The Brain (1969)

Truly Dreadful Film

i must have seen a different film!!

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

"The Brain" is a very funny caper comedy movie that takes place in Italy, France, England and the U.S. All the languages are spoken by the story locales and characters. English is interspersed in places. French is the main language, with the main action taking place in France. The opening song, "The Brain," with the title and credits is in English, and the title reads, "The Brain = Le cerveau." The film was made by the French Gaumont studios and was released across much of the European continent beginning with France in March 1969. It opened in the U.S. in November, and didn't show in the UK until 1970. The U.S. box office alone was more than 10 times the budget for the film. It was the most popular film in France in 1969.The plot is about a train robbery of £5 million ($7 million plus) in 1968 (more than $50 million in 2018). It follows on the heels of the actual 1963 Great Train Robbery in the UK. For this fictional robbery, three separate stories get intermingled. The Brain is supposed to be an Englishman who masterminded the UK robbery. By the way, the outcome of that took many years to round up and bring to justice most of the crooks involved. But very little of the loot was ever recovered. The Brain makes a Sicilian contact in Italy to launder the money from the heist. And, a couple of petty thieves in France hatch their own plan to rob the same train, using the methods of the Great Train Robbery. Neither the English nor the French planners are aware of the other group's existence or plan. All of this, plus a surprise twist adds up to some very funny antics. The cast of main characters follows the nationalities of the countries in which the film takes place. The main French stars are Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil as Arthur and Anatole, respectively. The English star, The Brain, is David Niven as Col. Carol Matthews. American actor Eli Wallach plays the Mafia leader from Sicily, and Silvia Monti plays his sister, Sofia. Most of the supporting cast are French. "The Brain" has small doses of funny dialog, but most of the humor is in the antics and hilarious situations. It has a very funny plot with many humorous scenes. A pet leopard of Col. Matthews leads to one huge hilarious scene of destruction of a lavish apartment, complete with an aquarium size fish tank. The film has a little bit of everything, from a long distance car chase to massive fireworks. The last one-third is riotously funny. This is a must see film for those who enjoy comedy, especially antics. For slapstick, it comes quite close to the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges. Here are some favorite lines from the film.Frankie Scannapieco, "I gave my word to mother and father that I would keep you as pure as gold. That's why I didn't take you to America." Anatole, "You're not thinking of hijacking 14 nations?" Arthur, "It's not like France is still under NATO." Anatole, "Okay. That changes everything, but..."Col. Matthews, finding the train car empty but the gang telling him the bags are all loaded below, says, "I do not understand. Strange. And I'm so clever."

Very Sixties in its making - with elements of the Italian Job and the Pink Panther combined - the Brain is silly, slick, and entertaining.The robbery is colossal - $7 million in used notes from 14 countries all on one train! With an all star international cast headed up by Belmondo and Niven this is a frantic, frenetic, fun-filled take on the caper genre - and it really works - from the prison break to the caper itself and the subsequent chase it's high speed all the way.Everything just kind of works - a great cast - a very competent director and all in all, it's fun.The only downside is its very difficult to find and is rarely scheduled.It has however finally been released in France on a double DVD (Without subs).If you can find it it's a film to enjoy.

Ah, the characters: David Niven as a British Officer/Master thief, played with his usual ironic assurance and poise, Eli Wallach as a frantic and choleric mafioso (he is a contender for Louis des Funés as the most explosive screen presence ever) and the delicious duo of Belmondo as an ambitious and inventive but somewhat hapless small time crook with Bourvil as his more cautious straight man and partner in crime. A movie with great dialogue, fantastic pace, a swinging soundtrack and an incredible mix of physical, situational and verbal comedy - laugh-out-loud funny throughout. If "The Brain" should really not be available on DVD this would just be further proof of how little brain these entertainment-industry executives have.

Occasionally seen on TV in France, this film has now been issued on a double DVD in France with French subtitles only. Picture quality is superb ( THX Standard ). The film is extremely entertaining, to say the least, quite normal as the directer is the great Gérard Oury and on a par with such films as Le Corniaud or La Grande Vadrouille. I'm sure it's well known across the world, even if people don't know its title, if only because of David Niven's head that slants to one side because his brain's too heavy. There's a mixture of actors here, some French, some foreign and it has that light hearted happy-go-lucky-swinging-sixties look as typified by the Italian Job and other similar films. Knowing the perverse nature of things, now that this commentary has been written, the film will probably turn up on DVD in the coming months !! Let's hope so anyway !