Arabesque

source: Arabesque

Trailer—Arabesque

Arabesque

Gregory Peck, (Professor David Pollack), "Old Gringo", plays a professor who is kidnapped for a brief period and is told to reveal the secrets of an Arabic writing which is his specialty. He is shot at, hit on the head and thrown out of a truck and meets up with Sophia Loren, (Yasmin Azir), "The Black Orchid", who runs into him all the time and decides to help him escape from his captives. However, Yasmin tells so many lies that David does not believe her and begins to think she is working against him. There is plenty of comedy, drama, romance and action. This is not exactly an easy film to just sit back and relax, it keeps you wondering just what is really Going ON

In a few more years when movies from the 1960's are studied clinically with an eye to their historical development, this one will be a technical standout. For sheer visual beauty, cinematic virtuosity, and musical score, it ought to have been a big winner in its own time. That it was not can be deduced from the few comments recorded here with respect to its failures in text and casting, all of which are obvious and quite fatal. Not to be repetitious, I nevertheless agree that Peck was miscast. Moreover, his character as conceived was a ludicrous echo of the typical 1960's hero, and I doubt that any actor could have carried it off -- even Sean Connery and certainly not Cary Grant. Add to that several other cartoonish elements in the plot and you have the sad spectre of beauty defiled. Watch it for Sophia Loren and the Mancini score alone and you will be delighted.

Not only is the whole cinematography clever (love those shots with actors in the mirrors) but this is one of those hidden gems from the '60s. The whole look and feel just oozes what you imagine the '60s to be--intrigue, mysterious/swarthy foreign spies, a totally cool/hot babe (Sophia Loren could not be any more gorgeous) and a handsome yet bumbling professor (Gregory Peck out harrison Ford-ing Harrison Ford years ahead of the curve). The dialog also sparkles with that old sort of Kate Hepburn--Cary Grant type interplay albeit at a much more languid and sexier pace. There are also hints of Hitchcock and Orson Welles in the story telling and directorial style.

Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck team up in this virtual re-make/sequel to director Stanley Donen's Charade, made three years earlier. Then it a glamorous couple being chased around Paris. Here it is an equally glamorous couple being chased around London, with the Zoo and Ascot races playing the backdrop to the film's key action sequences. Like the Grant character in Charade, it is impossible to work out just which side Loren is on until the film's final stages. The plot (in which Egyptology Professor Peck tries to unscramble a hieroglyphic for madman Alan Badel and Israeli agent Kieron Moore) is as dispensable as Charade's was. This is not quite up to the standard of the earlier film, but never mind, the action is breathtaking, the finale genuinely surprising, and the Mancini score is riveting.

This film is a bit dated (1966) but the plot twists and turns keep you watching. With Gregory Peck knocking off one liners and Sophia Loren for eye candy, this film is a good one to catch if you have never seen it before...The villains in the film are a bit over the top and a tad campy but this only adds to the charm of the film.

This has got to be one of the most beautifully photographed movies ever made. Stanley Donen really knows how to use the camera, shooting through chandeliers, using double mirrors for endless reflections, using ordinary objects to highlight the extraordinary--this movie is so wonderfully cinematic that the lack of a serious plot is almost negligible. Not to mention the presence of Gregory Peck, the beautiful Sophia Loren as well as the Henry Mancini score and the titles by Maurice Binder only add to the icing on the cake! "Pierre Marton" (yeah, we all know it's Peter Stone)'s script is sparklingly quotable and provides great fun and great entertainment--just don't think too hard about the plot when you're watching this. "Arabesque" should set the standard in cinematic beauty and it's a shame that this movie isn't more widely shown or known about. Just what happened to that song "We've Loved Before" that was composed for this film?

'Arabesque' has often been compared to 'Charade' and the story does follow a similar path of twists and turns. This time it's throughout the city and countryside of London. The visualizations of the sights of London are pleasing to the eyes. The movie itself moves at a steady pace and there are a few over the top sequences but the twists keep the viewer at the edge of the seat. Moreover, it makes sense to the story which only enriches its entertainment value. The solid writing also includes some funny witty dialogues. I'm glad Cary Grant turned down the role as Gregory Peck, a much better actor, ended up with the role. He and dazzling beauty Sophia Loren make an awesome pair on screen. The chemistry is sizzling and they're both very charming actors. Overall 'Arabesque' is great fun and it is the movie to watch especially when one is feeling bored.