A pre-Phantom Michael Crawford plays Woody, a goofy cartoonist-accidentally-turned-spy in this Cold War-era lark. In Paris visiting his friend, a CIA "file clerk," Woody is sent on a cloak-and-dagger errand and is mistaken for an operative by his beautiful Russian counterpart. She then contacts the agency with the demand that he, and only he, help her defect. Writer adopts comic book persona and voilà: Condorman! This wide-winged hero thwarts the pesky Soviets at every turn. From the old run-down farmer's truck he's driving emerges a flashy race car that outruns a fleet of Russian vehicles. Later, in a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang moment, the car sprouts floaters, allowing the pair to escape their pursuers by sea. Barbara Carrera's Natalia--the true spy of the two--is really just along for the ride. It's Condorman's show, as confirmed by the ending: a shot-filled showdown off the shores of Monte Carlo.--Kimberly Heinrichs

Customer Rating:
Summary: 169,,,, 500 bucks? hahahahahahhahahahaha
Comment: I remember watching an interview like this is your life years ago with Michael Crawford, and they went through his career of TV, movies and plays etc.. and I kept waiting for them to mention condorman and they never did, and they should, as it's a very underrated movie.

When I was a kid, this was one of my favorite movies. About Woody (Crawford) who is a comic book writer who's best friend Harry (Michael J Fox's father in Teen Wolf/Longest Yard (original) guy who dies) is a file clerk for a spy company, who when left in charge to send a civilian to Istanbul to deliver some spy papers, he bumbled his way into making a top KGB agent (Natalia) believe he is a top agent and later wishes to have him help her defect to America.

Woody takes on the challenge and finds himself being chased by Natalia's boss/lover or whatever and his team of henchmen while Woody pulls out all his toys and gadgets to help aid there escape.

Seeing this again many years later, I can see why it it more of a cult classic then a very popular action/adventure comedy. But, it is still a lot better then most of the **** that floods the shelves these days, and this one is very underrated as a b grade comedy.

The character of Woody reminds me of Maxwell Smart, a bumbling secret agent who doesn't always escape by skill or outsmarting the bad guys, but by unintentional luck, but gets the girl at the end. Just try to imagine Maxwell Smart wants to be Batman at the same time, and that is about what Condorman is.

A lot of humor, zaney antics, car chases and star wars lasers.. all blended in for a fun ride.

Ignore anyone selling this second hand on amazon or anywhere else for over 20 bucks... they are ripping you off hard. The DVD quality is not that great, it kind of looks like it was done straight from an old VHS to DVD without bothering to clean it up. And there is no bonus features. This DVD deserves more respect then this, and I hope Disney decide to do a special edition of it someday.

Oh yeah, not to forget, the second hand sellers are selling the out of print region 1 version... the DVD is still in print in region 4 for about 10 bucks, and includes another film with it too. And don't worry about the region stuff, they play in any old computers DVD player. So I'd recommend doing the smart thing and finding the ones still in print and pay a whole heap less then these clowns prices.

and to the person who is selling it for 500 bucks, BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, you have a b grade movie there, not the holey grail.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: ASHAMED!!!
Comment: I am a little ashamed that my first review on Amazon wasn't this movie, instead I reviewed King Kong (new remake) - SHAME ON ME!!! This movie is fantastic! I remember watching it as a very young child and was mezmerized by it! It has a story, a creative concept, and a steller cast. The idea at the time was exciting because it was around the time of The Greatest American Hero and has some of the same kind of humor in it.

RE-RELEASE THIS DISNEY! I'm begging! I want to see if it holds up over time!!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great DVD - Disney please re-release it
Comment: This is one of those movies that would have been a massive hit if it had had a star in it. However it is still a great movie with fantastic action set pieces and pretty good jokes. If you want to ask Disney to let you know when it's re-released use the link on the Disney DVD website and then follow instructions to be 'emailed when it is available'. (Can't post the link here on Amazon as it's a no no to include web addresses so do a search for Condorman on the Disney DVD site).

(...)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: this is an awsome movie
Comment: i love this movie, my second fav old video.
fast car chases, cool car gadgets, and a good sense
of humor. tops james bond any day....

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Condorman - a top secret cartoonist
Comment: I was in middle school when this movie came out. It was 1981 and I had saved up my pocket money to pay for the bus ride into the city and the admission for a matinee to a movie that seemed so exciting and lively to me.
I had read the book 'The Game of X' by Robert Sheckley as well as the adaptation of the movie and imagined every scene in my head as I had gone through it. The movie was everything a young boy could have hoped for - a rollicking, comedic adventure with a very beautiful female Russian agent (Carrera) and a sinister KGB chief (played by Oliver Reed).
The only problem I have with this movie is the miscasting of Michael Crawford as Woody Wilkins, the cartoonist who helps out a friend of his at the CIA office in Paris. Englishman Crawford puts on the most exaggerated American accent imagineable, although admittedly he has the brilliant comedic timing necessary to pull off this role.
The CIA in France has a problem. They need a civilian to act as a courier to Istanbul. Of course Woody gets the job, but right from the start it's obvious he is taking his role just a little too seriously. By the time he arrives to meet his KGB contact in Turkey he has fully assumed the role of his cartoon creation - top CIA agent and superhero Condorman.
Barbara Carrera (who two years later would get to play a Bond girl - the very movies this one attempts to lampoon) plays KGB agent Natalia. Later, when she makes the decision to defect, the impressive Condorman comes to mind as the only CIA agent she will trust to handle her defection.
The only problem is the CIA does not have an agent with the codename Condorman.
What follows is an adventure filled race across Europe with enough gadgets to fill several Bond movies. There is some great car chases (performed by legendary French stunt driver Remy Julienne and his 16-man crew of drivers and mechanics), boat chases and along the way Crawford sports some of the most outrageous disguises in cinema history. It's all great fun and it's executed perfectly.
For high flying escapist entertainment they don't come much more downright enjoyable than this. The DVD is a disappointment with no special features to speak off except a rather slim production notes section in the inside cover booklet. It's 2 pages of notes on the making of the movie, with sections on 'The Story,' 'The Setting,' 'Gadgetry' and 'Stunts and Special Effects,' but it's all very slim pickings.
But, I've had this movie in my DVD collection for over two years and on those quiet rainy Saturday's it's a particular favorite (along with 1980s FLASH GORDON) to put in my DVD player and sit back and remember a more innocent time in my life.
Recommended for all dreamers.

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