The Brain (1969) User Reviews

Hard to find but great comedy caper

[intelearts · 7/10 · 19 July 2009]

Very Sixties in its making - with elements of the Italian Job and the Pink Panther combined - the Brain is silly, slick, and entertaining.

The robbery is colossal - $7 million in used notes from 14 countries all on one train! With an all star international cast headed up by Belmondo and Niven this is a frantic, frenetic, fun-filled take on the caper genre - and it really works - from the prison break to the caper itself and the subsequent chase it's high speed all the way.

Everything just kind of works - a great cast - a very competent director and all in all, it's fun.

The only downside is its very difficult to find and is rarely scheduled.

It has however finally been released in France on a double DVD (Without subs).

If you can find it it's a film to enjoy.

LE CERVEAU (DIDIER BECU)

[Didier-Becu · 6/10 · 11 April 2004]

Gerard Oury is as we know the master of French comedies (he directed most of the Louis De Funes-movies) and this one brings Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil into one delicious film. Don't think too much about the script and its reality-factor as a trainrobbery can never be like that but it has the fun of those typical French sixties-movies and believe me, it's a relief. It's the kind of movie you will remember for ages, especially David Niven who is called The Brain whom can be recognized by a bent over head as his IQ is too heavy (yeah it's that type of humour but it works)and as always Bourvil is superb.

Oury Standards Are Maintained !

[nicholas.rhodes · 6/10 · 28 November 2004]

Occasionally seen on TV in France, this film has now been issued on a double DVD in France with French subtitles only. Picture quality is superb ( THX Standard ). The film is extremely entertaining, to say the least, quite normal as the directer is the great Gérard Oury and on a par with such films as Le Corniaud or La Grande Vadrouille. I'm sure it's well known across the world, even if people don't know its title, if only because of David Niven's head that slants to one side because his brain's too heavy. There's a mixture of actors here, some French, some foreign and it has that light hearted happy-go-lucky-swinging-sixties look as typified by the Italian Job and other similar films. Knowing the perverse nature of things, now that this commentary has been written, the film will probably turn up on DVD in the coming months !! Let's hope so anyway !

Let the good times roll

[virchow · 10/10 · 28 July 2005]

Ah, the characters: David Niven as a British Officer/Master thief, played with his usual ironic assurance and poise, Eli Wallach as a frantic and choleric mafioso (he is a contender for Louis des Funés as the most explosive screen presence ever) and the delicious duo of Belmondo as an ambitious and inventive but somewhat hapless small time crook with Bourvil as his more cautious straight man and partner in crime.

A movie with great dialogue, fantastic pace, a swinging soundtrack and an incredible mix of physical, situational and verbal comedy - laugh-out-loud funny throughout.

If "The Brain" should really not be available on DVD this would just be further proof of how little brain these entertainment-industry executives have.

Wish this would be issued on DVD

[grahamcallander · 10/10 · 22 November 2005]

I first saw this movie in 1971. My brother and I liked it so much that we saw it twice (we still use lines from it in conversation). Wish it would be issued on DVD. When I saw it again after a lapse of over 30 years, I was delighted to see skits I had forgotten about. This movie is stuffed full of hilarious moments. I have a badly scratched VHS version (a former rental), but it's still a lot of fun to watch. Bourvil (Anatole) and Jean-Paul Belmondo (Arthur) have some memorable bits of dialog and wonderful on-screen rapport. David Niven (Colonel Matthews) is the dashing villain with the brain, and he delivers his usual polished performance. I was never much of a fan of Eli Wallach's movies, but he's pretty good here as a gangster guarding his sister's virginity.

I thought I must have imagined this film.

[Bongomal · 4 April 2004]

I was pleased to find this film listed, because it has floated around in the back of my movie memory for 25 years, or so. I loved it when I was a kid, it was so much fun. It was the first film with Jean-Paul Belmondo that I'd ever seen, and I thought that he was great - very cool, the epitome of 60's suave. Bourvil, his sidekick, is always worth watching, and the chemistry between him and Belmondo was hilarious (or was it?). I seem to remember David Niven putting in a fairly energetic performance, running around with his head bent over because of his super-dense brain. I thought it was all very 'groovy', and a huge laugh. But, that's just it; I haven't seen this film for years, and I can't help wondering - is it as good as I thought it was? Some things just don't stand the test of time or the drift into adulthood, and it's a sad, sobering moment when a re-watching confirms this. But, hey - I still love loads of bad films that I saw when I was a kid. Perhaps I'm too easily entertained. Hmm.

Brainless

[brogmiller · 1/10 · 27 March 2020]

This appalling mess might have represented the high point in the career of luscious Silvia Monti but for the director and other cast members this has to be the bottom of the barrel. I am truly astonished that this infantile, puerile nonsense has garnered so many positive reviews but then again, perhaps I shouldn't be!

Funny from the first to the last minute

[agcpmtn-1 · 9/10 · 14 April 2005]

Though it was a long time ago I watched this movie, I remember most of it and also the laughter it provided; in fact this was the time I got to know David Niven and Jean Paul Belmondo fine comedy acting. At the time I was about 15 and was getting started in the fine art of watching good movies, so this one really impressed me. . It is 60's style humor alright, if you're into special effects and high tech stuff, you may not appreciate it. I would love to see it re-released it on DVD, it is as good or better than the inspector Clouseau's Movies (and the Pink Panther, featuring David Niven too, is a fine comedy movie) Don't let it go into oblivion. If you ever watch it, prepare yourself for some good laughs.

The Brain (aka Le Cerveau)

[mthiran · 9/10 · 22 June 2005]

The Brain is truly a French Comedy in every sense. Although sometimes bordering on the absurd, it was done with such a subtlety that it all seems comically real. In Addition to David Niven and Eli Wallach, two very know French actor/comedians, namely Bourvil and Jean Paul Belmondo, also star in this movie, making the movie complete.

The plot, A maxi Robbery by mini thieves, the many twists, the surprise ending, the Statue of liberty and a Leopard in a laundry room was all it took to make this fabulous comedy.

If you can get your hands on this movie at your local video store, don't pass it by. Though made in 1969, it has become a timeless classic.

Other Movies with Bourvil that are worth watching: La Grande Vadrouille and Le Corniaud (The Sucker)

One of the all-time-good-to-see-again-and-again films

[Picobello · 10/10 · 28 February 2000]

One of my all-time favorites. Everything is in it: a very good story where everything matches, the best of comedy actors of that time (French and international), the music which is typical for the swinging sixties (The American Breed). Unfortunately, there was never a second film as far as I know, although the end of the first film would have been a good start for a follow-up film.

French style Entertainment ( B+ Movie) My Ratings 9/10

[THE-BEACON-OF-MOVIES-RAFA · 9/10 · 7 February 2020]

Absolutely brilliant French comedy from the late sixties. the locations, the music, the feel of the sixties, the plot, and of course the slapstick-style humour. There is not a single moment of dullness in this movie, and the funny scenes, although very silly and often physically impossible, are actually really funny.

One of the best comedy movies ever

[jrodrigu · 10/10 · 7 January 1999]

I saw this movie more than ten years ago but I still remember it as one of the funniest comedies I've ever seen. It's very close to the Pink Panther's type of comedy and has an excellent character played by David Niven. It is the type of humor that does not appeal to the grotesque or strictly obvious and very alike what you could call a Peter Sellers type of movie.

seductive

[Kirpianuscus · 19 August 2019]

...more for actors than for story. Adventures, unluck, interesting characters, David Niven giving a good job and the chemistry between Bourvil and Belmondo being adorable. A smart chain of adventures and a hold up in ironic perspective. And, sure, laugh in huge doses. Short, well made French comedy .

Three cheers for Miss Monti!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 22 February 2014]

This is the sort of film the critics love to label "a witless farce", and certainly for the first 30 minutes or so, this description would be fair enough. True, Gerard Oury's direction is rather inventive, but the acting tends to be so heavy-handed that it smothers the jokes (such as they are). An obviously dubbed voice for Jean-Paul Belmondo doesn't help matters. It's fortunate that the other main players – including the delightful Bourvil – speak their own English lines. In fact, the film was actually filmed in two versions. Nevertheless, it's still a bit of a pain until the introduction of super-charming Silvia Monti, at which point it definitely picks up, not only in Miss M's physical attractiveness, but in the level of the farce itself. Even the direction becomes more amusing and super-delightfully extravagant, while the budget becomes suddenly more and more expensive and expansive. In fact, some of the stunts are almost unbelievable, but we see them happening with our own eyes – and on real locations and with hundreds of extras too! Adroit film editing also adds a lot to our entertainment. In fact, it's a pleasure to see a real film director like Gerard Oury spending the producer's money so lavishly and well. True, not everyone will like this sort of crazy, super-expensively produced slapstick, but it becomes so well-timed and brilliantly directed, that – once Miss Monti enters the fray – I loved every second and minute of it! French title: Le Cerveau.

whose got a computer for a mind ? THE BRAIN

[kev2003 · 10/10 · 14 November 2005]

A film me and family watched when i was a child back in the early 1980's when Video was approaching Puberty.

To my knowledge it has only ever been shown on British Terrestial TV Once (unsure about satellite channels !!)

Mum recorded and we 3 kids(3 more came along and they have never seen this film we older ones talk about )wore the tape out - it was played again and again and again.

To this day i was still humming the theme tune and was delighted to find it on tape and bought it straight away.

For me i was 12 again - i got the same feelings i got when i saw star wars I again at the cinema again a few years ago

David Niven is a charm to watch as are Jean Paul Bemondo, Bourvil and Eli Wallach.

To cut a long story short a Train robbery,a Beautiful lady whose brother runs the local mafia, a great car chase involving the smaller Statue et liberte and a man whose brain is so large it cause s his head to tilt at times of anxiety and 2 small time thieves who embark on the same job after stealing the plans, the support actors play their parts great and its a film full of laughs

For a plot, good story, some great comedy acting - see this movie - As the song says "they call him the brain the fabulous brain, for stealing a heart while robbing a train!

One of my favourite films of all times and its a shame its never shown !

Very Amusing Caper Very Rarely Shown on TV

[chrisdl_heath · 12 November 2002]

It must be nearly twenty years since I last saw this film on tv and so I have only a vague memory of it. I do remember it as being highly entertaining.

David Niven plays a master criminal called 'The Brain' who is so massively intelligent, one of the give away signs of his identity is that his massive brain occasionally causes his head to go off balance thus causing him to keep it upright in his hands (very gallic sense of humour as this film appears to be largely French made).

He plans a major robbery whilst trying to avoid the attentions of Interpol. One of the gang members is the great French comedian, Bourvil who had parts in among others 'Monte Carlo or Bust' and the tv series 'The Flashing Blade'.

I would love to see this come on the tv again and can only think its been left off for contractual reasons over ownership of the rights and for royalty purposes.

Great comedy caper on the continent

[SimonJack · 9/10 · 16 April 2018]

"The Brain" is a very funny caper comedy movie that takes place in Italy, France, England and the U.S. All the languages are spoken by the story locales and characters. English is interspersed in places. French is the main language, with the main action taking place in France. The opening song, "The Brain," with the title and credits is in English, and the title reads, "The Brain = Le cerveau." The film was made by the French Gaumont studios and was released across much of the European continent beginning with France in March 1969. It opened in the U.S. in November, and didn't show in the UK until 1970. The U.S. box office alone was more than 10 times the budget for the film. It was the most popular film in France in 1969.

The plot is about a train robbery of £5 million ($7 million plus) in 1968 (more than $50 million in 2018). It follows on the heels of the actual 1963 Great Train Robbery in the UK. For this fictional robbery, three separate stories get intermingled. The Brain is supposed to be an Englishman who masterminded the UK robbery. By the way, the outcome of that took many years to round up and bring to justice most of the crooks involved. But very little of the loot was ever recovered.

The Brain makes a Sicilian contact in Italy to launder the money from the heist. And, a couple of petty thieves in France hatch their own plan to rob the same train, using the methods of the Great Train Robbery. Neither the English nor the French planners are aware of the other group's existence or plan. All of this, plus a surprise twist adds up to some very funny antics.

The cast of main characters follows the nationalities of the countries in which the film takes place. The main French stars are Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil as Arthur and Anatole, respectively. The English star, The Brain, is David Niven as Col. Carol Matthews. American actor Eli Wallach plays the Mafia leader from Sicily, and Silvia Monti plays his sister, Sofia. Most of the supporting cast are French.

"The Brain" has small doses of funny dialog, but most of the humor is in the antics and hilarious situations. It has a very funny plot with many humorous scenes. A pet leopard of Col. Matthews leads to one huge hilarious scene of destruction of a lavish apartment, complete with an aquarium size fish tank. The film has a little bit of everything, from a long distance car chase to massive fireworks. The last one-third is riotously funny.

This is a must see film for those who enjoy comedy, especially antics. For slapstick, it comes quite close to the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges. Here are some favorite lines from the film.

Frankie Scannapieco, "I gave my word to mother and father that I would keep you as pure as gold. That's why I didn't take you to America." Anatole, "You're not thinking of hijacking 14 nations?" Arthur, "It's not like France is still under NATO." Anatole, "Okay. That changes everything, but..."

Col. Matthews, finding the train car empty but the gang telling him the bags are all loaded below, says, "I do not understand. Strange. And I'm so clever."

Uneven effort... but great cast and some very funny sequences!

[adrian-43767 · 8/10 · 2 June 2019]

There is a rather cartoonish side to the sense of comedy in LE CERVEAU, so no wonder that midway through the film there is a cartoon sequence depicting the Brain's plan to steal money from a NATO convoy.

Director Gerard Oury maintains the great form he had shown in LE CORNIAD and LA GRANDE VADROUILLE, but here he has an even better cast to work with (though I think that if a role could have been found for Louis de Funés, who was the lead in the other two films, it would have been a real delight).

Niven lives up to his usual impeccable standards as NATO Colonel Matthews, Belmondo was riding the crest of his wave at the time, Wallach delivers another profanity-driven super performance in three languages (French, English and Italian), Silvia is breath-takingly beautiful and sexy... and Bourvil, playing a well-meaning simpleton who doubles up as thief, is the funniest of the lot.

Very good special effects, super stunts, competent camera work, and script with some unusual punchlines, including outrageously funny sequences, especially involving Suzanne, Col Matthews' leopard.

Ultimately what I really enjoyed was that everyone seemed to have good fun participating in this flick, even if the ending is somewhat less than satisfactory.

Oury directs great French-English-US caper

[adrianovasconcelos · 8/10 · 1 October 2020]

Typical French comic/cartoon humor under Oury's savvy direction, after his successes with LE CORNIAUD (Fr 1965) and LA GRANDE VADROUILLE (Fr 1967).

Perhaps the missing piece in this film is Louis de Funés, though all four leads are excellent. Still, Oury without de Funés seems to miss a beat. That said, Bourvil is brilliant as the simpleton thief; Belmondo does well throughout as an enterprising thief, and he shares a wonderful sequence with Suzanne, Niven's leopard; class was Niven's hallmark throughout his career, and it is so here; and Wallach continued to portray the in your face criminal, using expletives in various languages for good measure, determined to protect his sister's honor -- no mean effort, given that she is a real piece of candy.

One can find weaknesses in any film, and there are no prizes for finding them here. The cast seemed to have good fun during the shoot, and I had good fun watching it.

the era's genres come together

[lee_eisenberg · 8/10 · 6 January 2023]

If I had to sum up "Le cerveau" ("The Brain" in English), I would call it a combination of several genres that were big throughout the '60s. It's mostly a caper, with two distinct groups plotting a heist. But it's also a zany comedy, and there's an element of swinging London. Finally, the last scene reminds us of what both "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "The Magic Christian" showed: people will do anything for money.

Despite a few slow parts, Gérard Oury's movie is a fun romp. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bourvil, David Niven and Eli Wallach have all sorts of fun with this over-the-top material. It's the sort of movie that could've only gotten made when it did, and we should thank our lucky stars that they did. There's no social commentary or anything, just plain old funny stuff. I doubt that it's available on any streaming platform, so you'll probably have to look in a video store to find it.

Two languages for a comedy classic that would be an even better silent.

[mark.waltz · 10/10 · 25 November 2023]

It's obvious that director Gérard Oury was greatly influenced by the silent clowns in this farce, filmed mainly in French but plenty of moments in English. You see elements of Chaplin, Lloyd and early Laurel and Hardy, plus lots of the fabulous Keystone cops.

It's a caper comedy surrounding the plot to rob cash from the train It's being transported on, and the buffoonish men who dig tunnels out of prison (and into a prison latrine and someone else's cell) as well as dashing Englishman David Niven, obviously cast because of his role in the original "Pink Panther".

There's hilarity everywhere with every trope of visual comedy being used, giving Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil great material working together. The location scenes are beautifully filmed, and create lots of great comedy bits. The use of props for getting everyone into some sort of pickle is hilarious, with car radio antennas, knit sweaters and odd dirt churning apparatuses absolutely wonderful.

The luxury train in the countryside is a visual treat. The use of Carnaby Street in the opening with Niven is very nostalgic, showing all of the wonderful stores and odd characters to their best advantage. Easy to watch even for those who don't like films with subtitles. Add in Eli Wallach for more plusses as a nutty mafioso.

Very fun film :) A classic in anglo-franco cinema

[Andy_MJD · 8/10 · 4 February 2020]

French comedy movie, starring a bunch of at-the-time famous french comédiens, as well as Mister Niven, who I vaguely know but can't place in any other roles. The story is original enough (two different types of heistmen -one top notch, the other two are real ghetto- go for the same prize, in the exact same method: adopting an old strategy of smart man because nobody will ever see it coming) to carry the comedy through, and overall is fine. I dunno if its in my toppest of tippy tops, but it wasn't bad. I guess worth a watch if someone is really into seeing all the french comédie films. Glad I watched it, for the variety in this list of otherwise very anglophone movies.

The European peoples desirve thier money , not to go to USA , which stored in the liberty statue ( symbols USA ) ,

[hawwash-03389 · 10/10 · 7 November 2018]

Watch the end of the movie , the makers of the movie have the hope ,and wish the money spread in European peoples , not travel to USA through the statue , the symbol of America , this must be by thier union . I have seen this movie at Cairo Egypt cenima when it released here in Egypt , I was 25 year-old , didn't see it again ,but still remember its great meaning .