That Man From Rio / Up to His Ears Double Feature [Blu-ray]

I rate this double feature at 4 stars. The reason for it is that Up to His Ears (1965) is weaker than That Man from Rio (1964). Truth be told, I only enjoyed watching the first film. I almost fell asleep watching the second one The two films starting French superstar Jean-Paul Belmondo are adventure comedies along the lines Indiana Jones meets Pink Panther.That Man From Rio, was filmed on site in Brazil. The beginning of the film was shot in Paris, France. The film is about a young woman played by Francoise Dorleac, whose father has passed away and she is put in care of her uncle. The girl's father, who was an anthropologist, once with a group of his colleagues unearthed in Amazonian forest three mysterious statutes that belonged to extinct indigenous tribe. The statutes hold a powerful secret and certain group of people wants to have them in their possession. Belmondo plays the girl's boyfriend who is on leave from the army. When the girl gets kidnapped, Belmondo hitches a plane ride to Brazil to find her and rescue her...he does not know what adventure he is in for. Francoise Dorleac, who plays key female role in the film, was the older sister of the famous French star Catherine Deneuve. Francoise died in a tragic car accident in 1967, she was 25 years old.Up to His Ears, entirely filmed in Asia (Malaysia, China, India, and Nepal) revolves around a rich guy Arthur (Belmondo) who lives on a lavish boat together with his loyal butler, Chinese psychic, fiancé, and soon to be mother-in-law with her boyfriend. Arthur is unhappy with his life, and he wants to kill himself. The mother-in-law is in favor of him killing himself so that she can inherit all the money with her daughter. She is willing do anything to make Arthur disappear. However, in the way of her plan stands the Chinese psychic, the loyal butler, two goofy undercover life-insurance agents, and a newly acquainted strip-tease dancer played by the sex symbol of the 1960's (according to me) Ursula Andress. If you find goofy/lame humor funny than you will like this film...the only other thing worth mentioning are the numerous stunts and acrobatics towards the end of the film. I found the last 25 minutes of the film most interesting to watch...especially seeing Ursula in bikini on a tropical island is a feast for eyes...say what you want about her acting...one thing is for sure: she was a woman of tremendous beauty, equal to Sophie Loren, Marisa Mell or Monica Vitti. Speaking of Ursula Andress, not many people know but Belmondo and Andress had an affair when they met on the set of the film. The romance was widely publicized at the time in France, and consequently cost Belmondo his marriage (Belmondo at the time was married to Elodie Constantin with whom he had 3 children). I guess Belmondo was love-struck :) but who wouldn't be seeing Ursula in the prime of her life?

THAT MAN FROM RIO was BELMONDO and director DE BROCA's second movie after CARTOUCHE.It's hard to think of a more physical role for an actor.In this film,BELMONDO started to make stunts under the guidance of GIL DELAMARE.We all know that SPIELBERG was inspired by this film while making RAIDERS OF A LOST ARK.One imagine the difficulty of making a movie in RIO in 1964.BELMONDO is ideally cast and DORLÉAC(who was CATHERINE DENEUVE's sister) was a perfect match.As for UP TO HIS EARS,even director DE BROCA admitted that it wasn't one of his best.It was almost the same crew: producer,director,writers,composer and leading man, but the overall feeling after viewing is not as concluant.The restoration of both films are examplary.You've got the original french audio with english subtitles and even some extras.Congratulations to COHEN for making these films available.

That Man From Rio is a favorite and hard to find. I have a DVD copy made in Russia and it's a relief to be able to access the subtitles without going through the Russian selection directions. The movie itself is a favorite with scenes from Brasilia and Rio at a time when Brasilia was being built. Jean Paul Belmondo and Francoise Dorleac romp through the adventure from Paris to Rio to Brasilia and back to Paris with enthusiasm. Great escapist fare.

I've loved "That Man from Rio" ever since seeing the original when it first came out... a juicy spoof of adventure movies featuring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Francoise Dorleac (Catherine Deneuve's sister, sadly killed young in an auto accident) and scenes shot in Paris, Rio, and the just-being-built futuristic city of Brasilia. Plot is predictably silly, but oh, what action! Color restoration has been well-done.I never saw or heard of Up to His Ears before this video, which stars Belmondo up aagainst Ursula Andress. The plot is even more lightweight than that of That Man From Rio, but it likewise features exotic locations (China, et al) and amazing stunts. Good fun!

How awesome is this to see both films in the one DVD presentation? That Man from Rio is a fast-moving action films with lots of exciting set-pieces. The follow-up Up to His Ears (which I originally saw under the title Chinese Adventures in China) is great fun and based on a Jules Verne novel. Both films are loads of action and fun and a few laughs. Something of a send-up of spy films popular in the 1960s.

On ne peut pas enlever les sous titre anglais.

The two TinTin movies done brilliantly. Need one say more?