IT TAKES A THIEF DEAL

Deal Alert: We were so excited to announce that Robert Wagner's It Takes a Thief (1968-1970) was finally being released on DVD. The high price tag was a bit discouraging for fans who have waited so many years, but as I hoped, a deal has arrived! Amazon is currently offering the box set of the complete series at a pre-order price of $99.99 (down from $199.98). Amazon page here.

International locales, beautiful women, guest stars galore... It Takes a Thief: The Complete Series is now available for the first time ever on DVD featuring all three seasons of the hit show that Cinema Retro called "the coolest espionage series of the late sixties."

Smooth, suave and sophisticated, Alexander Mundy (Robert Wagner) is the world's greatest cat burglar. Now, he's plying his trade as the SIA's most debonair spy - traipsing the globe, seducing beautiful women and embezzling fortunes, all on behalf of Uncle Sam and the U.S. government.

18-DISC COLLECTOR'S SET INCLUDES:
All 66 Episodes Digitally Re-Mastered
Extended Feature-Length Version of the Pilot Episode "Magnificent Thief"
The King of Thieves: Interview with Robert Wagner
A Matter of Larceny: Interview with Glen A. Larson
Limited Edition Senitype (reproduced 35mm film frame)
It Takes a Thief Exclusive 4-Piece Coaster Set
Collectible Booklet with retrospective essay.

GARAGE PARTY 4

Stock up the fridge and warn the neighbors because Spy Vibe is having a 1960s garage party weekend. Track Four: The Kinks emerged from humble blues beginnings (see video #2 below) to define their sound in 1964. Here is their fourth single (the follow-up to You Really Got Me), All Day and All Through the Night -with some encouragement from stage dancers.

GARAGE PARTY 3

Stock up the fridge and warn the neighbors because Spy Vibe is having a 1960s garage party weekend. Track three: Follow David Hemmings into Antonioni's Blow-Up and this iconic scene with The Yardbirds featuring Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

GARAGE PARTY 2

Stock up the fridge and warn the neighbors because Spy Vibe is having a 1960s garage party weekend. Track two: early film footage of The High Numbers in 1964, a Mod band that would soon be managed by the film's producers and rechristened The Who!

GARAGE PARTY 1

Stock up the fridge and warn the neighbors because Spy Vibe is having a 1960s garage party weekend. Track one is a gem from those psychedelic rockers from Texas, The 13th Floor Elevators with You're Gonna Miss Me (1966). One of my old band-mates used to rave about these guys and I finally get why. This goes out to John and my fellow Elevator Tribe musicians.

GET SMART

ASTROSPIES

Spy Vibers scanning their radar for Space Age espionage should check out a documentary with a great high-concept title, Astrospies. From Amazon: "Millions remember the countdowns, launchings, splashdowns and parades as the U.S. raced the USSR to the Moon in the 1960s. Few know that both superpowers ran parallel covert space programs to launch military astronauts on spying missions. In Astrospies, NOVA delves into the untold story of this top-secret space race, which might easily have turned into a shooting war in orbit.


In Astrospies, viewers meet the elite corps of U.S. military astronauts, several of whom have never before talked about their clandestine training missions during the 1960s. As seen in footage broadcast for the first time, they practiced in full-scale mock-ups of the spy station, complete with spy cameras capable of resolving three-inch objects on the earth below. While the Apollo astronauts enjoyed ticker-tape parades, their astrospy colleagues trained in total obscurity until cost overruns and the new satellite technology doomed the program. Meanwhile, in response, the Soviets actually built three manned spy stations named Almaz and flew five missions during the 1970s. NOVA gains first-time access to a surviving Almaz station in a restricted Russian space facility, where an ex-cosmonaut demonstrates the high-powered spy cameras that were trained on U.S. cities. With a cannon designed to destroy hostile satellites or attack American astrospies Almaz was probably the only manned spacecraft ever equipped for space war. Astrospies is co-produced by Emmy Award winning producer Scott Willis and investigative journalist James Bamford, acclaimed best selling author of The Puzzle Palace and Body of Secrets." This 56-minute film is also available for rent on Netflix in the States. Looking for more space docs? I recommend In the Shadow of the Moon and For All Mankind.

OCT 9TH EVENTS

A special weekend for fans of 1960s Art and music. Birthday wishes to John and Sean Lennon, who share October 9th birthdays (and congrats to Paul McCartney on his wedding this Oct 9th!). To get us in the mood, here is an amusing video mash-up that places James Bond at one of the summer 1966 Tokyo Beatles concerts. The filming of You Only Live Twice started in July 1966, so it's fun to imagine these major pop-culture events coming together.

In honor of John Lennon, Yoko Ono is scheduled to relight the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland this weekend. The structure was conceived from an idea that Ono had in the 1960s about architecture built entirely of light and prisms. The Imagine Peace Tower uses fifteen searchlights and prisms to create a shaft of light that reaches upwards of 4,000 meters. Construction was finished in 2007, and it is lit annually between October 9th and December 8th (the date of Lennon's passing in 1980).

More info about how you can contribute to the event from Yoko: "Dear Friends, On 9th October 2011, I will be in Reykjavík, Iceland to relight IMAGINE PEACE TOWER at 8pm (9pm London, 4pm NY, 1pm LA, 5am Tokyo) in memory of my husband John Lennon. I hope you will join us at http://IMAGINEPEACETOWER.com for the live event where you can tweet, email & Facebook chat your wishes live to @IPTower and watch a live feed of the event."

A special John Lennon exhibit has been set up in NYC for the weekend, in honor of what would have been Lennon's 71st birthday. There is also an exhibit of Yoko Ono's work at Stoney Brook University through October 15th. More information at the New York Times here. Spy Vibe on 1960s surrealism and satire in the UK here.

My wish in celebration of John Lennon's 71st birthday, going out to the armed populations in the world- Camera Piece: carry a camera instead of a weapon for 1 day, then 1 week. Look at people through the lens until you see that you are one.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Thank you to the many Spy Vibers from around the world who entered The 10th Victim Blu-ray contest. What a great turn out! As a life-long fan of the film, I'm pleased to see it get the hi-def preservation and release it deserves, and to see so many people interested in exploring the movie. I chose four readers in a random drawing to win copies of the new release. For the many people who were not chosen, I express my sincere thanks and hope that you will order a copy of the film to enjoy in your own Spy Vibe library and to support the preservation and release of classics like The 10th Victim (Amazon page here). Thanks to Blue Underground for having me on board for the special features on the disc and for providing comp-copies for Spy Vibers.

The winners are: Bill from Seattle, Stephen from Australia, Bob from St Paul, and Jack from Brooklyn. Your discs are already in the mail!

The 10th Victim appeals as both a cocktail of cool aesthetics and as biting commentary on violence-as-entertainment- qualities that ring as true today as they did in 1965. Here is the iconic scene where Ursula Andress dispatches her prey with her infamous gun-bra bikini at the Masoch Club.

10TH VICTIM CONTEST ENDS SOON

Enter to win a Blu-ray edition of the Elio Petri cult classic, The 10th Victim (1965), starring Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress. Contest ends October 4th! Details here.


From the New York Times review (9/30/11): "Petri won the foreign-language Oscar for his far superior 1970 film, “Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion,” but it’s “The 10th Victim” that lingers in the public imagination and has now been reissued by Blue Underground in an excellent Blu-ray transferred from the original negative. The playful production design, by Michelangelo Antonioni’s regular collaborator Piero Poletto, probably accounts for much of the movie’s continued appeal. His Rome of the future has been assembled out of the architecture of the Fascist past (Bernardo Bertolucci would return to some of the same locations for his 1970 period drama “The Conformist”) and festooned with the fetish objects of the Op-Pop 60s: inflatable furniture, Trim-line telephones."

AGENT WOODY

Woody Allen transitioned as a gag-writer and stand-up comedian to become a prolific filmmaker with unprecedented freedom to write and direct his own projects. With a new movie out almost every year since 1965, Allen's body of work carries a unique voice that channels his interests in philosophy, music, and culture. Woody Allen directed his first feature film during the great spy boom when he re-mixed two Japanese films into a hilarious espionage yarn about egg salad, What's Up Tiger Lilly?, released in November 1966. In this clip, director John Badham (Dracula, Saturday Night Fever), talks about how the studio struggled to define the movie- as evidence in their chock-a-block "trailer from hell":

Woody Allen rode the spy wave into his next project, Casino Royale. Truly a kitchen-sink movie with multiple writers and directors, the film does have its moments. The costumes included female guards with machine guns in Paco Rabanne-like gladiatorial garb, and the colorful space-age sets made it to some of the top-five spy sets in Spy Vibe's guest set event. Peter Sellers and Ursula Andress share an iconic scene to the tune, The Look of Love. Woody Allen played Jimmy Bond, the megalomaniac nephew of James Bond, with his characteristic slant on the quintessential baddie (dressed in Nehru jacket, of course!). In this clip, James Bond (David Niven) talks about his sex-crazed namesake on TV and introduces his nephew as a rather disappointing secret agent.

Woody Allen then made a mockumentary, Take the Money and Run (1969), about a criminal with great ambition (but zero talent). I can't imagine our current culture of parody without this seminal work. Allen returned to this form in his fantastic story of a human chameleon, Zelig, in 1983. In this classic scene, the main character's attempts to rob a bank are severely challenged by poor penmanship. (Check out the new reality show by fellow C.O.B.R.A.S. writer, Paul Bishop, Take the Money and Run here).

Crime and morality have continued to appear as themes in his films over the years, and these early comedies from the spy-boom era should appeal to Spy Vibers. I showed What's Up Tiger Lilly? to my high school students a year ago and they are still laughing about some of the scenes and dialog. If you are interested in learning more about Woody Allen, I suggest these excellent books: Woody Allen On Woody Allen by Stig Bjorkman, Conversations With Woody Allen by Eric Lax, Woody Allen Interviews by Robert Kapsis. This year's Midnight in Paris has been Allen's greatest box office success. If you haven't checked in with his movies recently, I recommend a double feature of Midnight in Paris (2011) and Scoop (2006). Allen is famous for his use of magic realism, and these two contemporary films are absolutely charming.

BEATLES AUCTION CANCELLED

Breaking news: Guernsey's has cancelled the bulk of a major Beatles auction that was scheduled for tomorrow. Astrid Kirchherr's photographs of the band's early years in Germany, as well as the intellectual property rights to the images, were originally planned to go on sale in a historic auction Saturday. But at the last hour, the company posted an announcement on their website stating that the entire lot has been sold in advance to an undisclosed buyer.


There is much speculation about the identity of the buyer. Many fans wonder if Paul McCartney has stepped in to preserve and manage the archives. Spy Vibe will update readers as soon as there is more information. In the meantime, the auction will continue tomorrow with many Beatles and other music-related treasures. One of the most notable items is Elvis Presley's first guitar!


Some Spy Vibers have been able to purchase Kirchherr signed photographs through Snap Galleries. They have a few Hamburg-era images listed in a current auction. Now that Kirchherr's archives have moved ownership, signed photos will certainly become quite collectible. I have a number of signed Beatles (and Spy TV/movie) items in my collection that I might list for auction in the future. Stay tuned!

MILES DAVIS 1967

Sony has launched the Miles Davis Bootleg Series with Miles Davis Quintet Live in Europe 1967. The box set includes 3 CDs of these groundbreaking performances, as well as a DVD of all of the known film footage of the shows.

From Amazon: In the 1960s Miles Davis toured Europe several times with some of the greatest bands he ever led. As the first title in a projected series of boxed sets Sony/Legacy introduces MILES DAVIS QUINTET - Live In Europe 1967 - The Bootleg Series Vol.1 featuring Miles Davis Second Great Quintet featuring WAYNE SHORTER, HERBIE HANCOCK, RON CARTER and TONY WILLIAMS -- arguably the single greatest small group ensemble in jazz history.

The recordings from their 1967 European tour are some of the only existing documentation of the band performing compositions from the extraordinary series of studio albums they made between 1965-1967 -- E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer and Nefertiti. Now fans can hear live versions of Agitation (from E.S.P.), Footprints" and "Gingerbread Boy ( from Miles Smiles), Masquelero" (from Sorcerer ) and Riot" (from Nefertiti); PLUS, Miles revisits some of the earlier classics he had been performing for years -- Round Midnight , On Green Dolphin Street , I Fall In Love Too Easily and No Blues -- all in strikingly different interpretations from the original studio versions. Seeing this band in action only further emphasizes their near supernatural rapport!

DVD Track listing:1. Agitation, 2. Footprints, 3. I Fall In Love Too Easily, 4. Walkin, 5. Gingerbread Boy, 6. The Theme, 7. Agitation, 8. Footprints
9. Round Midnight, 10. Gingerbread Boy, 11. The Theme

10TH VICTIM SHOTS

The Blu-ray website posted a review today of the new release of The 10th Victim (1965). A mostly-positive response with the added bonus of some of their fantastic screen-shots. Here are Ursula, Marcello, and Elsa in three memorable scenes from the film. I always loved the shot of Marcello's apartment decorated with pop art and a display rack of classic Phantom and other comic books- a great pad! How would you decorate your fantasy lair? What would be on your display rack?


Don't forget to enter to win a Blu-ray edition of the Elio Petri cult classic, The 10th Victim (1965), starring Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress. Contest ends October 4th. Details here.

KNOLL SALE

Looking for an Eero Saarinen, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, or Harry Bertoia piece for your secret lair? Design Within Reach has just opened their pre-sale list of many cool items from Knoll, including the Barcelona Chair below- designed in 1929 and winner of the Museum of Modern Art Award in 1977. Image from MOMA. Sale details here.


Don't forget to enter to win a Blu-ray edition of the Elio Petri cult classic, The 10th Victim (1965), starring Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress. Contest ends October 4th. Details here.

SEIJUN SUZUKI GOES BLU

The Criterion Collection has announced their upcoming Blu-ray titles for December. In addition to a vintage Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes, Spy Vibers can look forward to two 1960s cult classics by Seijun Suzuki!


From Criterion: Tokyo Drifter (1966): In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer Phoenix Tetsu’s attempt to go straight is squashed when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. This onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors got director Seijun Suzuki in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who were put off by his anything-goes, in-your-face aesthetic, equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller, and Nagisa Oshima. Tokyo Drifter is a delirious highlight of the brilliantly excessive Japanese cinema of the sixties.


From Criterion: Branded To Kill (1967): When Japanese New Wave bad boy Seijun Suzuki delivered this brutal, hilarious, and visually inspired masterpiece to the executives at his studio, he was promptly fired. Branded to Kill tells the ecstatically bent story of a yakuza assassin (chipmunk-cheeked superstar Joe Shishido) with a fetish for sniffing boiled rice who botches a job and ends up a target himself. This is Suzuki at his most extreme—the flabbergasting pinnacle of his sixties pop-art aesthetic.

Don't forget to enter to win a Blu-ray edition of the Elio Petri cult classic, The 10th Victim (1965), starring Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress. Contest ends October 4th. Details here.

10TH VICTIM CONTEST

Spy Vibe release party! I was fortunate to contribute to the new Blu-ray edition of one of my all-time fave films, Elio Petri's The 10th Victim (1965), starring Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress. The Blu-ray from Blue Underground will be released tomorrow, and I have four copies to give away to Spy Vibe readers! I have to say, this edition looks very cool. After seeing the menu ported over the last couple of DVD editions, it is refreshing to see the film get a whole new package. The new menu is a celebration of the film's Masoch Club, the famous scene where Andress dispatches her prey with her gun-bra silver bikini. The folks at Blue Underground picked lots of great scenes to run during menu selection. There are many special features, including my collection of stills and posters. The inside of the case sports a French lobby card that really highlights the film's costume design. I think you all will enjoy it! I'm very happy to see the film preserved with style.

OK, the contest: Send an e-mail to jason[at]spyvibe.com with "10th Victim" in the subject line and include your address. I will pick 4 winners in a random drawing on October 4th. And for my recent poster contest winners, thank you for your patience. I've finally finished my move to the new pad and can ship your posters at last.

Thank you, Spy Vibers, and good luck!

10TH VICTIM RELEASE

Blue Underground has moved the release date of The 10th Victim (1965) Blu-ray edition to September 13th due to manufacturing needs. Spy Vibe will have copies to giveaway soon- stay tuned!

THE MONKEES DVD

The Monkees (1966-1968) television show spawned a media phenomenon and encapsulated a 1960s cocktail of Richard Lester/Beatles surrealism, Marx Brothers humor, improvisation, and catchy pop songs. After years of being out of print, the original series will be released on September 27th by Eagle Rock. Pre-order info at Amazon here. Spy Vibers in the States can still rent the original Rhino DVDs from Netflix. Three of the band members reunited recently for a tour, but the last nine dates were cancelled due to business conflicts. Here is a clip from one of my fave episodes, The Spy Who Came in From the Cool (covered at Spy Vibe here).

IT TAKES A THIEF

Welcome back Spy Vibers! We just had a great series of poster contests, followed by the recent move of all operations to a cool 1966 pad! Yup, we're now located in a northern California lair with floor-to-ceiling glass walls, Hi-Fi, and the Spy Vibe library! Speaking of libraries, one of the last major spy shows from the 1960s waiting for release is finally coming out- It Takes a Thief- starring Robert Wagner as cat burger-turned-spy! The complete series will be released in a box set on October 11th by Entertainment One, and will include all three seasons, interviews with cast/crew, pilot episode, a collectible photo book, and more. The current price on Amazon is a bit high at $179.99, but we'll keep keep our eye out for deals. Amazon has often made The Man From U.N.C.L.E. box set, also a high-ticket item, available at a discount. Congrats to Entertainment One and to all of my fellow It Takes a Thief fans!

POSTER 3 WINNER!

Thank you to the many Spy Vibers from around the world who entered to win the Goldfinger movie poster! One winner was drawn at random- congratulations to Thomas Tucker. Your prize will be mailed soon.

CRITERION DEALS TODAY

Amazon is offering lightning deals on a number of Criterion Collection titles today, including the stylish and funny Mystery classic, Charade, starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn (Charade sale ends 10am pacific). Other titles include the Maysles brothers' The Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter and David Cronenberg's Videodrome. Details here. Spy Vibe's look at the Peter Stone penned films Charade, Arabesque, and Mirage here.

AMAZON SALE

Amazon is holding its annual anniversary sale on Blu-ray discs. You can pick up James Bond collections for as low as $25, as well as other classic sets including the Bourne Trilogy, Oceans 11-13, Austin Powers, and The Twilight Zone. Sale ends August 20th. Details here.

POSTER 2 WINNER!

Thank you to the many Spy Vibers from around the world who entered to win the Danger Diabolik movie poster! One winner was drawn at random- congratulations to Brad Wrolstad! Your prize will be mailed soon. Everyone still has a chance to win the Goldfinger poster. Details here.

SERGE GAINSBOURG TRIBUTE CONCERT

Sean Lennon and Beck will headline a special tribute concert to the maestro of hip musique, Serge Gainsbourg, at 7pm on August 28th at the Hollywood Bowl. Lennon and his partner, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, recently released a limited blue-vinyl album, La Carotte Bleue, that featured Gainsbourg's classic Comic Strip (see Spy Vibe's announcement here). The tribute concert will also include Ed Droste (Grizzly Bear), Victoria Legrand (Beach House), Mike Patton (Faith No More), Zola Jesus, Lulu Gainsbourg, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and Jean Claude Vannier. Check out Amoeba records here for a chance to win free tickets!


Below is the whimsical lo-fi film for Lennon and Muhl's groovy version. It reminds me of William Klein's 1969 film, Mr Freedom. Serge Gainsbourg official website here. Gainsbourg was married to Jane Birkin from 1968-1980, following her three-year marriage to James Bond composer, John Barry. Check out the original 1968 promo film for Comic Strip with B Bardot here.

POSTER 1 WINNER!

Thank you to the many Spy Vibers from around the world who entered to win the Barbarella movie poster. One winner was drawn at random, congratulations to Katrina Kelly! Your prize will be mailed soon. Everyone still has a chance to win the Danger Diabolik and Goldfinger posters. Details here.

MOVIE POSTER PRIZES

While Agent J is away on a mission, enter to win one of these movie posters from Spy Vibe: GOLDFINGER, DANGER DIABOLIK, BARBARELLA. Winners will be picked in early August- see details and deadlines below.

It's reader appreciation time and we're giving away prizes! Prize #1: Barbarella poster style B, 11x17 poster originally purchased from Movie Goods. To enter, just send an e-mail to Spy Vibe (jason[at]spyvibe.com) with "Barbarella" in the subject line and your mailing address. The winner will be chosen from a random drawing on August 9th. Why we love Barbarella here.

Poster #2- Danger Diabolik, 11x17 Italian style B, originally purchased from Movie Goods. To enter, just send an e-mail to Spy Vibe (jason[at]spyvibe.com) with "Diabolik" in the subject line and your mailing address. The winner will be chosen from a random drawing on August 11th. Why we love Danger Diabolik here.


Poster #3 Goldfinger, 11x17 style E, originally purchased from Movie Goods. To enter, just send an e-mail to Spy Vibe (jason[at]spyvibe.com) with "Goldfinger" in the subject line and your mailing address. The winner will be chosen from a random drawing on August 15th. Why Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer chose Goldfinger as #2 in his top-5 list of spy movie sets here.



Check out Spy Vibe's production set series, an event that gathered together many writers to celebrate the best spy sets from cold war-era film & TV. Guest Set Lists: Lee Pfeiffer, Jeremy Duns, Armstrong Sabian, Steve Bissette, Roger Langley, Matthew Bradford, Wesley Britton, David Foster, Matt Kindt. Spy Vibe's Set For Adventure here, Set Countdown #10, #9, #8 ,#7, #6, #5, #4, #3, #2, #1.

FAB GEAR

Fab Gear, an in-depth book about Beatles fashion, is due for release on October 24th! From Amazon: "The Beatles knew how much image mattered in the 1960s, and whether it was Nehru jackets, skinny ties, granny glasses, or the Cuban heel boot-if John, Paul, George, or Ringo wore it, the rest of their millions of fans followed. Renowned music and fashion author Paolo Hewitt takes readers on a fashion tour of the Beatles' career and the trends they co-opted. From their Hamburg debut in sunglasses, leather, and black sweaters to the conservative suits they were ordered to wear by their manager Brian Epstein; from their infatuation with Pierre Cardin's collarless jackets to their more casual corduroy; from their Mod madness to psychedelic spaciness to faux-military attire to hippy-chic-each style is revealed as a reflection of the music they made and the world views they embraced. Filled with fabulous photographs and with an appealing retro feel, the book features numerous images, many of which have never been published before. It offers insights into how the band's meteoric rise and enduring success shaped their fashion choices. There's even a chapter devoted to their hairstyles. Fans of all ages, as well as anyone interested in fashion, will be enthralled with this first ever Beatles stylebook that proves the Fab Four were as timely as they were timeless."


PAOLO HEWITT began his career writing for Melody Maker and New Musical Express. He has contributed to newspapers and magazines as well as a series of books on sports, fashion, and music. He served as the official biographer for the groups The Jam and Oasis, runs his own Mod-style knitwear label in Italy, and has written a memoir, The Looked After Kid. He lives in London.

POSTER PRIZES: DANGER DIABOLIK

It's reader appreciation time and Spy Vibe is giving away movie posters! Poster #1 is Barbarella, see details here. Poster #2- Danger Diabolik, 11x17 Italian style B, originally purchased from Movie Goods. To enter, just send an e-mail to Spy Vibe (jason[at]spyvibe.com) with "Diabolik" in the subject line and your mailing address. The winner will be chosen from a random drawing on August 11th.


Why we love Danger Diabolik (1968): Danger Diabolik came in at the top of our Top-10 Setlist of all-time! Imagine clicking your garage door opener on a mountain road, engaging a giant clam-shell door, and driving into a series of electronic hatches and elevators down (deep deep down) to a cavernous lair that sports a fleet of E-type Jaguars, Sci-Fi gadgets, a Habitrail-like network of tubes and chambers, glass "see-through" showers, and a giant revolving bed with futuristic technology and television monitors. I’ll give you a moment to recover. You’re right- it’s simply the coolest pad any spy, criminal mastermind, or lounge cat could crave (they had me at Jaguars). More of Danger Diabolik #1 in Spy Vibe's Top-10 Setlist here.

DEAL ALERT: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.

Deal Alert (Ended): Amazon's deal of the day is the complete series collection of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. 41 discs, four seasons, the pilot. the first film, and many bonus features priced at a low $84.99!

Famously housed in a cool briefcase, the set includes:
all four seasons (105 episodes)
color pilot "Solo"
theatrical feature One Spy Too Many
nine bonus features about the show, style, gadgets, etc
retrospective interviews w cast/crew
guest star celebration
tv award shows
design/photo galleries
Tom & Jerry's The Mouse From H.U.N.G.E.R.
& more!
Amazon page here. Review at DVDtalk here.

POSTER PRIZES: BARBARELLA

It's reader appreciation time and we're giving away prizes! Prize #1: Barbarella poster style B, 11x17 poster originally purchased from Movie Goods. To enter, just send an e-mail to Spy Vibe (jason[at]spyvibe.com) with "Barbarella" in the subject line and your mailing address. The winner will be chosen from a random drawing on August 9th.

Why we like Barbarella (1968): Although Vadim's film has more camp and static composition than the original comic by Jean-Claude Forest, the film still delivers as a sexy sci-fi time capsule. The opening credits (which feature a space-age strip tease) and the promotional graphics are all fantastic! But the star of the film is really the fashion designer who inspired the costumes, Paco Rabanne. Rabanne was one of the inventive culprits chopping paper-dress patterns in the 1960s. Similar in construction to using plastics, the paper clothes could be cut in-form out of Vilbond and color cellophane tape without stitching. The dresses really took off in 1967, a year in which Rabanne also designed a line of Pacojamas (paper PJs) for Hilton hotels. Rabanne was celebrated for his experiments with creating clothing from sculptural components. The advantage of these NASA-inspired materials was that clothes held their shape, rather than being draped over the body. Synthetics, bright colors, black and white, and silver with geometric and zipper-accents created an architectural silhouette of angular lines- a sculpted form for a new generation focused on the Twiggy-thin youth market. Rabanne is credited along with Jacques Fonteray for designing the costumes for Barbarella. You can see similar costumes based on Rabanne's futuristic, gladiatorial armor in Casino Royale (1966) and The 10th Victim (1965). Spy Vibe was quoted in an article that offers further info about Rabanne here.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE COMPLETE SERIES

Mission Impossible (1966-1973) is one of the greatest spy shows from the cold war era. I loved how it focused on a team who could sabotage the enemy without firing a shot, and in many cases, would leave the mission still undetected by the other side. Although I really enjoy the movie franchise, its more conventional use of an armed, solo hero doesn't quite capture the spirit of the original. Spend some time with the Impossible Missions Force this week. Two fave episodes from the first season (pre-Mr. Phelps), are episode #10 The Carriers and episode #24 The Train. Great cold war spy TV! Spy Vibers can read all about the making of The Train at the blog archive of director Ralph Senensky here. You will also find posts about his work on other cult classics such as The Wild Wild West and Star Trek. The Mission Impossible- Complete Series DVD box set is the "daily deep deal" at Deepdiscount.com. They have matched Amazon's current low price of $160.79. [DEAL ENDED, but they continue to offer the set for around $170]. If you have been waiting to add the show to your library, this may be a good time to pick it up. All seven seasons are also currently available for streaming on Netflix.

SPY VIBE TOPS 200,000

Spy Vibe topped 200,000 visitors on Sunday. As a thank you to Spy Vibers everywhere, we'll be holding random drawings to give away a series of movie posters this week. Stay tuned for details!

DEAL ALERT: PINK PANTHER

Amazon is offering the Pink Panther Ultimate Collection on DVD today at an amazing discount. Down from the list price of $199.98, the set is marked down to $34.99. If you have been wanting to add these classics to your collection, today's the day to think pink! Deal of the day at Amazon here.


The 18-disc set includes all but one of the films (Return of the Pink Panther is distributed by Universal, not MGM), and all of the cartoons. Read more about the history of the franchise and a review of the Pink Panther Ultimate Collection at DVD Talk here. Set contents:
Disc 1: The Pink Panther Collector's Edition '64 Feature Film
Disc 2: A Shot in The Dark Feature Film
Disc 3: Inspector Clouseau
Disc 4: The Pink Panther Strikes Again Feature Film
Disc 5: Revenge of The Pink Panther Feature Film
Disc 6: Trail of The Pink Panther Feature Film
Disc 7: Curse of The Pink Panther Feature Film
Disc 8: Son of The Pink Panther Feature Film
Disc 9: Pink Panther 2006 (SONY)
Disc 10: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 1
Disc 11: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 2
Disc 12: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 3
Disc 13: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 4
Disc 14: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 9
Disc 15: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 5 (Ant and the Aardvark)
Disc 16: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 6 (The Inspector)
Disc 17: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 7 (The Inspector Volume 2)
Disc 18: The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Volume 8 (Roland and Ratfink)

THE AVENGERS SOUNDTRACK CD

Screen Archives Entertainment is now taking pre-orders for their 2 CD set of soundtrack music from The Avengers! From SAE: "The double album includes an attractive 16 page booklet with full colour stills and extensive notes on music and episodes from the TV programme.

Alongside Johnny Dankworth and Laurie Johnson, Howard Blake is the third, none-the-less important, but often forgotten, contributor to The Avengers TV series music. Dankworth’s laid-back jazzy theme was the signature tune of the first three series, while Johnson penned the flamboyant rousing up-tempo theme to the three series shot on 35mm film.

Brought into the job late in the series in 1967 by Laurie Johnson, and on the recommendation of Bernard Herrmann, Howard Blake scored ten episodes in the sixth and final series starring Linda Thorson as Tara King alongside the stalwart Macnee. From big-band sound with modern jazz inflections and spooky trombone choir, flutes and vibraphones, to bass clarinets, solo piano, timpanis, amplified harpsichord, 'wah-wah' guitar and Fender-Rhodes electric piano, Blake created a rich and relevant score that remains a classic to this day"

While you are on their website, be sure to check out other CD collections of spy soundtracks from I Spy, The New Avengers, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. They also carry the fabulous Network CD collection of The Prisoner.

THE PERSUADERS 40TH

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Persuaders, starring Roger More and Tony Curtis, those magnificent folks at Network have released a new Blu-ray edition box set of the series. There is also an anniversary event planned, where fans can attend episode screenings and a Q&A with Roger Moore himself! The original restored Aston Martin from the series will also be on display. Information at Network here.

From Network:
Regarded by many as being the finest of Lew Grade's ITC film series, The Persuaders! stars Roger Moore and Tony Curtis as the mismatched playboys with an eye for the ladies and a penchant for landing themselves in trouble.

Highly anticipated on Blu-ray, this highly popular action adventure series is presented here in stunning High Definition for the first time. All 24 episodes are featured alongside a wealth of special features, many previously unseen:

Special Features
• Digitally restored, High Definition transfers
• 156 page fully-bound book of viewing notes by Andrew Pixley
• Recently found, extensive textless material (including some behind the scenes)
(HD)
• Previously unseen alternate title sequence (HD)
• Extensive HD image galleries of rare and previously unseen stills
• 1972 Sun TV Awards footage with Tony Curtis
• Contemporary French interview on location from 1971
• Moore and Curtis reunion on the Alan Titchmarsh Show from 2008
• Merchandise image gallery (HD)
• The Morning After - Remembering The Persuaders! exclusive documentary
• Commentaries with Roger Moore, Tony Curtis and production staff
• AVROSkoop contemporary documentary from 1971

• Top of the Pops promotional video for John Barry's theme

• Promotional spots
• Trailers and archive newsreel footage
• Tony Curtis interviewed by Russell Harty
• French titles
• Commercial break bumpers
• Script PDFs
• International movie versions and trailers for London Conspiracy, Mission: Monte
Carlo, Sporting Chance and The Switch

MRS PEEL IN UNDERWEAR

Today we celebrate one of our fave episodes of The Avengers, Death at Bargain Prices (1965). From the first Diana Rigg season, the episode is filled with the kind of playful banter that brought so much charm to the show. Although Honor Blackman appeared dressed in underwear in earlier episodes, Patrick Macnee's John Steed got to enjoy a stronger dose of innuendo here with this memorable line: "I asked the chief predator where to find you and he said, 'Our Mrs. Peel is in ladies' underwear.' I rattled up the stairs three at a time." Priceless! More info and trivia about Death at Bargain Prices at Avengers Forever here. Spy Vibe's Peeling Off the Trenchcoats here.

BISH FESSES UP

Pulp Fiction/Spy connoisseur and fellow C.O.B.R.A.S. writer, Paul Bishop of Bish's Beat, will be interviewed on Martini in the Morning on Tuesday, July 12th at 9:30am (pacific). Tune in and catch Bish as he talks about lounge music, gumshoes, and his new reality TV series for ABC, Take The Money And Run- from the producers of CSI and The Amazing Race, the new series premieres on August 2nd!

THE ROYALE TREATMENT

Issue #10 of MI6 Confidential is now available for order. The new edition of this deluxe magazine explores the legacy of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale, from the 1954 television adaptation to the 2006 re-launch of the 007 franchise with Daniel Craig. The publishers offer their usual in-depth articles, high production value, and many rare images- including book covers from the Illustrated 007 collection! MI6 Confidential is available for order here. They also offer a special rate if you buy the Casino Royale edition with issue #9: Bond Girls. Details here.