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Topkapi (1964)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
17 September 1964 (USA)
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Tagline:
(where the jewels were!) more
Plot:
Caper film about the theft of a jeweled dagger from an Istanbul museum. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar.
Another 1 win
&
4 nominations
more
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Spring Preview: A Repertory Calendar for the Coasts
(From IFC. 18 February 2009, 2:17 PM, PST)
Brosnan On ‘Thomas Crown Affair 2′: It’s Now Or Never
(From Screen Rant. 21 January 2009, 11:21 AM, PST)
(From IFC. 18 February 2009, 2:17 PM, PST)
Brosnan On ‘Thomas Crown Affair 2′: It’s Now Or Never
(From Screen Rant. 21 January 2009, 11:21 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Classic Jewel Heist à la Jean Reno set in Istanbul
more (57 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast) | Melina Mercouri | ... | Elizabeth Lipp |
 | Peter Ustinov | ... | Arthur Simon Simpson |
| Maximilian Schell | ... | Walter Harper |
| Robert Morley | ... | Cedric Page |
| Jess Hahn | ... | Hans Fisher |
| Gilles Ségal | ... | Giulio the Human Fly |
| Akim Tamiroff | ... | Gerven the Cook |
| Titos Vandis | ... | Harback (as Titos Wandis) |
| Ege Ernart | ... | Maj. Ali Tufan |
| Senih Orkan | ... | First Shadow |
| Ahmet Danyal Topatan | ... | Second Shadow |
| Joseph Dassin | ... | Josef |
| Despo Diamantidou | ... | Voula |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
119 min
Country:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Six weeks after the release of Topkapi, a similar, real-life heist took place at a New York City museum. Although 22 gems were stolen, they were recovered within 48 hours.
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Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: On the roof where the heist takes place, the cameras shadow is cast on one of the actors.
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Quotes:
[first lines]
Elizabeth Lipp: It can be done! That's the way it can be done! Aaah... oh, excuse me; I've just had a great idea - something I've been looking for a long time... a very long time.
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Elizabeth Lipp: It can be done! That's the way it can be done! Aaah... oh, excuse me; I've just had a great idea - something I've been looking for a long time... a very long time.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (57 total)
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With beautiful camerawork in Istanbul and Greece and an equally intriguing plot, Jules Dassin brings to the screen a film worthy to be considered alongside his masterpieces "Du rififi chez les hommes" and "Naked City". Peter Ustinov follows up his Oscar-winning performance in "Spartacus" with a second award for best supporting actor, while playing a "schmo"--a lowly, disgraceful, British rogue living in Greece as the self-proclaimed "un-crowned king of the nightlife": Arthur Simon Simpson. Getting involved in much more than he bargained for, Simpson enters a ring of double-crosses as an informer for Turkish Intelligence while still hoping to line his pockets with filthy lucre.
The show, however, is stolen by the seductive, raspy-voiced Elizabeth Lipp, played by Greek beauty Melina Mercouri (who was also in the starring role of Dassin's "Phaedra" two years earlier--as well as "Pote tin Kyriaki" (1960), "La Legge" (1958), and "Celui qui doit mourir" (1957)--and whom the director would marry two years later). The curvy enchantress draws in Walter Harper (Maximilian Schell) and Cedric Page (Robert Morley I), offering them their cut on the biggest heist ever--the theft of the sultan's jewel-encrusted dagger from the Istanbul Museum.
However, there is a problem. The museum is impenetrable, equipped with a state-of-the-art alarm system that requires a strong man to hoist an acrobat from above the museum and slowly lower him into the treasure trove while avoiding security (à la "Mission Impossible" and "Oceans Eleven"). An unattended, even ironic, ending makes this film a classic in the genre as the dénouement keeps the viewer attached to the screen all the way up to the credits.
Not quite the masterpiece of a "Bob le Flambeur" or "Rififi", this film is in the top ten of its genre and is crucial in its intrigue and influence on future heist ("casse") films. Highly enjoyable, with the right balance of humor, suspense and allure (thanks to Melina Mercouri) to establish it as a touchstone in the genre, Dassin's caper is a cinema classic.