RyothChatty
ridiculous rating
ReaderKenka
Let's be realistic.
Neive Bellamy
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Scotty Burke
It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
clanciai
Gene Barry became world famous by the television series in the 60s "Burke's Law", where he was the womanizing detective who always got his man but for some reason always happened to very odd crimes in weird circumstances, like a kind of James Bond without the violence and extreme crooks but with a slightly more morbid slant instead. This film is like one of those 45-minute TV-shows but made into a full feature and set on a thrilling journey through Europe to Istanbul with complications, of course, he even misses his train at one risky station, ending up a failure in Istanbul and almost getting killed for it. All Burke's girls are with him on this journey and he kisses them all, and of course there is a lot of champagne and whisky and lobsters and what not for the smoking luxury.It's great entertainment, though, and especially the music is terrific. The plot is clearly fashioned somewhat on Bond's "From Russia with Love" and also "Casino Royale", but there is no plagiarism, only variations. You don't object to anything, especially not against the only crook in the plot, who is the lovely Senta Berger; so it's a nice thriller to pass an evening with never to see again, - like just another of those Burke girls.
bensonmum2
Agent Michael London (Gene Barry) poses as an art dealer so he can make regular trips between Paris and Istanbul. His latest mission is to enter an auction in Istanbul for some very desirable top secret scientific papers. There is a lot of interest from "the other side" concerning these papers. These enemy agents will stop at nothing to prevent London from getting the papers. Overall, Istanbul Express is a fairly bland, milk-toast sort of spy film. Once I saw the name Mary Ann Mobley in the credits, I knew this wasn't going to be a very wild ride. If I'm not mistaken, Istanbul Express was originally a TV production – and it shows. It doesn't have any of the memorable fight scenes, big set-pieces, or over-the- top action you find in a theatrical release. The film's star, Gene Barry, is a fine actor, but even he is "safe". About the wildest thing Barry does is throw down a few drinks. Slow down there, dude – let's not get too crazy. So far, I've made Istanbul Express sound somewhere between boring and a dog. Honestly, though, it's not all bad. The location shots were nice and a bit unexpected. You normally don't see actual location shooting like this on a television production. Another plus was Senta Berger in a very small, but pivotal, role. She's another of those actors who automatically make a movie better simply because they're in it. Finally, there is a really clever twist at the end during the auction scene that was quite well worked. It alone saved Istanbul Express from being below average. In summary, Istanbul Express is a fairly harmless, mildly entertaining film that too often plays it safe. There is a nice twist at the end that saves it from being horrible. Like the movie, I'll rate it a milk-toast sort of 5/10.
offycrossm
I first saw this movie on WTBS (Turner Broadcasting System) back in the early infancy of Cable Television and WTBS. It has stuck with me all of these years. Fortunately my oldest son was able to get a copy of the movie recorded off of the television and I keep it well protected! With Gene Berry, John Saxon, Senta Berger and even the Engineer "Moustache" it was well acted. This was a great crime drama based on the Istanbul Express (with John Saxon as the Security Officer for the Train, Cheval) but the story also carried onto other locations as the story progressed. I enjoyed it immensely (it has a great plot) from start to finish and as I stated, it stuck with me through the years. I don't know if it ever went to print, but I think that this would be well received by the viewing public and lovers of the Film NOIR after nearly 50 years from it's debut. Made in 1968 for television I think it should be revisited and given every consideration for print availability. They are always looking for these classics, this is one !! (If it did go to print, I would pay an exceptional price for a copy.)
gridoon2018
Wow, no user comments at all for "Istanbul Express"? That's kind of surprising, even given the film's relative obscurity.Gene Barry plays an American art dealer who occasionally also works as a government secret agent. His latest assignment is to travel to Istanbul by train and out-bid representatives from various countries around the world in an auction about some recently unearthed research documents from a famous (now dead) scientist. The money he will need is in a safety deposit box of a bank in Istanbul, and throughout his journey contacts of all shapes and sizes approach him and give him one number of the account at a time. But some passengers on the train are working for "the other side", and they will try to prevent Barry from reaching his destination....Bright Technicolor photography, genuine on-location shooting in beautiful Venice, Istanbul and (briefly) Paris and flavorful music make "Istanbul Express" more successful as a travelogue than anything else, but it's not bad as an espionage thriller, either - in fact, it has some classical genre touches ("Now that you have the numbers....reverse them!") that have been curiously absent from the James Bond movies for a long time now. You can tell it's a TV production, not only because of the obvious cues for commercial breaks, but also because of the "PG"-level violence and the lack of "big" action set-pieces. But it's a slick, good-looking TV production, and certainly superior to a lot of "theatrical" spy films of the same era. Senta Berger has a small but important role. **1/2 out of 4.
