Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

DKosty123 Just when I thought I had seen every Newman movie, this one popped up. When I saw Paul Newman and James Mason in the cast, I thought I would be looking at a near classic. Despite the caliber of talent in the cast, they are let down by a lackluster script.The looks and scenery here are good. The biggest problem with this John Huston directed film is choppy sequences. I found several times where the scene changes made little sense and seemed to lose my way in the film. As I was watching the film commercial free, I was surprised how this happened.The spy story is filmed in the UK and Ireland and the scenery is good. Newman is okay and since this is PG an actress turns down his request for "a poke." The film opens with James Mason making a speech in Parliment. Then we go into the cloak and dagger plot.It just never really gets off the ground which is too bad, though I think the problem has to be the script, unless this novel is just bloody dull. That might be why they beat up Newman in one sequence, just to liven up the film a bit.

Spikeopath The Mackintosh Man is directed by John Huston and adapted to screenplay by Walter Hill and William Fairchild from The Freedom Trap written by Desmond Bagley. It stars Paul Newman, Dominique Sanda, Ian Bannen, James Mason, Michael Horden and Harry Andrews. Music is by Maurice Jarre and cinematography by Oswald Morris.Spy shenanigans unbound as Newman plays Joseph Rearden, a hired agent for the British Intelligence who pulls a job on the orders of The Mackintosh Man (Andrews), and finds himself sent to prison for 20 years. But this is all part of a greater plan…A well performed and serviceable drama, if a bit of a let down come the final third. The most fun and intrigue comes about once Rearden enters prison and the initial part of plotting once he is broken out, then it sort of loses its way, trying to make a simple story more intricate than it is. There's good mystery viewing to be found in working out the means and motives of the major players, and there's no shortage of action and sizzle either as Rearden is thrust into a world of espionage and counter espionage. There's a ream of suspicious accents to ignore and Jarre's musical score tries to reach the heights of Anton Karas' work on The Third Man, but fails and just comes off as a cheap repetitive attempt at a homage.More caper movie than intellectual thriller, it's never less than watchable and the cast are good value for your time. 7/10

doire I have always enjoyed "The MacKintosh Man", having read the original novel by Desmond Bagley and being overtly fond of John Huston's work as a film-maker. Looked at today, I think it can be viewed as a typical 1970's cold war thriller, heavy with atmosphere, but having watched it again yesterday, I am curious about a few idiosyncrasies that I believe can be considered pot-holes. It takes a while before we realise that Rearden (Paul Newman) is a British secret service agent, but is it conceivable that any agent would be prepared to spend a lengthy time in jail before eventually being sprung by the elite group known as "The Scarperers" - in this instance we are to believe that Rearden is content to spend a year in a half in a maximum security prison masquerading as a criminal before he is even contacted. I mean, it is quite possible that he could have been there for years before any approaches were made. And only MacKintosh and his daughter know his true identity! How do the authorities know that "The Scarperers" will try to spring the Russian agent Slade (Ian Bannen)in the first place? Why do "The Scarperers" decide to spring the jewel-thief Rearden at the same time as Slade? Surely Slade would have been top priority on his own without complicating matters by deciding to spring a lesser offender at the same time? A half-share in Rearden's money is surely not a good-enough reason. Would a highly respected British M.P. (Member of Parliament), Sir George Wheeler (James Mason, and notice the "Sir"), though in fact a long-embedded Russian agent himself, endanger his position by having a recently escaped Russian agent hidden aboard his yacht in the first place? And then casually sail with him aboard to Malta? I mean, there are a few other instances that can leave the casual viewer wondering about the plot and its development but I think it best to leave them. "The MacKintosh Man" is a solid little thriller that would not withstand too serious a critical analysis. But then again, many of the greatest films ever made are riddled with plot-holes and to delve too deeply would be to destroy the illusion and our enjoyment. And really, all cinema at the end of the day, mediocre or not, is just an illusion. So be it!

RanchoTuVu British society is under assault according to the opening scene which has James Mason as a Conservative MP addressing Parliament about social decay. Of course when it comes down to it, he's about as corrupt as they come, a fact suspected by the British police, who orchestrate a plan to infiltrate a criminal gang by getting one of their own (Paul Newman) sent to prison. Hollywood talent of writer Walter Hill (great 70's and 80's director), John Huston and Paul Newman mingles with British sensibilities and a really nice soundtrack to create a whole that exceeds the parts. The story starts take off at about the middle of the film, out somewhere on the Irish moors with Newman having infiltrated the criminal gang who had sprung him out of prison. The viewer is lulled into thinking this is a lighter film than it actually turns out to be, which has some surprisingly tough parts, especially the ending.