The film is not in any way special considering the amount of espionage films in the wake of James Bond and "The spy who came in from the cold". It follows definitely more in the John Le Carré mold though. But it never reaches beyond and tries to establish Vienna once again as a meeting place for spies and data trading of any kind. The extensive use of Vienna's settings is amusing for locals since they are quite accurately done. And Lino Ventura as a French agent is never wrong but what is somehow strange is the total lack of any Austrian actors, all roles of Austrians went to German actors. If you want to know how Vienna looked in the sixties this is a good reference.
9 Reviews
With the Lives of Others : A good spy thriller directed by Jacques Deray.
FilmCriticLalitRao30 July 2013
Avec La Peau Des Autres/With the lives of others is an excellent spy thriller directed by Jacques Deray. He is considered an undisputed master of french thriller films. In many ways, there are very few directors in Anglophone cinema who can match the diversity and range of his films. For this film Jacques Deray chose Austrian capital Vienna as its setting. Much of the film concentrates its action to determine whether the head of a local Austrian network is a double agent or not ? This gives rise to a series of attacks, counter attacks, traps and wrong tracks whose sole purpose is to mislead the head of French information service. Everything appears to work well as all the leading characters are shown to speak French language but cultural differences do make their presence felt in many scenes. This can be deemed as a major handicap by certain viewers to fully comprehend the film's "raison d'être". This film boasts of a fine performance by French actor Lino Ventura as he plays his role with utmost care that nobody seems to stop him from carrying out his mission. Lastly, a film for those who state that Vienna has just music to show to the world.
TO SKIN A SPY (Jacques Deray, 1966) **
Bunuel197613 October 2006
Even if spy thrillers (which, naturally, proliferated during the Cold War) are favorites of mine, sometimes I find it hard to follow the films' convoluted plots -which, more often than not, end up not being all that interesting or even the central focus of the films themselves! However, I must say that this particular example takes the cake: never during the course of the 90-plus minutes of the film is it made at all clear just which side the various characters are on and what kind of information they're peddling! In spite of this, the film is rendered watchable by the typically gloomy East European settings, its constant double-crosses and moments of violence and, above all, its weathered gallery of performers - Lino Ventura, Jean Servais, Wolfgang Preiss, Jean Bouise and Rene' Koldehoff (the cast also includes Adrian Hoven and Marilu' Tolo, who's wasted as the only female in the group).
Lino Ventura, a different kind of James Bond
RodrigAndrisan5 January 2017
After a few collaborations with José Giovanni (as a writer), all action films developed outside of France (Marrakech - L'homme de Marrakech), (Tokyo - Rififi in Tokyo), (Spain - Crime on a Summer Morning), in To Skin a Spy (1966) Avec la peau des autres, we got an original tale of spies, held in Vienna. Lino Ventura, as usual, is the tough guy coming out victorious, killing all the others. We have an important distribution with relevant actors such as Jean Bouise, Jean Servais, Marilu Tolo, Wolfgang Preiss (the famous Dr. Mabuse). Notable Organ music in the foreground signed Michel Magne. Very professional cinematography signed by Jean Boffety. It is a spy movie, not like the others. It has a healthy dose of realism.
Atmospheric spy thriller in Vienna
jbgeorges1 August 2020
A good french spy thriller, shot in a natural settings in the city of Vienna and its 60s Cold War atmosphere,with a nice and captivating music.
This is the first collaboration between Jacques Deray and Lino Ventura and the result is quite good. The sript by the excellent José Giovanni is a bit classic for a spy film, but effective and well-constructed.
Lino Ventura is perfect as a cold and determined secret agent and Jean Bouise is excellent as a disillusioned network leader ready to give up.
Without revolutionizing the genre, it's a nice atmospheric dive into the city of Vienna and the Cold War together with two very talented French actors!
workmanlike spy movie
myriamlenys8 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The Cold War is raging and Vienna has turned into a nest of spies, although many of the spies would describe themselves simply as people buying and selling little scraps of information. The French, who run their own Viennese network(s), fear that someone somewhere has either been betrayed or turned traitor of his own volition. A French secret agent known for his problem solving skills is supposed to investigate...
Watching "Avec la peau des autres" is like participating in a tourist tour through a major city, arranged by a respectable and competent travel agency. As a member of the group, you'll be sure to visit a number of celebrated monuments or places of historic interest ; you'll also be sure to catch a nice concert and to get a liberal dose of "couleur locale". Moreover, you'll be sure to eat an excellent chicken dish in a restaurant reputed for its excellent chicken dishes, and to eat an excellent pastry in a café known for its excellent pastries. On the other hand this won't be the best way in which to discover something original, something unique or something unexpected.
"Avec la peau" is probably best described as workmanlike : it is capable, it makes sense and it gets the job done. And yes, there is a great deal of couleur locale... However, it is not a great movie. It lacks something - perhaps an extra layer of threat, suspense, irony, ambiguity ? Or perhaps some Agatha Christie-like legerdemain with clues and red herrings would have helped.
The great Lino Ventura, an actor of considerable charisma and talent, tries his best but is let down by the average quality of the material. Still, he's one of the main arguments in favour of watching the movie.
Watching "Avec la peau des autres" is like participating in a tourist tour through a major city, arranged by a respectable and competent travel agency. As a member of the group, you'll be sure to visit a number of celebrated monuments or places of historic interest ; you'll also be sure to catch a nice concert and to get a liberal dose of "couleur locale". Moreover, you'll be sure to eat an excellent chicken dish in a restaurant reputed for its excellent chicken dishes, and to eat an excellent pastry in a café known for its excellent pastries. On the other hand this won't be the best way in which to discover something original, something unique or something unexpected.
"Avec la peau" is probably best described as workmanlike : it is capable, it makes sense and it gets the job done. And yes, there is a great deal of couleur locale... However, it is not a great movie. It lacks something - perhaps an extra layer of threat, suspense, irony, ambiguity ? Or perhaps some Agatha Christie-like legerdemain with clues and red herrings would have helped.
The great Lino Ventura, an actor of considerable charisma and talent, tries his best but is let down by the average quality of the material. Still, he's one of the main arguments in favour of watching the movie.
One of Deray's duds.
brogmiller10 April 2022
Compared to Lino Ventura's previous films this one practically went unnnoticed and died a death commercially. One can only assume the bush telegraph had spread the word that it was a stinker which indeed it was and still is.
Despite the strong presence of Ventura and great support by Jean Servais and Wolfgang Preiss this ineffably naff opus is devoid of imagination and momentum, has the pace of a catatonic snail, is cursed with a dreadfully repetitive score by Michel Magne and lumbered with a script by José Giovanni which is aimed at the dimmest-witted viewer. Even Jean Bofferty's images of Vienna fail to relieve the unutterable boredom.
Eleven years were to elapse before Ventura collaborated once again with Jacques Deray, by which time this director had become a master of his craft which resulted in the excellent 'Un papillon sur épaule.' Deray's earlier effort deserves to be consigned to cinematic oblivion.
Despite the strong presence of Ventura and great support by Jean Servais and Wolfgang Preiss this ineffably naff opus is devoid of imagination and momentum, has the pace of a catatonic snail, is cursed with a dreadfully repetitive score by Michel Magne and lumbered with a script by José Giovanni which is aimed at the dimmest-witted viewer. Even Jean Bofferty's images of Vienna fail to relieve the unutterable boredom.
Eleven years were to elapse before Ventura collaborated once again with Jacques Deray, by which time this director had become a master of his craft which resulted in the excellent 'Un papillon sur épaule.' Deray's earlier effort deserves to be consigned to cinematic oblivion.
Nonsense plot
pablovete18 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The plot is the ussual double agents. But What are they fightin'for...? Or lookin' for... or workin' for...?
Impossible to feel anything about any character or to know which "side" to choose
Only remarkable Lino Ventura's work and music
The rest is not only nonsense but even stupid
I love spy films but please...
Another spy thriller
dbdumonteil7 August 2005
Although the screenplay was written by Jose Giovanni ,it was not representative of his work:his world was the world of romantic gangsters,cops,raiders or losers(often played by Lino Ventura or Alain Delon).He had often denounced death penalty long before it was abolished in his country.
This is to my knowledge Giovanni's only attempt at a spy thriller.It's a routine work,but generally the plot is decipherable,which is not always the case with double agents stories.Effective directing by Jacques Deray who would have his hour of glory with Alain Delon ("la piscine" "Borsalino").Lino Ventura does a good job.
This is to my knowledge Giovanni's only attempt at a spy thriller.It's a routine work,but generally the plot is decipherable,which is not always the case with double agents stories.Effective directing by Jacques Deray who would have his hour of glory with Alain Delon ("la piscine" "Borsalino").Lino Ventura does a good job.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
