{"id":27628,"date":"2023-12-16T00:42:24","date_gmt":"2023-12-16T08:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=27628"},"modified":"2023-12-16T00:42:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-16T08:42:24","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-oss-117-cairo-nest-of-spies-2006-oss-117-lost-in-rio-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=27628","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: OSS 117: CAIRO, NEST OF SPIES (2006) \/ OSS 117: LOST IN RIO (2008)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Double-Feature Blu-ray set from Music Box Films is\nnow available for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There have been dozens of parodies of James Bond<\/em>\nfilms and spy flicks over the years, from the original Casino Royale<\/em>\n(1967) and the late 1960s Matt Helm<\/em> series with Dean Martin, to Spy\nHard<\/em> (1996) and the Austin Powers <\/em>movies, as well as Rowan\nAtkinson\u2019s Johnny English<\/em> series that began in 2003. But one of the most\npainstakingly accurate comedic riffs on the superspy character came from\nFrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OSS 117<\/em> movies are derived from a series of\ndead-serious French spy paperbacks written by Jean Bruce that were published in\nthe 1950s. This was actually before Ian Fleming\u2019s Bond became a cultural\nphenomenon. A series of films were produced, but didn\u2019t ignite the public\nimagination the way that Bond did. Decades later, director Michel Hazanavicius\nand writer Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Halin decided to revamp the character, turning the\nsource material into a spy parody. While few people in North America saw their\nmovies upon their initial releases, these titles were massive successes in\nFrance and made celebrities of the Hazanavicius and the title\u2019s star. Now Music\nBox Films has delivered a wonderful new double-feature Blu-ray set containing OSS\n117: Cairo, Nest of Spies<\/em> and OSS 117: Lost in Rio<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies<\/em> is set in 1954 and\nintroduces audiences to French secret agent Hubert Bonisseur aka OSS 117 (Jean\nDujardin). One day, a government authority contacts the hero about strange\ngoings on in Egypt. A Russian cargo ship has disappeared, as has fellow spy\nJack Jefferson (Philippe Lefebvre), whom Hubert has, well, very, very warm\nfeelings about. After arriving in Cairo and being given the amusing cover\nidentity of an noted poultry trader, the lead contends with an Egyptian\nprincess (Aure Atika), as well as Larmina el-Akmar Betouche (B\u00e9r\u00e9nice Bejo),\nthe former assistant of vanished associate Jack. Hubert encounters eccentric\nspies from other countries, a strange business contact Gerhard Moeller (Richard\nSammel), Russian thugs and many more. The investigation soon uncovers a secret\nplot by a Nazi faction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie is hilarious, with star Dujardin perfectly\nemulating the mannerisms and posturing of a James Bond-like figure. Hubert has\na smug smile and acts confident, yet he isn\u2019t particularly clever. In fact,\nhe\u2019s about as culturally insensitive as it gets, often making jokes in bad\ntaste as well as incorrect assumptions about those around him (which leads to\nplenty of awkwardly comedic exchanges). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is a great bit early on involving a series of silly\ncode words spies use to identify themselves. The lead has a lot of trouble\nfinding his cohort and ends up in an entertainingly bizarre conversation at the\nairport with a stranger. Flashbacks with old pal Jack are also entertainingly\nover-the-top. Later, when a group of spies get together and converse, a lengthy\nstring of analogies between them generates laughs. The business backstory also\nadds humor as the hero does battle with a villain in a chicken coop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What also really helps the picture stand out is just how\nperfectly it recreates old James Bond pictures. As the extras later reveal, the\ndirector and star were devoted to copying the production methods used in films\nlike Dr. No<\/em>. In fact, they used the same lighting rigs, camera lenses\nand more that these titles employed in the late 1950s. The appearance of the\nfilm is stunning (especially on this sharp Blu-ray) and it\u2019s completely\nconvincing as something that could have been made in 1960.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The disc comes with an archived commentary track featuring\nHazanavicius and Jean Dujardin. The pair talk about their efforts to develop\nthe character, who in some ways is a child-like hero. They talk about making\nfun of the out-of-date and colonialist tendencies in Hubert, yet finding a way\nto keep him well-intentioned and likable. Hazanavicius also spends time\nidentifying the jokes he likes that didn\u2019t seem to go over with French\naudiences. In particular, he mentions using establishing shots of obvious landmarks\nlike the Eiffel Tower, pausing on the shot, and then showing the word Paris to\nidentify the obvious setting. He thought these bits were funny and seemed\ndisappointed that they didn\u2019t always play as well as hoped with local crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a lengthy making-of that goes into the\nproduction and attempting to recreate the exaggerated fictional sets that spy\nmovie audiences would see in these types of movies. Deleted and alternate\nscenes are included and, best of all, bloopers in which we see just how hard it\nwas for Dujardin and his castmates to keep a straight face while delivering and\nlistening to some blunt dialogue. Finally, there is also a photo gallery and\ntrailers for the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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OSS 117: Lost in Rio<\/em> followed a couple of years\nlater, and the second Blu-ray in the set contains this title. It ups the ante\nin almost every department, with bigger and less-subtle (though still funny)\ngags. The follow-up has a slightly different tone and feels more in sync with\nthe Austin Powers<\/em> series, but still manages to deliver plenty of\nmemorable moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story follows Hubert in 1968. After an elaborate opening at a party in Switzerland, the lead is asked to team up with a female Israeli Colonel Dolor\u00e8s Koulechov (Louise Monot). Theri task is to retrieve a secret list from a Nazi Professor named Von Zimmel (R\u00fcdiger Vogler) that identifies French Nazi sympathizers. The pair encounter luchador enforcers, extraordinarily foul-mouthed CIA agent Bill Tremendous (Ken Samuels) and a group of LSD-pushing, free-love promoting hippies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hubert is even more sexist and culturally insensitive in\nthis sequel. But while the gags are a little blunter, plenty of them do land.\nThere\u2019s a side-splitting scene in which the leads are shot at by villains –\nbullet sparks continually bounce off the ground around them as they run from\nthe initial location and down a set of stairs\u2026 and along a street for an absurd\nperiod of time. There\u2019s another riotous bit when the lead and his cohorts are\nlost in the jungle. After gunning down a crocodile, he insists that Dolor\u00e8s\ncook it for him. When she refuses, his attempts to carve and roast the reptile\nover a campfire are very entertaining to watch. Of course, just as in the\noriginal, there are also a number of awkward exchanges between the leads that\ndo earn a chuckle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And again, the filmmakers manage to capture the feel and\nlook of a spy movie from 1968. Once again, it is revealed that the same\ntechnique was used to create an authentic-looking filmic environment. As with\nthe first disc, the picture looks excellent and really clean. For this\nreviewer, the sequel isn\u2019t quite as perfect as the original, but is still a\nhoot and has plenty of great moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s another archived commentary track here from\nHazanavicius and Dujardin as they talk about the problems of making a sequel\nthat is different and yet still entertaining in the same manner as the\noriginal. Additionally, the disc contains on-set footage with the star, as well\nas deleted scenes and extended bits with different tweaks that highlight the\noptions the moviemakers were giving themselves. As with the previous disc, the\nbloopers are also a highlight. There\u2019s also a funny bit during the French premiere\nwith Hazanavicius and Dujardin in which the director pokes fun at initial\nnegative reactions to the first public screening of the original film. It also\ncomes with plenty of publicity materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is an excellent Blu-ray combo set of two wonderful Bond<\/em> parodies that really should be seen by anyone who enjoys spy movies. OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies<\/em> and OSS 117: Lost in Rio<\/em> feature a charismatic lead and talented director at the top of their comedic game. In fact, the pair would soon win Oscars for their work together on the 2011 film, The Artist<\/em>. The image quality is great, the movies are funny and this set is well-worth picking up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Double-Feature Blu-ray set from Music Box Films is now available for purchase. There have been dozens of parodies of James Bond films and spy flicks over the years, from the original Casino Royale (1967) and the late 1960s Matt Helm series with Dean Martin, to Spy Hard (1996) and the Austin Powers movies, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":27638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27628\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}