ridiculous rating
... View MoreMost undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??
... View MoreGreat story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
... View MoreStrong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
... View MoreExotic Technicolor location scenes were actually filmed in Brazil and feature an intention-grabbing opening fight right on top of the statue of Christ, which stands on Sugarloaf Mountain, overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, despite the opening narration by Michael Hordern, the script is a dead weight. The accent on talk, talk, talk easily outweighs the action. The principals, Mike Connors, Dorothy Provine, Raf Vallone and Terry-Thomas do their own dubbing, but the rest of the dubbers are pretty terrible. Also disappointing is Aldo Tonti, normally an extremely competent cinematographer. Dorothy Provine looks absolutely awful. She is badly made up and wears hideous clothes designed by Piero Gherardi. I'm told the screenplay is supposed to be a spoof. I hope it wasn't, for I didn't find it the least bit funny. Fortunately, on the simple adventure level, the movie is acceptable, although still clogged by too much talk. But a very lavish budget helps and director Henry Levin has contributed at least two inventive touches (e.g. the ladder descending into the camera) and the scenery does look very attractive in color.
... View More"Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die" (quite a distasteful title, by the way) opens with an ambitious and well-executed action sequence (a fight / shoot out atop the Jesus Christ statue in Rio), but it wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that very little happens for the next hour or so, as the film simply coasts along on its beautiful Brazilian locations. As a spoof, it's not really very funny ("The Last Of The Secret Agents?" actually has more laughs), and neither is its main running gag about the hero finding and eating bananas everywhere he goes (well, at least one of them comes in handy in disposing a henchman near the end!). Granted, the film has its moments (the game of one-upmanship between Connors and Dorothy Provine, the camouflaged car, Terry-Thomas doing karate (!), etc.), but they are few and far between. And I was bitterly disappointed to discover that Margaret Lee's and Marilu Tolo's roles were nothing more than brief cameos. ** out of 4.
... View MoreMASTER PLAN: infertilize the USA's population by eliminating the sexual drive (cripes!) via a launched satellite. This begins as an obvious spoof, showing some scientist getting shot in the jungles while exploring a local tribe's infertility problem, with satirical narration (by actor Michael Hordern, maybe?). It's a very goofy start. But, the action switches to Rio de Janeiro, a nice bit on Corcovado, in and around the famed statue, as an agent played by lead Mike Connors fights off a villain. This sets the tone for the rest of the film, a more sophisticated parody of the James Bond thriller than I first thought, in the vein of "Our Man Flint." There's the typical stuff: use of scorpions & piranha, the odd henchman and the main villain (Vallone) who has sinister grand plans for the world. Provine shows up as a femme fatale with a severely British accent. Terry-Thomas then pops up as an effeminate chauffeur who can handle himself very well in a fight.The exotic locations in Brazil are pretty good; as mentioned in other comments, some of this, including some plot points, seems to have been copied by an actual later Bond film, "Moonraker," though one could argue this happened because this copies earlier Bond films such as "Thunderball" and "Dr.No." The story has some slow parts in the first half, meandering as the hero follows villains and vice-versa. This is reflected in the film's music score, which has a lazy, easy style to it, even during action sequences. As the hero, Connors also ambles his way through, usually laconic or sarcastic, depending on the scene, but projecting toughness. This was just before he began his 8-year run as tough TV private eye "Mannix." To give you an idea of the humor, there's a recurring theme of the hero's fondness for bananas. Things pick up in the latter half when the action shifts to the sci-fi stronghold of the villain. I've heard that this film is a favorite of Quentin Tarantino's. Hero:6 Villains:6 Femme Fatales:6 Henchmen:6 Fights:7 Stunts/Chases:6 Gadgets:6 Auto:4 Locations:7 Pace:6 overall:6
... View MoreAm i the only person in the world who has noticed that the Brazil/Rio sequence of "Moonraker" is an uncredited remake of this major parts of this film, swapping the sexes of the CIA and Brit agents?Well, it is.Even the sequence in the bedroom where Bond and the CIA grrl show each other their gadgets is straight out of "Kiss the Girls...".
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