The Silencers | | Cast : | Dean Martin, Stella Stevens | | Director : | Phil Karlson | | Studio : | Columbia Tristar Hom | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | February 18, 1966 | | DVD Released Date : | November 11, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | NR (Not Rated) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | March 13, 2005 | | Summary | Dean Martin's First "James Bond" Spoof as Matt Helm | Content
 | Following four highly successful serious spy films starring Sean Connery as that world-famous fictional British spy James Bond, American film companies began playing with the idea of producing their own spy films with equally world-famous, but more humorous, spies in their own James Bond spoofs. On January 16, 1966, the first James Bond-inspired spoof hit the big screen starring James Coburn (1928-2002) as Derek Flint in Twentieth Century Fox's film "our Man Flint". Only one month later, on February 18, 1966, a second James Bond-inspired spoof hit the big screen starring the well-known comedic actor/lounge singer Dean Martin (1917-1995) as the semi-retired spy Matt Helm in "The Silencers", which was produced by Claude Productions and Meadway, and distributed by Columbia Pictures.
Similar to Derek Flint, Matt Helm loves to be surrounded by beautiful women; but unlike the super-serious & high-tech Flint, Helm is far more laid back. Helm's bedroom is equipped with a rotating circular bed (which was also part of Mike Myer's 1997 portrayal of British superstar/super-spy Austin Powers in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery"), which can also role forward and raise at an angle so that it can let Helm (and anyone else in Helm's bed) slide into a waiting olypic-sized bubble-bath. Doing his best to avoid being used in yet another spy mission, Helm leaves his expensive home and travels to Acapulco where an unexpected blond woman is waiting in his bedroom. While in his arms, she is shot from behind by one of Helm's former spy coworkers Tina (Daliah Lavi, who appeared in yet another James Bond-inspired spoof in 1967: the highly comedic "Casino Royale" that also starred Woody Allen, David Niven and Peter Sellers). Discovering that they're being watched by operatives working for the evil mastermind Tung-Tze, a.k.a., "Big-O" (Victor Buono, 1938-1982), Helm & Tina escape in his station wagon to Phoenix, where they expect to find a highly sought after computer tape. The tape is in possession of a singer named Sarita (Cyd Charisse), who ends up shot while performing on stage, but hands the tape over to the highly-accident prone Gail Hendrix (Stella Stevens) who runs on stage to help her. Helm & Tina quickly rush Gail out of the club and away from enemy agents, but suspect that she is also an enemy agent working for "Big-O". After being temporarily knocked out by gas shooting out of a phone, Helm is assisted by his & Tina's boss Sam Gunther (Robert Webber, 1924-1989), who also prevents Gail from escaping. Helm then takes Gail to San Juan, which is where Sarita told her that something was going to happen before she died; but can Helm stop the dastardly Tung-Tze and his evil plan? You'll just have to watch the film to find out!
In typical 1960's motif and humor, "The Silencers" is still a very humorous spoof to this day and I rate it with 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a non-serious spoof. Dean Martin would portray Matt Helm in three more subsequent films: "Murderer's Row" (later in 1966), "The Ambushers" (1967, which is my personal favorite) and "The Wrecking Crew" (1969). Hopefully these other three Matt Helm films will also be released on DVD. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 09, 2005 | | Summary | A word about the cropping | Content
| I won't review the film as this has been done by others. However, I would like to add some thoughts about the "cropping" issue--
To many fans of DVD, a key selling point is seeing a film the way it was orginally presented in the theatre.
Most people are aware today that widescreen films shown on a full frame standard TV's are cropped-- that is, they are panned and scanned and you lose information (images). Pan & Scan changes the composition of the film.
With this in mind, people expect to see ALL of the composition when a film comes out on DVD and is viewed on a widescreen televison-- not less. However, there are exceptions:
In some circumstances, the director of a film will compose a shot with more information than is meant to be conveyed to the audience.
The "extra" information is never meant to be seen. When the film is "matted" for release, the additional info is covered up and you are left with the director's original conception of the shot.
Now here's the thing: when the film is shown on commercial television in a standard full screen format, the "matts" are opened up and the film subjected to pan and scan. In this case, you may now see parts of the shot that were covered up-- and also lose other parts that were originally shown.
The bottom line here is that this release of "The Silencers" shows the film in its "matted" form the way it was shown in theatre's. People who have seen the film on television all these years became accustomed to seeing the "open matt" pan & scan version. They have seen more information than was intended and now think that the released DVD version has been "cropped" because the afore mentioned images are now missing.
Here's a great example: (warning: spoilers below)
A previous reviewer makes mention that in a certain part of the film, actress Nancy Kovack is shot in the back and we her bare bottom. This reviewer then complains that in the DVD version, we don't see that far down. The conclusion that is drawn is that this scene is to riske' for the DVD version for some reason and has been cropped or edited out.
As explained above, this is simply not true.
In the pan & scan "open matt" scene, we see the actress wearing only a shirt and pantyhose. Dean Martin is holding her and we see Kovack from the back. As she is shot, Kovack arches up and we see her pantyhosed butt come out of the shirt.
This "nyloned butt" shot was never intended to be seen-- remember this was a film made in the mid 60's-- nudity simply wasn't going to make it in to a film that was rated the way this one was.
Further, there was also another bit of nudity just slightly earlier in the same scene that is in the "open matt" pan & scan version-- Kovack in shirt and pantyhose rushes up to Dino and we see both of the actors side by side.
As Kovack turns towards Martin, her short shirt lifts and parts slightly, and we see a glimpse of Kovacks "front" (for want of a more descriptive term).
Again, this was not meant to be seen and never would have made it past the censors during the original release.
So, in this instance, viewers have seen a more racy version of the film on televison than was ever shown in theatre's-- the complete opposite of what is expected with a DVD release-- hence the complaints.
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| Rating | | | Date | July 29, 2004 | | Summary | Just cool as Dino only could be | Content
| Forget 007 he means nothing !!
If you really want to be someone else you don't need immagination any more, just look at Dino! He is cool, easy-going, polite, just perfect! And look the girls too, they are wonderful, sexy and never voulgar.
Big movie, big actors, big actress and naturally big big Dino !!
We want all the others Matt Helm movies on DVD. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 08, 2004 | | Summary | The Silencers Revisited | Content
| Dean Martin's Matt Helm and James Coburn's Derek Flint were both well done serio-comic Superspies in the James Bond genre. While the two Flint flicks have been available on DVD for some time, The Silencers is the first Matt Helm film to make it to DVD. After watching The Silencers, my only question is--When will the rest of the Matt Helm movies be available on DVD? |
| Rating | | | Date | April 08, 2004 | | Summary | Glad I Read Reviews | Content
| As much as I would like to have this movie on DVD, I would
not buy this issue because of the reviews posted here. When
are studios going to get it? We don't want DVD issues of movies
that are sub-standard or something that is different than
theatrical release. |
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