A Brilliant Conflict

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Yul Brynner is "The Double Man" in this 1967 spy film also starring Britt Ekland, Clive Revill, Moira Lister, and Lloyd Nolan.Brynner is Dan Slater, a CIA agent who travels to Austria after the death of his teenage son in a skiing accident. It's been written off as an accident, but Slater isn't convinced. He asks a former undercover agent (Clive Revill) for help, but ends up doing most of the investigating himself and soon realizes that this was no accident. But to what end? Slater stays in Austria hoping to figure out what the plan is, and who has initiated it and why. He eventually meets Gina (Ekland) after several attempts at meeting her on the slopes. Gina had seen his son on the lift.The plot is soon revealed, leading to a dangerous confrontation.Pretty good, with an excellent performance by Brynner as a cold, hard man who shows no emotion and perhaps feels none. Also, the scenery is gorgeous, as is Britt Ekland, at the height of her beauty here.Someone here mentioned that the glossy spoofs are better remembered today, and perhaps that poster is correct. However, I don't think there's too much remarkable here. It's a serviceable film with a very intrusive music score.See it for Brynner's performance.

CIA agent Dan Slater learns that his 16 year old son has been killed in a skiing accident in Switzerland and goes to collect the body . He finds out that his son's death may not have been an accident The 1960s was a decade of wannabe Bond B movies most of them either forgettable or just plain embarrassing . THE DOUBLE MAN is a film that doesn't want to emulate the crazy fast paced antics of James Bond . Instead it has a style similar to something John Le Carre would have written It's not a bad cold war thriller but it is a very and I do mean VERY talkative one with the first hour composed of Dan Slater asking everyone who knew his son if he'd been murdered . Then when the major plot twist is revealed halfway through that the dastardly commies murdered Slater Jnr in order to bring his father to Switzerland you'll find yourself asking some obvious questions like Why did the baddies have to come up with such an intricate plan ? Surely they could have murdered him and home and replaced him with the impostor ?Ah yes the impostor ! How on Earth would this work in reality ? He may know Slater drinks 4 cups of black coffee a day but how would he be able to keep up the pretense for any effective period of time ? It's the sort of film that thinks it's being intelligent but because of the plotting it's far from clever

"Double man" is now overshadowed ,in Franklin J Shaffner's filmography by the double triumph of "planet of the apes" and "Patton" .Although it's not really in the same league as those two classics ,"double man" is an exciting spy thriller:although the cast and credits ape those of James Bond,the story is something completely different .The first part is slow-moving -which is necessary to bring the second one- but the second grabs the viewer and does not let him till the very end ,which is very cynical ,when you really think about it: the "good " man is saved because he has never loved anybody! There are bizarre clues (Britt Ekland to Yul Brynner :"when he met that man,your son seemed very happy") and a very cold atmosphere in every sense of the term;there are curious hints at the Bible : Lazarus,Easter and the resurrection and the ending is some kind of judgment of Solomon updated .Some aspects of the film even predate Brynner's part in "mondwest"("he's the spitting image of yourself "we would say "clone" today) !Shaffner had a good sense of space (which was remarkable in "planet of the apes" ) which shows when the skiers come down the mountain,with their torch in their hand .The political side is very vague ,and it's essentially a suspense thriller ,certainly worth a watch.

"The Double Man" comes out of the rash of 60's cold war thrillers and James Bond wannabes, yet it is better than most of the period. Fine performances by Brynner, Clive Revill, Anton Diffring, and Lloyd Nolan, and some excellent cinematography involving the Austrian Alps by Denys Coop give the film a solid boost. Franklin Schaffner's direction gives the film a tight, efficient pace. The biggest positive here is that cast and director treat what could have been tongue-in-cheek material (in lesser hands) in a serious manner, lending weight and intelligence to the film. The only drawbacks are the occasional plot-hole and the non-acting of co-star Brit Ekland (here only for window dressing). Otherwise, "The Double Man" is good entertainment for spy movie fans everywhere!