Search - The Master Touch on DVD

Solid Kirk vehicle, with a classic car chase

K. Swanson | Austin, TX United States | 07/13/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"3.75 stars

This was better than I expected. Kirk does a pretty fine job of playing the safe cracker just out of jail and going for one last big score (now there's a plot we've all seen a few times).

Well shot in Hamburg, this flick was made for the Euro market and I guess that's why this is the first review of this film here. Apart from a solid script with minimal histrionics and good enough supporting actors, the highlight is one of the best car chases you've never heard of. No gimmicks, etc, just a Bullitt-style effect-free real car chase shot in real time that's a nice little intro to the streets and docks of Hamburg. If you like car chases, you'll love this one.

While no work of genius, The Master Touch is a classic early-70s-looking film, which is something I love. Directors weren't afraid to be realistic and rather noir for a while there in the Vietnam/Watergate days, which adds that believable grit that's so missing from Hoolywood films now. Sometimes low budgets have their compensations.

An above-average heist flick, slow but well done in most every way, and worth watching for fans of the genre, Kirk, and/or Hamburg."