Leofwine_draca
THE INTERNECINE PROJECT is an intriguing little thriller made as a collaboration between the UK and West Germany. It's one of those films that nobody mentions anymore, but which provides a few surprises and nice elements for film fans. The unusual plot itself is a highlight, as this is a film which explores the meaning of the word 'internecine' (mutually destructive, as it happens).James Coburn plays an anti-hero, a politician with more than a few skeletons in his closet. In order to tie off some loose ends, he sets a plot in action to kill off people who know a little too much about him. The thrills come from seeing said plot play out, and wondering whether he'll succeed or not.The spy elements of the storyline give this some decent, Cold War-era paranoia shudders. The cast is very well picked; even Lee Grant is an asset, although her character - a feminist journalist - is extraneous to the storyline, although she does have a jaw-dropping encounter with the chauvinistic Coburn. Harry Andrews continues to delight in his later years, Ian Hendry is memorably twitchy, and the likes of Julian Glover and Keenan Wynn prop up the cast. There's little to dislike and much to enjoy about this thought-provoking thriller.
dbdumonteil
The movie begins (and ends) like a political movie,a la Pakula .But if the "hero" is blamed for butchering democracy ,the essential is a thriller ,some very special "domino theory" .To get rid of some people who become embarrassing,the professor (a spy) ,pushes the "divide and rule" concept to its absolute limits and ,although completely implausible (all works out much too well) , displays an implacable logic in his sinister plans.Probably not great,but not derivative,and rather gripping.Main objection: Lee Grant's character is almost useless and her would be feminist journalist is only decorative.
MARIO GAUCI
Ingenious British-made corporate thriller with an impressive cast well-versed in this sort of thing – James Coburn, Keenan Wynn, Ian Hendry, Michael Jayston and Harry Andrews; Lee Grant provides both a feminist viewpoint and a romantic partner for Coburn. The plot involves Coburn’s rise in the political stakes, abetted by ruthless bigwig Wynn; however, he needs to put his shady past behind him and, to this end, organizes an intricate scheme by which his four former associates will eliminate one another on the same night! Those expecting action, comedy, sex and colorful scenery a' la Coburn’s “Flint” pictures will be sorely disappointed by this low-key, intelligent but humorless character-driven piece – filmed against drab European settings (albeit by the great Geoffrey Unsworth); composer Roy Budd, another genre fixture, delivers an appropriately moody score. Still, the murder sequences themselves (with Coburn bemusedly ticking away each carefully-timed step of his plan) – particularly Andrews’ vicious shower murder of the Christiane Kruger character and the hesitation at carrying out his part of the bargain by the typically angst-ridden Hendry – generate the requisite amount of suspense during the film’s second half.While Grant’s reporter character seems an intrusion at first, her presence (or, rather, Coburn’s callous mistreatment of her) eventually threatens to jeopardize his ‘mission’ – on finally getting wise to his machinations, she’s willing to suppress her affections and expose him for what he is! The film, however, provides a delicious twist ending, which sees the over-confident Coburn getting his come-uppance – even if the audience is clearly rooting for him – at his moment of glory (by the person he least expected it from)! Regrettably, this is only available via a reportedly substandard pan-and-scan R2 DVD; then again, I did watch it in this aspect ratio myself – and dubbed in Italian to boot!
Lee Eisenberg
In one of his most eye-opening roles, James Coburn plays a US diplomat in England who gets hired to be one of the president's cabinet members. But several people know too much about his sordid past, so he decides to make sure that they don't reveal anything. So, he devises a plan to have each of them kill each other. But it turns out that they're ahead of him."The Internecine Project" has a very '70s look, with the pre-digital secret technology (which, combined with London's dreary nocturnal environs, gives the movie a more mysterious feel). Seeing how this movie came out during the Watergate era, I wonder whether it was playing off of people's growing suspicion of the government. But even if it wasn't, it still comes out really well. It does more to show what a great actor James Coburn was. Lee Grant, Harry Andrews and Ian Hendry also star.
AD
