Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47050 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-05-18
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
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

From the back cover
Woody Wilkins (Michael Crawford), an inventive comic book writer, turns into a bumbling spy and is catapulted on a jet-setting trip around the world as Condorman, the comic book hero he created. The problems--and the hilarity--start when Woody falls in love with a Russian agent, Natalia (Barbara Carrera) and sets about helping her defect to the United States. However, Natalia's old flame, KGB agent Krokov (Oliver Reed), isn't about to let his prize get away. Krokov has every one of his agents on the run trying to prevent "Condorman" from aiding Natalia's escape. Crazy disguises, high-tech gadgets and hair-raising fun abound in this light-hearted comic adventure.

Customer Reviews

"AN ACTION ADVENTURE ROMANTIC COMEDY SPY STORY."ÿ
As a kid, this was my favorite movie for quite some time. I never thought I'd see them re-release it (as Disney would probably like to forget it ever existed) but I'm pleased none the less. Condorman is sort of a cross between James Bond and Batman with some Pink Panther ineptitude thrown in for laughs. While it is not by any means a masterpiece, it's still pretty fun and quite worthwhile. It's got lots of high tech spy gear, including cool cars, speedboats, lazers and other gadgets, humor, romance, an evil villain, and a likable hero who comes out on top. I've read some pretty bad reviews of the film, complaining that there's no plot to it. I don't know what movie they were watching, but the film makes pretty good sense to someone willing to just listen to the dialogue. It makes a great deal more sense than the plots of some other spy movies I could mention... Maybe Condorman IS mostly for the kids, but if you have an attention span and give it a chance, I think you'll find it's not nearly as bad as you may have heard.

Great DVD - Disney please re-release it
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).

(...)

Condorman - a top secret cartoonist
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.