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Harry Palmer returns

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  • delfloriadelfloria
    Posts: 1,859
    "Surprisingly funny"? Of course funny is the first thing when I think of the original Ipcress File.
  • AKillToAViewAKillToAView
    Posts: 440
    I certainly recall the books having their share of comic relief, especially from Palmer's interactions with other people and his sardonic interior monologue.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    Yeah Palmer was always funny, there are a lot of nicely wry gags in the Caine movies.
    The exchange in Funeral that goes:
    "Bitte, mein herr?"
    "Er no, lager please"
    is one of my most favourite movie gags :)
  • AKillToAViewAKillToAView
    Posts: 440
    mtm wrote: »
    Yeah Palmer was always funny, there are a lot of nicely wry gags in the Caine movies.
    The exchange in Funeral that goes:
    "Bitte, mein herr?"
    "Er no, lager please"
    is one of my most favourite movie gags :)

    It's so dryly delivered too, which really helps. They're much less po-faced than people give them credit for.

    And hell, one of my favourite sequences from the Ipcress File novel plays like something right out of a Marx Brothers film.

    Harry has been put temporarily in charge of the department and as he keeps trying to get down to business, various different members keep barging into his office to chat, explain theories about mind control, clean the office, and use his phone. All at once.

    Almost making him crack.
  • delfloriadelfloria
    Posts: 1,859
    By today's standards, I'm not sure those qualify as "funny". I love the wit in the Palmer series but I can't help but think that THAT is not what the reviewer was referring to as funny. I hope that I'm wrong though.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    Well I think they're funny.

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited December 2021 Posts: 18,270
    The general public's estimation of what is funny or clever humour has surely dropped to an all time low over the last twenty years or so. We're now in the age of the lowest common denominator.

    I agree that Harry Palmer is funny, not in a laugh-out-loud, silly-joke-a-second kind of way perhaps but rather in a wry, sarcastic, chippy and world-weary sense. As such, the Palmer films are just down my street in terms of humour.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    The general public's estimation of what is funny or clever humour has surely dropped to an all time low over the last twenty years or so. We're now in the age of the lowest common denominator.

    No idea how you've arrived at that. I suspect other people were probably saying the same thing 20 years ago, and probably always have done. It's very easy to confuse looking back at the very best of anything from the entire past and comparing it to what was about this week and concluding that it was better in the past: it's not a fair comparison. Fawlty Towers was great, but not every sitcom in 1975 was another Fawlty Towers. In fact there was only one.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    If John Barry had scored another Palmer film, I wonder if he would've brought back the theme from The Ipcress File in some shape or form.
  • delfloriadelfloria
    Posts: 1,859
    mattjoes wrote: »
    If John Barry had scored another Palmer film, I wonder if he would've brought back the theme from The Ipcress File in some shape or form.

    Could have been weird, like hearing Goldfinger play somewhere in YOLT.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,790
    mtm wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    The general public's estimation of what is funny or clever humour has surely dropped to an all time low over the last twenty years or so. We're now in the age of the lowest common denominator.

    No idea how you've arrived at that. I suspect other people were probably saying the same thing 20 years ago, and probably always have done. It's very easy to confuse looking back at the very best of anything from the entire past and comparing it to what was about this week and concluding that it was better in the past: it's not a fair comparison. Fawlty Towers was great, but not every sitcom in 1975 was another Fawlty Towers. In fact there was only one.

    You're blowing my mind. If I can say that.

  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited December 2021 Posts: 16,383
    mattjoes wrote: »
    If John Barry had scored another Palmer film, I wonder if he would've brought back the theme from The Ipcress File in some shape or form.

    Yeah I'm not sure; it's sort of hard to say if A Man Alone is Palmer's theme or the film's one.
    As we mentioned above, it'll be interesting to see if they use it for this series. I think it'll probably be too expensive, but you never know. I think they used it for the Radio 4 adaptation with Ian Hart.

    I'm rather fond of all of the scores of the films, I think they all work well. With Barry's being the most iconic, naturally.
  • delfloriadelfloria
    Posts: 1,859
    mtm wrote: »
    mattjoes wrote: »
    If John Barry had scored another Palmer film, I wonder if he would've brought back the theme from The Ipcress File in some shape or form.

    Yeah I'm not sure; it's sort of hard to say if A Man Alone is Palmer's theme or the film's one.
    As we mentioned above, it'll be interesting to see if they use it for this series. I think it'll probably be too expensive, but you never know. I think they used it for the Radio 4 adaptation with Ian Hart.

    I'm rather fond of all of the scores of the films, I think they all work well. With Barry's being the most iconic, naturally.

    This.
  • AKillToAViewAKillToAView
    edited December 2021 Posts: 440
    Release date confirmation from an interview with Lucy Boynton about the new Perfume line she's the face of.
    Here, the actor shares her own natural beauty philosophy, an apropos Aldous Huxley novel, and the scentscape from the set of her upcoming six-part miniseries, The Ipcress File. Based on Len Deighton’s 1962 spy-thriller novel ), it heads to ITV in February, with a U.S. release date on the horizon.
    Earlier this year you wrapped shooting for The Ipcress File, which had you on location in Croatia. How was it to slip into that ’60s time period?

    It’s been one of my favorite experiences, actually. It’s been so brilliantly adapted by John Hodge, who I’m such an admirer of. He’s really kind of built up the world that Len Deighton created. For example, my character in the original book, she’s the protagonist Harry Palmer’s assistant, and instead, in our miniseries, she’s an intelligence agent in her own right.

    What kind of scent world does the script conjure up, whether wearable or environmental?

    It’s not so natural, because of those old cars. We’re using a lot of really beautiful ’60s cars, but the fumes that they emit—I’m so grateful to be living in an era of eco-conscious cars because it’s just sooty and heavy! We were filming in a lot of really beautiful locations and I’d say the smell of old books—a kind of antique library scent. We did a night shoot in this little courtyard and, again, it was the potent smell of these orange blossoms. I love my job because it is, in itself, completely transportive. To get to escape 2021 for the ’60s has been a welcome adventure.

    https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/12/lucy-boynton-chloe-eau-de-parfum-naturelle
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    Excellent! Thank you.
  • Risico007Risico007
    Posts: 9,846
    I have WAYYYYYYY to much to catch up on/finsh but I will hopefully watch it with Amanda
  • AKillToAViewAKillToAView
    edited December 2021 Posts: 440
    It appears that AMC has acquired the show for broadcast/streaming in the USA.

    https://deadline.com/2021/12/amc-acquires-itv-ipcress-file-1234891506/
  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    Posts: 12,837
    mtm wrote: »
    Yeah Palmer was always funny, there are a lot of nicely wry gags in the Caine movies.
    The exchange in Funeral that goes:
    "Bitte, mein herr?"
    "Er no, lager please"
    is one of my most favourite movie gags :)

    The conversation he has in Ipcress about being transferred from one boring suit of a boss to the other always gives me a laugh. Caine plays it so perfectly straight.

    “And he doesn’t share my sense of humour”
    “Yes, I shall miss that sir”
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    thelivingroyale wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Yeah Palmer was always funny, there are a lot of nicely wry gags in the Caine movies.
    The exchange in Funeral that goes:
    "Bitte, mein herr?"
    "Er no, lager please"
    is one of my most favourite movie gags :)

    The conversation he has in Ipcress about being transferred from one boring suit of a boss to the other always gives me a laugh. Caine plays it so perfectly straight.

    “And he doesn’t share my sense of humour”
    “Yes, I shall miss that sir”

    Yes, that's wonderful :) I love the way Ross knows he's taking the piss but Caine's performance is so subtle that there's nothing Ross can do about it.

    I'd have loved it to be a bit more of a Bond series, with their Bond/M relationship continuing beyond Billion Dollar Brain. There's something I find oddly Christmassy about both of the sequels in fact: I'll be watching them in the next couple of weeks!
  • AKillToAViewAKillToAView
    Posts: 440
    ITV’s upcoming adaptation of The Ipcress File “looks like a big Netflix show,” according to Director of Programmes Kevin Lygo, who said he wants the Len Deighton remake to reach beyond the “standard ITV viewer.”

    Speaking during a press viewing Friday, Lygo joked that it is “obviously incredibly annoying” when people watch the show’s trailer and believe it is a Netflix original, due to “the scale of it being so stylish” and its high budget.

    Altitude Television’s adaptation of the Deighton novel, which achieved worldwide acclaim when Michael Caine played the lead in the 1965 film version, stars Gangs of London’s Joe Cole as Harry Palmer, a Cold War sergeant who is released from a Berlin jail in order to work as a British spy. Trainspotting writer John Hodge has penned and the six-parter also features Bohemian Rhapsody’s Lucy Boynton and BAFTA-winner Tom Hollander.

    “We don’t just want to attract the standard ITV viewer, we want to make this a special event,” added Lygo.

    He praised the “terrific script that just leapt off the page” and admitted the higher-than-normal budget had been challenging to meet, which was helped by “bringing in various partners.” AMC+, which also acquired Sky Atlantic’s Gangs Of London, has taken North American rights.

    Lygo said he is “extending the range” of ITV drama, with shows such as the Jed Mercurio-produced Trigger Point balanced out by the likes of World Productions’ Anne, which stars Maxine Peake as an inspirational Hillsborough campaigner seeking justice.

    “You can’t go all ‘Jed Mercurio’ all the time,” he explained. “This is an extraordinary moment for drama viewers as there’s so much of it available in your living room. Half the country’s got Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ so the bar has been raised and we’ve got to match it.”

    He also talked up the appointment-to-view approach taken by ITV drama, pointing out that most streamers bar Netflix are now choosing to release their dramas weekly rather than all episodes at the same time.

    https://deadline.com/2021/12/itv-programmes-boss-kevin-lygo-on-the-ipcress-file-it-looks-like-a-big-netflix-show-1234898437/#comments
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    Sounds very promising, thanks!
  • TorgeirtrapTorgeirtrap
    Posts: 17,756
    Very promising indeed!
    mtm wrote: »
    I'd have loved it to be a bit more of a Bond series, with their Bond/M relationship continuing beyond Billion Dollar Brain. There's something I find oddly Christmassy about both of the sequels in fact: I'll be watching them in the next couple of weeks!

    That's a good point (and idea!) actually. Might try and find time to do the same :-)
  • AKillToAViewAKillToAView
    Posts: 440
    A few interesting Ipcress-related highlights in a new profile of Lucy Boynton.

    Lucy plays Jean Courtney, an agent with a steel-trap mind. The first time we see her, she’s on her way to work, stepping off a London bus in a teal skirt-suit and neat tweed hat.

    When she reaches her corner desk, another agent asks her to sign off on his summary of a recent operation. Jean corrects every line, then eviscerates him with a glacial, ‘I will not sign this.’

    Lucy plays her with pure nerve and precision – but Jean’s parents and fiancé believe she’s a tea girl at the BBC.

    She was drawn to ‘every element’ of Ipcress, from the period to the cast (her co-stars include Joe Cole as Harry Palmer, and Tom Hollander as Major Dalby), to the spy-versus-spy intrigue.

    ‘I’ve always found the ’60s fascinating. Adding to that the world of espionage – it’s irresistible.’ And then there’s the character of Jean herself.

    Instead of the muted, anonymous colours you’d expect a spy to wear, she plays to social expectations of upper-class femininity in bright colours and jewels.

    Forget the men in black – the most formidable spy in Ipcress is a lady in red. ‘She can dress in the boldest colours and hide in plain sight,’ Lucy says. ‘People see her and don’t assume that she could be in such an influential position. She uses people’s underestimation of her in her favour.’
    After the Stella interview, she’s off to record more audio for Ipcress. She’s looking forward to revisiting the project – ‘One of my favourite experiences of my career, ever.’ The cast and crew spent five months shooting in Liverpool in early 2021 before going to Croatia. Filming under lockdown conditions bred unity. ‘The whole cast and crew became really close,’ she says, then declines to show me the Ipcress WhatsApp group.

    She’s full of praise for her castmates. Tom Hollander was ‘electric – everyone picked up that energy from him’. Once, filming an elaborate shoot-out in Croatia, ‘Tom was getting so carried away the director kept saying, “Tom, you don’t have to do your own sound effects for the machine gun.” It was brilliant.’
    But first, Ipcress: she’ll get to see the first two episodes at a screening later today. What is it like – seeing the finished version of a much-loved project for the first time?
    ‘Terrifying at first,’ she says, ‘but then it’s like watching a home video of something you experienced with your whole family. When you can finally see everyone’s work, it’s beautiful.’

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/actor-lucy-boynton-love-britons-cynical-sense-humour-self-deprecation/
  • Risico007Risico007
    Posts: 9,846
    Is this going to be released in the US
  • AKillToAViewAKillToAView
    Posts: 440
    Risico007 wrote: »
    Is this going to be released in the US

    Yes, on AMC.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited January 2022 Posts: 16,383
    It seems like there was a trailer on ITV tonight.

    You can watch it here:
    https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a38859638/peaky-blinders-joe-cole-trailer-itv-the-ipcress-file/
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    Posts: 5,970
    Oh dear...
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,216
    Yes, that doesn't exactly set my soul on fire. Hopefully the next inevitable bit of promo is better.
  • TorgeirtrapTorgeirtrap
    Posts: 17,756
    Hm… not the most exciting promo is it? And how young doesn't Joe Cole look! I mean, he did look quite young in the promo pics, but even more so in this promo.
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    Posts: 5,970
    I was concerned about ITV's production value.
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