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Eye of the Needle (1981)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
24 July 1981 (USA)
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Tagline:
Codename: "The Needle". Only one person can stop him: The woman who loves him ! more
Plot:
A ruthless German spy, trying to get out of Britain with vital information about D-Day, must spend time with a young woman and her crippled husband. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
1 nomination
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User Comments:
fairly generous
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Donald Sutherland | ... | Faber |
 | Stephen MacKenna | ... | Lieutenant |
 | Philip Martin Brown | ... | Billy Parkin |
 | Kate Nelligan | ... | Lucy |
 | Christopher Cazenove | ... | David |
| George Belbin | ... | Lucy's Father |
| Faith Brook | ... | Lucy's Mother |
| Barbara Graley | ... | David's Mother |
| George Lee | ... | Constable |
| Arthur Lovegrove | ... | Peterson |
| Colin Rix | ... | Oliphant |
| Barbara Ewing | ... | Mrs. Garden |
| Chris Jenkinson | ... | German SS Officer |
| William Merrow | ... | German Radio Operator |
| Patrick Connor | ... | Inspector Harris |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
112 min
Country:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Australia:M |
Iceland:16 |
Canada:14+ (Ontario) |
USA:R (certificate #26243) |
Netherlands:12 |
South Africa:16LV |
Finland:K-16 |
Ireland:15 |
Sweden:15 |
UK:15 |
West Germany:12
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The Needle's motorcycle is a Velocette
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Goofs:
Anachronisms: Several of the trains shown in the film are in British Railways livery but British Railways was not formed until 1948.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Empire of Dreams: The Story of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy (2004) (TV)
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Soundtrack:
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (41 total)
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Thriller section | IMDb UK section | Add this title to MyMovies |
Hitchcock could have come close to the last half hour: look at his Frenzy, made seven or eight years before this for a peek at how similarly he looks in parts of this.
In fact the movie is only a notch below that film, better in some ways, much worse in others. The first two thirds being only standard thriller stuff that any decent director might have churned out. However once Sutherland reaches the island, his character takes on a kind of Frankenstein quality: the monster we thought we have been watching takes on a sudden pathos that you seldom get with run of the mill thrillers.
And for that matter, even in most Hitchcocks. Sutherland was a perfect choice for the role, and Nelligan is his equal. Very well cast these two.
The last minute of the film, without giving anything away slips a little.
It should have had that lopped off.
But that is a very minor quibble.
Also it is a very rare chance to catch one of Miklos Roszas scores. Rosza always could be picked out from any other, and he is more or less just going through the notes here, a long way from his best, but even Roszas worst were better than a lot of composers bests.
And compared to most of the thrillers of the eighties and nineties, this is a bloody masterpiece.