Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

HotToastyRag Ah yes, the "ex-con pulls one more job" movie that every actor signs up for at least once in his career. And, if you like him, you'll go out and watch the movie to support his career. If you don't, you'll roll your eyes during the preview and wait until your celebrity boyfriend acts in one. That being said, Kirk Douglas fans should run out and watch The Master Touch. Non-fans should wait, because unless you're armed with your crush, you probably won't enjoy the movie.Kirk gets out of prison and returns home to his girlfriend Florinda Bolkan, who wants him to stay straight. Giuliano Gemma leads him into temptation-as always happens in these movies-and Kirk has to decide whether he'll risk his freedom and his girlfriend for the chance to pull of one last, big heist. The movie is very 1970s, so expect a slow pace, car chases, long shots and zooms, and a European flavor. If you particularly like that style, you'll find the movie more enjoyable. If not, you'll get through it and look forward to the next Kirk Douglas movie you rent.

JohnHowardReid In its 92-minutes DVD version, this expensive and expansively produced Italian movie filmed on location in Hamburg, packs in plenty of fast-paced action. Kirk Douglas makes the best of a meaty role and he is well supported by Florinda Bolkan as the girl friend who has had enough excitement and Guiliano Gemma (sic on the Alpha DVD) who is about to experience his baptism of fire on the wrong side of the law. The music score by Ennio Morricone is effective while watching the movie but gives you nothing to hum about when you leave the theatre, but I guess you can't have everything. The bargain-priced Alpha DVD is reasonably well-framed even though it is presented in a halfway fashion midway between full screen and scope. Well, as I've already said, I guess you can't have everything, and this movie is a most definite MUST for all Kirk Douglas fans.

Michael A. Martinez There's a lot of other, similar, better foreign heist movies from this period, including the French AND HOPE TO DIE, and the Italian LAST CHANCE which I both found much more interesting than this work.The main thing this one has going for it is once-huge American star Kirk Douglas in a very meaty central role as a super-suave master thief akin to Clooney's character in the recent "Ocean's 11" series. The supporting cast is also good, though underused, with Gemma as a trapeze artist who Douglas tries to recruit into the life of thievery. Wolfgang Preiss (the guy who always plays Nazi bad guys in war movies) plays the main mob boss with Romano Puppo in a satisfying role as his head thug. Puppo and Gemma have numerous fight and chase scenes which are fun to watch but add absolutely nothing to the plot. Speaking of plot, this one conveniently glazes over all the details of the heist, except on how Douglas deals with the security system's sound recorder. His preparations don't appear to be particularly well informed yet he seems unswervingly confident about the whole thing. Hmmm....He also has a hot girlfriend/wife/lover/whatever Florinda Bolkan... who repeatedly tells him NOT to go through with the heist or she will leave him. These assertions make absolutely no impact on Douglas, who is single-minded in his pursuit of a big score... and then he is surprised later by all the double-crosses.It's worth tracking down, but not exactly the most cerebral crime caper from the period. A little more realism would have done this film an immeasurable service.

Hitchcoc Greed always gets the best of you. This is quite an entertaining yarn, involving the breaking of a massive safe, to steal a huge amount of money. Just out of prison, Kirk Douglas is the"Master" of the title in English. He is the new Jimmy Valentine. He doesn't hesitate a bit, getting involved with an acrobatic circus aerialist and dragging his long suffering wife into the fray. Of course, there's a complex set of technological hurdles that must be overcome. This is really the highlight of the film as Douglas masterminds all these machines, knowing the inner workings of enormous safes. We are left to trust that he has this kind of knowledge. Early on we know that he is the best. Somewhat like the battle at the end of Von Stroheim's "Greed," the adversaries are left to battle for their lives. The money becomes an albatross and therein lies the finish. There are a number of questions I would have asked as a perceptive viewer but it would reveal too much of the plot. Suffice it to say, there are some real holes, both in the script and in the reality of things. It's still a darn good theft film.