The Anderson Tapes
The Anderson Tapes
PG | 17 June 1971 (USA)
The Anderson Tapes Trailers

Thief Duke Anderson—just released from ten years in jail—takes up with his old girlfriend in her posh apartment block, and makes plans to rob the entire building. What he doesn't know is that his every move is being recorded on audio and video, although he is not the subject of any surveillance.

Reviews
Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable
Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen
ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.
Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
ma-cortes A top-notch cast under superb direction and slickly made by Sidney Lumet who makes this movie enjoyable in every aspect . Amusing caper with magnificent acting by all-star-cast , acceptable production design and masterfully realized by the always original and great Sidney Lumet . After Duke Anderson (Sean Connery , being the first film in which he stopped wearing a toupee) is released from prison after ten years for taking the rap for a scion of a Mafia family , he cashes in a debt of honor with the mob chief (Alan King who also worked in ¨Just Tell Me What You Want¨ by Lumet) to bankroll a caper . Upon visiting his old girlfriend , Ingrid (Dyan Cannon married to Gary Grant) at her upscale apartment in New York City , he plans to rob the entire building . As the ex-convict , under strange electronic surveillance that have tracked him since he abandoned prison , wishes to pull off a big robbing . Agreeable as well as interesting picture with tight editing , magnificent acting , fast-paced , thrills , plot twists , emotion and entertainment . It was originally conceived as a tense as well as thrilling flick about a spectacular hold-up . Though the most movie is set in a luxurious building it never lacks for taut , suspense , intrigue , inspired direction and a climax particularly thrilling . The tension behind closed doors is tense , charged and riveting . Sean Connery is very good as ex-inmate decided to carry out a big heist , being accompanied by a beauty Dyan Cannon . Support cast is pretty good , such as a young Christopher Walken -film debut- is perfectly cast as an ex-con , Alan King as mobster , Ralph Meeker as Police officer , Martin Balsam as gay man , Garrett Morris , Val Avery , and final feature film by Margaret Hamilton of Wizard of Oz , among others . Fine Quince Jones soundtrack . Atmospheric and appropriate cinematography by Arthur Ornitz . Frank Pierson's brilliant script was left virtually intact on this adaptation upon the novel titled "The Anderson Tapes" by Lawrence Sanders . This thriller was professionally directed by Sidney Lumet with an extraordinary plethora of actors who give awesome interpretations . It keeps the spectator utterly involved , it holds up extremely well on television . Sidney Lumet was a master of cinema , best known for his technical knowledge and his skill at getting first-rate performances from his actors and for shooting most of his films in his beloved New York . In ¨ The Anderson tapes¨ Lumet had a strong comeback with this box-office hit . He made over 40 movies , often complex and emotional , but seldom overly sentimental . He achieved great successes such as ¨Serpico¨, ¨The Veredict¨, ¨Fail safe¨ , ¨ Morning after¨, ¨The hill¨ , ¨Dog day afternoon¨, ¨Murder on the Orient Express¨ , ¨Network¨ and his best considered one : ¨12 angry men¨ . In 2005 , Sidney Lumet received a well-deserved honorary Academy Award for his outstanding contribution to filmmaking.
JohnHowardReid The extent to which unauthorized and illegal bugging is practiced by Government Agencies in the USA is the subject of this crime thriller. The crime itself is not so much ingenious as audacious. But this one has a twist! Although the pre-planning sequences are somewhat slow and over-talkative, once the robbery itself gets under way, our interest is fully captured, and it is resolved in a thrillingly staged climax. Like many of director Sidney Lumet's productions, the film was made entirely in New York City. Our interest is also enhanced by some ingratiating portrayals, particularly Martin Balsom's study of a phony antique dealer. Sean Connery fills the main role adequately but with little of the distinction he brought to James Bond. However, Dyan Cannon makes an attractive female lead. Nevertheless, the whole film would benefit considerably by at least twenty minutes of deft trimming. Even some of the climactic scenes need speeding up, but most of the slow passages occur in the first half of the movie.
flackjacket In 1971 I was in first grade. So the first time I saw this film was about 5 years later when a censored version was broadcast on TV. So when it was recently broadcast, unedited, all I remembered was the imagery and soundtrack was unique. The synthesizer sound track, the big Mayflower moving truck and leather masks. So I decided to watch it again.Actors and story line aside, I was amazed at how perfectly this film totally captured that brief era in technology and culture between Woodstock and Watergate, both visually and audibly. Overall, it's a surreal painting of the year 1971. Quincy Jones' soundtrack, and his use of the early synth combined with the visuals of reel to reel tape recorders, bugging devices, microphones and radio equipment all ooze 1971. And seeing it now, post 9/11, it's a rare, almost prophetic commentary on how government surveillance can fail when it's isolated between departments. The country had just landed a man on the moon, all the technology from NASA was just beginning to saturate the society. But regardless, when the intelligence wasn't shared, it was useless.The casting and acting are impeccable. Each character plays their role to perfection and it's an all-star cast. Quincy Jones score for this film is in a class of it's own, a one of a kind audible mile marker of 1971. And the camera angles, direction and visuals paint in vivid detail the brief moment in history between the lunar landing and digital LED watches.On the surface, and at the time of release, it was just another big heist film. But years later, it has become a film that not only defines the genre, but is a genre in and of itself.If your young and want experience that transitional time in history, or if you're older and want to go back in time, this movie is well worth watching.
tieman64 "The Anderson Tapes" is a somewhat ahead-of-its-time film by Sidney Lumet. A precursor to modern heist films and a successor of early noirs, the film stars Sean Connery as an ex con who resolves to rob an entire apartment complex. "It's a dog eat dog world," he says, "and I want first bite." Much of the film lingers on surveillance tapes, electronic devices, hidden microphones and cameras. It turns out that every ex con whom Connery assembles for his team is being monitored and observed by different law enforcement departments. But because these departments are illegally wire-taping/spying and are acting entirely outside of their fields of operation, they're information isn't admissible in court. So though they all inadvertently detect or map Connery's crime, they're unable to act on their intel. The film's big irony is that all this surveillance proves useless, yet a kid with a simple two way radio is able to thwart Connery. So observation fails but two way communication takes him down.The film predates "The Conversation", predates even Nixon's nefarious wire tap dancing, and features a genre defining score by Quincy Jones. Lumet's camera-work - usually stiff and static - is also unconventionally fluid. His location work would prove influential on later crime and gangster flicks, and some of his shots here would be lifted by other directors for later heist movies. The film's sudden climax homages early Warner crime films and early noirs, but will let down modern audiences raised on cleverer endings. A young Christopher Walken co-stars.7.9/10 - This was released the same year as "The French Connection", both films updating noir, crime and heist tropes for a new era. These "updates" are more decorative than genuinely substantial. Worth one viewing.