NEW 1960s SPY DVDS

Spy Vibers have waited years for the official release of the last remaining, major cult spy series from the 1960s. With these titles finally hitting the shelves, Amazon is offering low prices to sweeten the feast. The complete Girl From U.N.C.L.E. sets, as well as the Man From U.N.C.L.E. 8 Movies Set, are now $30.49. Amazon has also continued to maintain a 50% sale price for pre-orders of the complete It Takes a Thief series with Robert Wagner. Details below:


Man From U.N.C.L.E. (Release date: November 2nd)
To Trap a Spy (1965) Expanded version of the U.N.C.L.E. pilot (Solo aka The Vulcan Affair), includes the famous "too hot for TV" scenes shot with future Bond girl Luciana Paluzzi.
The Spy With My Face (1965) Expanded version of The Double Affair, in which a fake Solo wreaks havoc on an U.N.C.L.E. secret mission.
One Spy Too Many (1966) Expansion of season two's Alexander the Greater Affair, in which an ambitious industrialist (Rip Torn) sets out to conquer the world. With Yvonne (Batgirl) Craig.
The Spy in the Green Hat (1966) The Concrete Overcoat Affair gets the feature treatment, in which Thrush agent Louis Strago (Jack Palance) attempts to unleash climate change upon the world.
One of Our Spies is Missing (1967) Vera Miles, Yvonne Craig and James Doohan guest as Solo and Kuryakin head to London and Paris to foil a plot hatched by the nefarious fashion industry.
The Karate Killers (1967) The Five Daughters Affair feature version, with heavyweight heavies Telly Savalas and Herbert Lom providing the menace while Joan Crawford, Jill Ireland and Kim Darby make up the distaff side.
The Helicopter Spies (1968) Carol Lynley and Bradford Dillman lend their talent to the film version of The Prince of Darkness Affair.
How to Steal the World (1968) Leslie Nielsen joins Robert Vaughn and David McCallum for the film version of the U.N.C.L.E. series closer, The Seven Wonders of the World Affair.


Girl From U.N.C.L.E. (Release date: October 19th)
The United Network Command for Law and Enforcement has a new agent in its struggle with THRUSH: The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. The girl is April Dancer (Stefanie Powers) who, assisted by partner Mark Slate (Noel Harrison) and guided by chief Alexander Waverly (Leo G. Carroll), travels the globe on assignments, using her martial-arts and espionage prowess to combat foes. This spoofy 15-Episode Part One of the spy series in a 4-disc set includes a dossier of top-level guest stars. April Dancer (with Mary Ann Mobley playing the role) was first introduced to fans in the Moonglow Affair episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

It Takes a Thief (Release date: November 15th)
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.

NUMBER 9

50 years ago today, on November 9th 1961, NEMS record store manager Brian Epstein went to check out a popular local band at a club just down the street from his shop. Struck by their music and personal charm, he set out on a mission to manage the band to success. This famous meeting between Epstein and The Beatles was not the only time that the number 9 was significant to the band's founder, John Lennon. Lennon was born on Oct 9th (as was his son, Sean). Lennon met Yoko Ono at an Art gallery on November 9th, 1966. The first issue of Rolling Stone was printed with a November 9, 1967 date- Lennon was their first cover image. John Lennon composed the songs One After 909, Revolution No. 9, and #9 Dream (which appeared on his 9th solo LP, Walls and Bridges). When he passed away, it was December 9th in his hometown of Liverpool. When The Beatles catalog was finally digitally remastered, it was released on September 9th, 2009 (09.09.09). Read Mersey Beat founder Bill Harry's letter to the Examiner about Epstein's meeting with The Beatles here.


Below is an interview with Brian Epstein about his first encounter with The Beatles on November 9th, 1961, followed by the band playing One After 909 during the rooftop concert scene in Let It Be (released in 1970, 9 years after Epstein met them at the Cavern Club). The Let It Be film may be scheduled for DVD/Blu-ray release in 2013. It's interesting to see how much the culture, and The Beatles themselves, changed in those nine years.

There is new documentary film in the works about Beatles secretary Freda Kelly. The film reached its initial pledge amount today, November 9th. You can learn about it (and contribute to the project on Kickstarter) here. John Lennon portrait by Richard Avedon from MOMA here.

DR NO ITALY

Italian movie poster design, available at Movie Goods here.

DR NO JAPAN

PETER SELLERS SET 3

Peter Sellers played a pivotal role in the history of comedy. His work as a character actor in The Goons, a group committed to thinking outside the box of convention, inspired a whole generation of English comedians and writers to shine a light on society and to push the boundaries of class and culture with a satirical edge. Sellers' gift for the surreal naturally linked him with what became a surrealism boom in the 1960s. Sellers' short film, The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1960), for surreal/comedy director, Richard Lester, helped to put the director on the Beatles' radar (George Martin produced records by Sellers and The Goons), and landed him the plum assignments, A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965). Sellers continued to rise through the 1960s, playing lead parts in influential films like Dr. Strangelove (1964), Casino Royale (1967), The Pink Panther (1963), and Woody Allen's first feature script, What's New Pussycat (1965). He joined an all-star cast in 1966 to bring Alice in Wonderland to the BBC's Wednesday Play (which included a soundtrack by Ravi Shankar!).

During the mid-1960s, Peter Sellers explored a number of Beatles songs as spoken comedy records. Spy Vibe spotlights the great Peter Sellers' set of these classic renditions. Move over Shatner and Nimoy! Record 3: She Loves You (Dr. Strangelove version). This video is a wild concoction of Cold War-era imagination (note the Ken Adam war-room set design).

More on 1960s UK Surrealism and satire here. Peter Sellers.org here. To learn more about Sellers, check out the excellent bio-pic, The Life & Death of Peter Sellers (2004), starring Geoffrey Rush.

PETER SELLERS SET 2

During the mid-1960s, Peter Sellers explored a number of Beatles songs as spoken comedy records. Spy Vibe spotlights the great Peter Sellers' set of these classic renditions. Move over Shatner and Nimoy! Record 2: A Hard Day's Night (Richard III version).

PETER SELLERS SET 1

During the mid-1960s, Peter Sellers explored a number of Beatles songs as spoken comedy records. Spy Vibe spotlights the great Peter Sellers' set of these classic renditions. Move over Shatner and Nimoy! Record 1: She Loves You (Cockney version).

THE WHO MOD WEBSITE

In conjunction with their release of the Quadrophenia Director's Cut CD set, The Who launched a new website today dedicated to the classic album and to the Mod culture that inspired it. Find out more about the Mods, The Who, and enter contests to win a Vespa and to make an official Who video here.

CLASSICS ON METV

Spy Vibers with the MeTV Network now have a chance to see a number of rare and out-of-print 1960s classics, including Honey West, The Rogues, Peter Gunn, and Batman. Check scheduling details here.

FREDA KELLY FILM PROJECT

Good ol Freda Kelly, secretary to The Beatles 1962-1972, is the subject of a new independent documentary film project. Info at the Examiner here. You can help by contributing on Kickstarter here. Only 9 days left!

ULF KRUGER DR NO

Spy Vibers interested in the Beat music scene in Hamburg in the early 1960s may be familiar with musician Ulf Kruger. Kruger was a regular at the famous Star Club. He recorded with the king of Skiffle, Lonnie Donegan, and he produced CDs for Bear Family and museum exhibits over the last ten years to preserve a unique part of the 1960s cultural landscape. A matter of interest to spy fans, however, is that Kruger also recorded a curious tune called Dr No in the 1980s.

Speaking of the Hamburg scene, a very rare recording was just released by the estate of Stuart Sutcliffe, which claims is the former Beatle singing his signature tune, Love Me Tender. An interesting time capsule, the track is available on iTunes and Amazon and you can read more about it here. Many from the Hamburg scene have since chimed into investigation, shedding doubt on the identity of the singer. There is currently a popular musical playing in the UK about the period called Backbeat, and an official Sutcliffe fan club here.

HAPPY SPY VIBE HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween! What was your costume? Here's actor, Ray Danton, sporting the classic black mask in Secret Agent Super Dragon (1966).

HAPPY SPY VIBE HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween to Spy Vibers! I hope your holiday was filled with evil robots and... secret agent chimps? Here's a clip from one of my boyhood faves, Lancelot Link (1970). For those who haven't seen the series, you have to imagine a show based on Get Smart with chimpanzees dressed in spy costumes. Don't say I didn't warn you!

LES VAMPIRES

Louis Feuillade's serial about a gang of master criminals, Les Vampires (1915-16), featured a strategist and operative known as Irma Vep. A silent-era femme fatale in the style of Emma Peel of The Avengers, Vep was the inspiration for the 1996 film, Irma Vep, about a director trying to re-make the French classic. The clips below show the original character from 1915, followed by Maggie Cheung's modern day (and experimental) Irma Vep.

QUARTER MILLION & BOND GIRLS

Thank you to Spy Vibers around the world for exploring "1960 style in action" with us. Last week readers' hits silently passed the quarter-million mark! Let's celebrate this weekend with a few lovely Bond Girls. Check out LIFE magazine's list of the top-20 actresses here. Who are your faves from the world of 007?

MOD EXHIBIT & VESPA CONTEST

In conjunction with the release of The Director's Cut of the Quadrophenia sessions by The Who, an exhibit has been launched at Pretty Green, the London flagship boutique for Liam Gallagher's fashion line. The exhibit Facebook page here. Even if you can't make it to this rare show, you can still enter to win a custom one-off by Vespa made to look like the scooter on the classic album's cover! Details here. Pretty Green offers a large collection of Mod fashion designed by Gallagher (Oasis, Beady Eye), Paul Weller (The Jam, Style Council), as well as pieces inspired by iconic gear from Swinging London. You can even find a Quadrophenia parka here. The Director's Cut will be released on November 15th. Spy Vibers interested in the Who should check out the excellent book, Won't Get Fooled Again, by music author Richie Unterberger. The film adapted from the Who's album is currently out of print. Below, Mods gather at the Who exhibit in London, Vespa's contest prize edition, and a video promo for The Director's Cut. It's a Mod Mod Mod world!

TINKER TAILOR PREVIEW Q&A

Special Event: A preview screening of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy will be held at the San Rafael Film Center on November 15th- with Gary Oldman and director Tomas Alfredson on hand for a Q&A! Tickets just went on sale today at the center's box office at on-line here. I hope that Spy Vibers in the Bay Area can attend.


From the San Rafael Film Center: "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the long-awaited feature-film version of John Le Carré's classic bestseller set in 1973 during the Cold War. Gary Oldman, who stars as career-spy George Smiley, and director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) will answer questions at this special advance screening. George Smiley works for British intelligence, nicknamed "The Circus," and when an Eastern European mission goes awry, he sets out to uncover a possible double-agent in the agency. Oldman has support from a terrific cast, including John Hurt, Colin Firth, Ciarán Hinds, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Simon McBurney and Svetlana Khodchenkova. Already a hit in its current British theatrical release, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has earned high praise from John Le Carré himself, who calls it "to my eye a work of art in its own right." (UK 2011) 127 min."

The superb mini-series adaptations of Tinker Tailor and Smiley's People starring Alec Guinness have been re-released on DVD (old prints, new package) and are available for rent to Spy Vibers in the States from Netflix.

THE GUARDIAN'S SPY LIST

The Guardian has posted a list of the top-6 Spy series of all time. Surprisingly, The Avengers is only an honorable mention -losing out to The Saint! Roger Moore always gets my support, but... Find out which shows made the cut here. They've included some fun video clips, as well. Thanks to Cinema Retro for the heads up. If you were pressed to make such a list, maybe by threat of laser beam while strapped to a table, what would Spy Vibers pick as the top-6 Spy series of all time?

SPECIAL EVENT: SAARINEN'S TWA

Spy Vibe agent J Kraus alerted us to a special event that brought architecture enthusiasts flocking to New York. From Phaidon: "Last weekend a crowd descended upon the TWA Terminal at JFK, not because of flight delays, but because the building was open to the public again but for just three short hours. Designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen in 1956 and finished in 1962 – a year after his death, this was the first time the public had been given access to the building since its closure in 2001." Read more here. Image below by Ezra Stoller via SFMOMA.

SPACE RACE- ROCKABILLY STYLE

Before Richard Lester directed The Beatles in A Hard Days Night, this ex-pat was already making films with a focus on the fun and energy of youth culture and the music scene. One of his projects was It's Trad, Dad (1962), featuring this curious segment with rockabilly cat, Gene Vincent, who puts the 'rock' in rocket. The film also features Helen Shapiro, Del Shannon, Chris Barber's Jazz Band, and others.

THE PERSUADERS! BROCHURE

Fans of The Persuaders! (1971-1972), starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis, should check out the Network website for a cool collectible. In conjunction with their release of this classic series on Blu-ray, they have produced a limited-edition brochure (listed at $21.50). From Network: Created for The Persuaders! 40th Anniversary event, we have a limited stock available of these collectible brochures. Containing contributions from Roger Moore, Johnny Goodman and Barry Norman, with features on the series' fashion sense, cars and restoration in High Definition, this is one collectible piece of memorabilia that no Persuaders! fan can be without.

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.