This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Best movie ever!

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

This mystery/thriller is from director Stanley Donen. It follows on from the director's previous film, Charade starring Cary Grant. Charade was very much a Hitchcockian thriller which could pass as the work of the 'Master of Suspense' himself. That film totally delivered whereas this one is brilliant entertainment but with a few clunky scenes and a slightly disappointing plot reveal towards the end.Donen directs brilliantly with exciting action scenes, sophisticated scenes of dialogue and BAFTA winning cinematography featuring very stylish and interesting camera work. Viewing this in HD is a treat for the eyes, it looks beautiful. The acting is of a high standard throughout the cast with some good villains and a top class performance from Sophia Loren. Gregory Peck is his usual brilliant self as the Oxford professor dragged into a dangerous game of spies, plots and murder due to his abilities in deciphering hieroglyphics. The part was meant for Cary Grant and Peck is not usually seen in this kind of role where amusing quips are delivered in the midst of danger and romance. A star of his quality takes it in his stride, though, and he is spot on in the role.The mysterious plot goes along well and keeps you really interested but there are scenes which are badly thought through and as the truth behind the mysteries gets revealed towards the end it does not quite make sense to the degree it could. There are a number of things which jar a bit as being too improbable or inadequately explained: A royal guardsman inexplicably collapsing due to a comment from Peck and his fellow guard totally ignoring the incident, people running into and around London Zoo at night with no security barrier or anything to stop them, people using various methods of trying to kill Peck when a simple gunshot would do and the revelation of the hieroglyphic message all seem symptoms of the hastily rewritten screenplay.Scenes in the zoo, a horse race, a cornfield and a viaduct all have that Hitchcockian stamp on them and Donen at this stage seemed to be trying (or being told by film studios?) to become the new 'Hitch'. In Charade he managed to achieve that level. In Arabesque he does a really good job in the entertainment, action, use of great actors and visual style but falls down a bit on plot execution.7.5/10

If you're looking for a particularly mysterious, complex, dramatic international spy movie, you might want to look for a film that didn't come from the 1960s. Arabesque, in full 60s prime, is really cute. It is very 60s, though, so know what you're getting into. There are zooms, jokes about nudity that couldn't be shown, and outrageous hair and eye makeup.But best of all, the movie stars the infinitely handsome Gregory Peck and the unrealistically beautiful Sophia Loren. They're magical on screen together. Peck plays an American professor, and when he's recruited to help stop an assassination attempt on a Middle Eastern Prime Minister, he meets Sophia Loren. Is she in league with the bad guys? Will he solve the mystery in time? It's a really cute movie, with some genuinely exciting scenes thrown in—and I'm not just talking about the sparkling tension between the two costars. If you like movies like Gambit, Charade, or the Sean Connery James Bond flicks, you'll like this one!

Modern espionage escapism story of international intrigue involving a college professor , an Arab prime minister , a ruthless businessman , an ambiguous spy and hieroglyphics . Ingenuous Gregory Peck and enigmatic Sophia Loren involved in sinister goings-on around . Both of them adrift in a tourist-eye as well as beautifully photographed London and on the run from sinister crooks and death-dealing , double secret agents who want to take a hieroglyph .This is a sparklingly sophisticated comedy/thriller/romance with Donen's stylish direction and full of plot twists , suspense , fast moving , red herrings and adding enough effects gimmicks . Exciting and clever ¨pursuit film¨ about a naive professor and his unsettling involvement with all kind of baddies along with a beautiful as well a suspicious woman . From the opening credits by Maurice Binder to the ending entertainment and amusement are well provided . It is thrilling and intelligent at times , but results to be pretty amusing , being very sub-Hitchcock and in James Bond style . Interesting screenplay by Peter Stone , alias Pierre Marton , being much flashier than Donen's earlier ¨Charade¨ also written by Stone . Although the part of David Pollock was originally scripted for Cary Grant . Stanley Donen is prepared to resort to all the tricks in the cinematic trade to make this a fascinating thriller and he carries out a conscious effort to capture the peculiar look of the sixties . It packs fun scenes with Gregory Peck in the shower , along with moving action sequences . Peck is perfect as a botcher professor who is drawn into espionage . However , Gregory found the stunts particularly difficult because of an old leg injury due to horseback riding . This was last picture Peck made for three years while he concentrated on his humanitarian efforts that included the American Cancer Society . Gorgeous Sophia Loren is amusingly enigmatic and provides the glamorous mystery element in the plot , she manages to change her Christian Dor's dresses at various scenes . Support cast is frankly good , such as Alan Badel , George Coulouris , Carl Duering , Duncan Lamont and last feature of John Merivale . Colorful and glimmering cinematography in Panavision by Christopher Challis . Enjoyable score by Henry Mancini , including catching musical leitmotif .This espionage adventure picture was stunningly directed by Stanley Donen who made in similar style ¨Charade¨ with Gary Grant and Audrey Hepburn who was never more beautiful . Donen directed some of the best musicals of history such as ¨On the town¨, ¨Singing in the rain¨, ¨Royal Wedding¨ , ¨It's always fair weather¨, ¨Seven brides for seven brothers ¨, ¨Funny face¨ , among others . The posterior Donen films were heavy-handed , exception of ¨Two for the road¨ again with Hepburn , and too few to show if the magic had really gone . ¨Arabesque¨ rating : 6,5/10 . Agreeable film , enough to entertain young and eldest people . It is essentially a hollow and calculated attempt to cash on the Continental spy trend -the Eurospy Subgenre- of the time .

In the mid-1960s, director Stanley Donen made 2 films that remind me so much of each other -- this film and "Charade". Although "Charade" was more successful financially, I always felt there was something not quite right with the film (although I never figured out what), while this film seems pretty much perfect. Both films have actors I very much admire -- Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn - versus - Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren, but this match-up of Peck and Hepburn seems to have just a bit more chemistry working.The story line works pretty well (there are a few minor spots where connections just seem to happen out of pure lock, but that's okay). Mostly, things develop at a pace that is logical for the story, and tells you just enough at each point to make you want to get to the next point. And the climax of this film -- the demise of helicopter -- is one of my all-time favorite film scenarios. And, unlike today's films that would be bursting with CGI effects that you know are damn-well impossible, here, everything seems like something that could happen. The tension in parts of the script is perfect. And, like with Hitchcock, the story works because it's the story of a common man caught up in an uncommon situation. Oh, and there are some rather nice and sophisticated camera angles throughout the film...not enough to distract, but enough to make you think several times, "Hey, that's cool".Gregory Peck is perfect. Just perfect. Professorish without being a prude, brave enough to do what has to be done. And adequately tongue-in-check. The same can be said for Sophia Loren, although she's not the common woman here. But she plays it too a tee with just enough mystery to make you wonder.Alan Badel is delicious as the villain! This is a film where you should just sit back and revel in sly comments, a great script, and the chemistry between Peck and Loren.Highly recommended.