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.
Director:
Richard Marquand
From metacritic.com
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Title: Eye of the Needle (1981)
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1 nomination.
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Edit
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 |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
A German spy carrying information that will reveal the target of Operation Overlord becomes involved with the wife of a crippled man on an isolated island off the Scottish coast while he waits to be picked up. Written by Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>
Taglines:
Codename: "The Needle". Only one person can stop him: The woman who loves him ! See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
UKRelease Date:
24 July 1981 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
El ojo de la aguja See more »Edit
Box Office
Gross USA:
$17,583,634Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$17,583,634Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by wedding guests with modified lyrics ("For They Are Jolly Good Fellows")
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Canadian actor Donald Sutherland plays the central character Heinrich 'Henry' Faber, a Nazi German spy acting undercover as an Englishman in this movie. As such, a Canadian plays a German impersonating an Englishman. See more »Goofs
The farm truck is left hand drive, the reverse of normal for the British Isles. See more »Alternate Versions
NTSC DVD R1 and PAL DVD R2, have different endings. European PAL DVD version ending is approx. 1.5 minutes longer. In the last scene, the helicopter arrives and lands, there is a conversation with the commander about the radio transmission being interrupted and finally the child arrives and reunites with his mother. it's sort of a happy end. This ending was cut from NTSC DVD version. See more »Connections
Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Donald Sutherland/Martin Mull (1983) See more »Soundtracks
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by wedding guests with modified lyrics ("For They Are Jolly Good Fellows")
See more »
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It starts as a conspiracy movie.A man who is a spy of Nazis working for England.Then his identity comes clear and with important informations our man starts to escape.The chase begins.
Movie is really successful about giving audience the pressure of the timeline.But the most important thing is this movie holds the tension into the lives of people who has no connect with the war.Spy hides in the home of a family which lives in an island,far from war.They don't know who he is and police don't know where he is.So movie adds new level of adventure to its structure and gets some kind of thriller atmosphere.Will the secrets be in the hands of Nazis and what will be the end of the family.
Donald Sutherland plays a classical performance.The director does a good job about creating the tension.And the most beautiful thing is the movie itself.It has all the 70's spy movie genre and cinematography and holds the 'danger to the civil' factor besides all super-power states relationships.
And my conclusion for this movie is simple:No matter how far you are,the war will be knocking your door;in one way or another.