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0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 a rare lumet miss May 26, 2009
I'm a big fan of director Lumet, particularly of his work from the '60s and '70s ('12 Angry Men,' 'Long Day's Journey,' 'The Hill,' 'The Pawnbroker,' 'Serpico,' 'Orient Express,' 'Dog Day Afternoon,' and his masterpiece, 'Network,' among others), but I find 'Anderson Tapes' clunky, dated and generally missing the point. As a caper film, it's poorly constructed and rather maladroitly edited. There is no real effort made to set up the logistics of the robbery or establish the characters of the quirky group involved, and that lack of groundwork renders the heist itself, which is badly executed and ultimately botched, barely interesting to watch and almost entirely devoid of suspense. Now, that could be forgiven in the context of what should have been the larger satirical message of the movie: the inability of the various 'big brother' entities-- which paradoxically rely upon their impressive techno-toys in lieu of good detective or communications work-- eavesdropping on the planning of the proceedings to connect the dots and foil the nefarious plot (sound familiar?). However, this clever thematic thread is dropped halfway through and gets picked up again only as an ending joke, leaving the audience with rather an unsatisfied feeling. Connery, looking prematurely shopworn, is OK but not utilized to any great effect; Walken is very good but underdeveloped; and Dyan Cannon seems to have been thrown in for no particular reason save a minor plot device (and some skin). I even found Quincy Jones's score intrusive and out of place. As another reviewer points out, the highlight of the film are the excellent glimpses of 1970s NYC. I'm being generous in giving it three stars.
 A CLASSIC HEIST FINALLY SAFECRAKED FROM SONY'S VAULT Jan 28, 2009
I've watched this flick no less than 20 times in my life and just love the way Sidney Lumet directed this killer cast and captured New York in the 70's along with the jazz of Quincy Jones' soundtrack... it's just a hip flick! The surveillance and paranoia of the "tapes" is indicative of the 70's Watergate scandal and captures that moment in time-- and still relevant on some levels today. I'm glad to see it finally came out on DVD... also recommend reading Lawrence Sanders original book which the movie was based on and Sanders' seminal style in rendering this Pulpish tale.
A refreshingly multi-faceted caper flick. Nov 30, 2008
"The Anderson Tapes" is loaded with the sort of richness that you can count on when its director, Sidney Lumet is at the helm. Sean Connery heads up the sort of first-rate cast of character actors that routinely gravitate toward any Lumet film. There is the sprinkling of humor and the rising suspense that you might expect from a movie about a plot to commit a robbery. The director's masterful touch with pacing keeps the picture moving in a thoroughly engrossing fashion. Most of all, his gift for drawing intense and powerful performances from his casts is in full flower here. Screen the recent Lumet film, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" and you will see an even more intense and infinitely darker "caper-flick" that is, likewise, very worthwhile.
2 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Great for 1971 NYC but not much else Oct 25, 2008
Other reviews here that say this movie isn't dated are hard to take serious. All I could think of while watching was how many holes there were in the plot that would never be there even 5 years later. Martin Balsam uses his real name and place of business when casing the apartment. They use a dim, alcoholic old-timer to be look-out? They do everything that will guarantee they will get identified. Look I know it was 1971 but this is Sydney Lumet lite and I'm sure he was not proud of this. I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid and thinking that all the taping and surveillance was very cool. Looking at it now it was very amaturish. Having grown up in NYC it was great to see old ny-St. Anthony's Church downtown. The building on 91st St which in this day and age would be lived in by multi-billionaires with hi-tech security. Of course the streets on ny in this movie were deserted (unbelievable). The use of Garret Morris and his crack TPA police squad was also a stretch. This was an enjoyable light movie of it's time that really has dated very badly. Even the acting other than Connery and Balsam is not really good. But...with a post-007 sean and a hot Dyan Cannnon together there is some value in this movie.
 Press Play Oct 05, 2008
Sean really seems to relish his role as a tough-guy ex-con in this intense caper from the early 70s that holds up nicely. The conceit that everything we're seeing and hearing is culled from various surveillance tapes is a little distracting and doesn't quite work. But Lumet's brisk, no-nonsense take on the action when the heist goes live still delivers. Good NYC locations and Qunicy Jones jazzy score help. The punch card type of the credits and those awful "futuristic" sounding, echoing computer beeps on the soundtrack are what make the picture seem much more dated than it is. Plus Lumet's inclusion of more than a few gay caricatures.
It's fun to see Chris Walken's debut and Dyan is sensationally sexy. Only Alan King's irritating over-acting mars the cast.
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