Telefon (1977)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

As Good As It Gets

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

We have heard about the Governments experimenting on Mind Control and super soldiers. Some similarities exit hear only it is from Russia!. The story will grip you as to how some entirely unsuspecting people are used in this manner. Conspriacy Theory is ever so true as today. The movie moves at nice pace and if you are not a spy movie fan, you will find that at times it is slow as real life is sometimes. I've liked this movie from the first time I saw it those many years ago. It has been very hard to find on video/DVD. I recommend that you give this a watch. If you liked "Three Days of Condor" you will enjoy this movie also. Check out you mind and see what you might find!!!

This movie is one of my favorites. Lee Remick and Charles Bronson were the perfect pair for this thriller. Donald Pleasance was also well casted. Who cares if a KGB uniform was not exactly correct as some people have commented on! When I see a movie I want to be entertained and this one had me on edge from beginning to end. Bravo! I would love to get a copy of this film as these type of movies are ones that you could watch over and over again. The chemistry of Lee Remick and Charles Bronson happened as soon as they laid eyes on each other and their performances were excellent. I was also intrigued by the surprise ending

Charles Bronson, (Maj. Grigori Borzov),"Twinky",'69 played a Russian KGB agent who was assigned to stop a possible World Ward III with the United States. Many years back there was a secret plan called "Telefon" which had a mysterious ability to capture a person's brain and set them off in all kinds of destructive evil deeds. Lee Remick,(Barbara),"No Way to Treat A Lady",'68, played the role of an agent for the United States and was assigned to work with Maj. Grigori. Barbara tries to turn Grigori on by all kinds of advances towards his manhood, but he is like a cold fish and strictly doing his assignment given him by the KGB. Donald Pleasance,(Nicolae Dolchinsky),"The House of Usher",'88, plays his usual role of the evil character who starts all kinds of trouble by just simply making telephone calls. Bronson and Remick were a great team together, however, the ending turned out completely different than what I had thought it would have ended.

I was never a big Charles Bronson fan. His movies usually followed the same predictable patterns of revenge and violence with Bronson usually coming off dry and stiff. His performances were usually always one note.Of the few films of his I have enjoyed (see also "The Mechanic" and "Hard Times") from that era, "Telefon is a surprisingly gripping thriller even though the story is downright silly at times. Bronson plays (and doesn't even begin to resemble) a KGB agent out to track a killer who have been brainwashed. One call from this guy and the reciting of some lines from a Frost poem and that person is hypnotized into going out and committing an act of violence that resembles terrorism in many cases. Donald Pleasance convincingly plays the bad guy and that, I think, is what makes the movie work. Pleasance is credible in the role, thus we fear him and route for Bronson to catch him. Also on hand is Lee Remick as an American agent assigned to help Bronson but who also has a hidden agenda of her own.Director Don Seigel handles the silly material in a straightforward manner never taking things too seriously. Bronson is less stiff then usual and the action scenes are well done. The ending is a bit abrupt but that is minor nit picking. It's a silly thriller I enjoyed and, if you are a Bronson fan, I am sure you will enjoy it too.