never betray the official who sent him, but.. it was highly probable that he would rob the official who sent him out... He would then carry out his mission and return to the official whom he had robbed to report." Thus did a young filmmaker who found himself in British Intelligence during WW2 describe Eddie Chapman. Certainly if Chapman didn't exist, you'd have to invent him. Playboy, conman, burglar, spy, a member of the pre-WW2 `Gelignite Gang' and the only British citizen to be awarded the Iron Cross, during WW2 he was recruited by the Nazis as a spy only to end up spying on them for the British. Terence Young would appear to be the perfect director to bring his story to the screen - not only did he direct three Bond movies but he had been a friend of Chapman's: in fact, he was the young intelligence officer who gave that realistic appraisal of his abilities and weaknesses. Unfortunately, the book 1967's Triple Cross was based on was heavily vetted by MI5 and the film had even less to do with the truth, either as Chapman (who didn't care much for the film) told it or as it really happened.

One of those international co-productions so popular in the late Sixties (in this case Anglo-French), it has a good cast - Christopher Plummer as Chapman, Romy Schneider, Trevor Howard, Yul Brynner and Bond veterans Gert Frobe and Claudine Auger - and a more than healthy budget. On paper, the Private War of Eddie Chapman, Inc. certainly has everything it needs for an above-average thriller, with Chapman a potentially perfect 60's antihero. Arrested while posing as a financier ("I handle other people's money") in the Channel Islands and still imprisoned when the Germans invade, he's quick to offer his talents to the invaders on the grounds that "I'd rather live for Germany than die for England." After being vetted by Frobe's policeman and Schneider's Countess he finds himself under exclusive personal contract to Brynner's old school general and eventually sent back to England to destroy an aircraft factory, only to immediately offer his services to the even more suspicious British - for the right price.

Yet while it maps out a steady course it all seems a little unambitious, happy to settle for enjoyable enough Saturday night fare. Moments ring true, such as Chapman being paid in British Stirling taken from troops captured at Dunkirk or Howard refusing Chapman's request for a Distinguished Service Order because "I happen to wear it myself when I'm in uniform and I'm a snob about whoever else should wear it," while the film is particularly successful in showing the gradual defeatist attitude that overtakes the Germans, from generals merely grunting a reply to a Heil Hitler to Chapman's working for the British becoming an open secret in the German intelligence community that no-one cares enough to do anything about. Plummer's a convincingly amoral Chapman, blithely untroubled by any semblance of conscience and enjoying the ride, but it's Frobe's suspicious ex-policeman, secure in the knowledge that police are always needed whatever regime is in power, who is the most interesting character despite never being developed as enough of a potential threat. Unfortunately, there's rather a lack of threat throughout despite a couple of minor moments of suspense, Chapman's unshakeable self-belief being mirrored by a script that never seriously conveys the possibility of discovery.

If he's not as lazy as he'd later become, Young's diehard bad habits are present, from the trademark dodgy dubbing of bit players (step forward Robert Rietty at the microphone) and casting of old pals like Anthony Dawson (Professor Dent in Dr No), with the film managing to be a rather slick package that's perhaps not as well wrapped as it could be in places - to use a metaphor the famed bon vivant probably would have approved of, a good wine delivered in a slightly cracked bottle. Chief among the cracks is the oh so happening Sixties title song that's so wrong it's almost loveable, with dementedly cast-off Bond-song lyrics -

"You've been crossed,
And even crossed double,
If you've been around, that's normal for the cooourrrsssse,
But you won't believe the trouble,
You'll find in just one man,
The man of the Triple Cross!!!
Give him love,
He will always keep taking,
He can only win,
And you will take the loss,
So before your world is shaken,
Escape him if you can,
The maaa-aaa-aaannn of the Triple Cross!!!!"

There have subsequently been two books about Chapman's exploits this year, with Ben Macintyre's Agent Zigzag highly recommended if you want to find out the true story. But as rainy day take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt entertainment, Triple Cross does well enough.

Triple Cross, 1966 film

This story has an explosive beginning. A burglar sorts out jewelry, then leaves. The Gelignite Gang continues their work. Eddie Chapman visits the Isle of Jersey, and finds solitude there. Visitors from the Continent also arrive. Eddie summons the warden to make an offer they can't refuse. He wants to get out of prison, and does so. But he is sent to another prison. Eddie can pick a lock. "Shot while trying to escape." Franz Graumann is his new name. "Whatever." The German Army espionage system will monopolize his talents. "Mistrust everyone." His training begins. He learns how to make bombs (the weapon of spies and other terrorists) out of household products. Can the Germans trust Eddie? Can he trust them? They put Eddie to work checking POWs. Eddie signs a contract. Eddie explains an absence due to a cut hand!

Eddie is flown to his first operation, a parachute drop. He discovers this is another test! Then he is prepared for the real thing. Eddie goes to the police after landing in Britain. They accept his story. "British Fair Play"? Eddie walks into the Vickers factory as if he worked there. He plants a bomb with a 7-hour delay timer. The explosion goes off as planned. Eddie is recalled to Europe. But first he is prepared for questioning. He is under suspicion when he returns, and must write his experiences in England. He gets the Iron Cross, second class and a promotion. "Policemen are necessary to any regime in power" says Colonel Sternhagen. Did Eddie slip up over that photo? At a nightclub Eddie meets an old friend, and wants to send a message to England. Are they being watched?

Eddie visits a French restaurant, and runs a close call. There is conflict among the top officers in a meeting on Graumann's next assignment. Eddie will be sent back to England as an observer. The Baron is sent on a long journey. Back in England Eddie will report on the time and location where the rockets have landed (this allows them to be redirected for minimum damage). The war is over, and Eddie gets a pardon for his past criminal record. There is an inside joke here.

I think this story was modified from the actual history. It also has some "revisionist history". Books with more facts have been written about Chapman. "The Double Cross System" by John C. Masterman and "The Ultra Secret" by F. W. Winterbotham provide an overall view. Information was leveraged to effectively use scarce resources in the Battle of Britain and afterwards. The autobiography of Dusko Popov ("Spy Counterspy") is a better story, but unlikely to be made into a movie. Do read his book if you can find it. One reason for the unavailability of this film is the presence of Gert Fröbe; he is on a blacklist because of his film work in the early 1940s.

I came across this movie by looking up Yul Bunner, never knew it existed. Being a movie buff, but no expert on movies just like watching, especially spy stuff. Reading all the reviews on this, I would really like to buy this, only there is no mention of what language they speak in this film. I see the title on the DVD is in German, someone forgot to coment on that. Several actors are German, like Romy Schneider, born in Vienna, one of my favourites, so is Gert Froebe. Of course Yul Brunner is on top of my list. So, how can I find out what language they speak? However, not having seen this, but had to rate it anyway, I gave it 4 stars that's how good it look to me.