This film is maybe a lost treasure, and it deserves to be more well known than it actually is. This is a fascinating and intense spy movie, and the plot takes place during the second world war. Donald Sutherland plays the part of the spy very convincing, ice cold and a character with a ruthless determination to get what he wants, really at all costs. The film is very well done, and eventually ends up as a story of lost love, and hard measures that needs to be taken. The casting is brilliant, and I think the films atmosphere really manages to take you back in a world in war, and different peoples way of life in these circumstances. This makes this film authentic and complete. (sorry about my English)
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dakjets9 July 2015
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Paul-25023 May 1999This film about a German agent trying to escape from Britain might seem to offer limited scope for interest, but Sutherland's menacing performance and the events on the island turn it into something approaching a study in psychopathy, laden with uncertainty and fear. The vulnerability of Lucy (Kate Nelligan, a sensitive and intelligent but definitely pre-feminist woman helps to give the film an added poignancy. Sutherland's performance is such that we are always fascinated by the damaged and ruthless character he portrays. Those who dislike war films may find themselves surprised by this film.
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lastliberal31 August 2007I saw this film many years ago and have watched it more than once. The opportunity presented itself for me to see it again and it was just as good as I recalled it being.
This is probably the best performance of Donald Sutherland's career. You can argue for Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or Human Trafficking, or MASH, or even Space Cowboys, or many other great performances, but this is the film I will always remember him for.
As a German spy who has discovered the best kept secret regarding the Allied invasion on DDay, he had to be prevented from getting home to report to Hitlar. It was just an accident that he was discovered. The suspense of his job and discovery were heart-pounding. Oscar nominated Kate Nelligan (The Prince of Tides) gave an outstanding performance as a neglected wife who accidentally uncovered Sutherland's identity.
Worth watch over and over. -
DrLenera22 February 2006Eye of the Needle is an oddly structured but nonetheless extremely effective film which in many ways is quite old fashioned in tone and feel,with the addition of a little 'modern'sex and violence. For almost the first half,the film is a fairly conventional but quite gripping spy thriller,as a German agent causes havoc in World War 2 England. There are few surprises,but Donald Sutherland is mesmerising to watch {even if his accent wavers} and the plot at least sounds almost plausible. The keen eyed,however,may spot mistakes in the period detail.
Then Sutherland is washed up on a Scottish island inhabited by a crippled man and his frustrated wife,and the film changes into an incredibly tense mixture of romance and thrills. Sutherland and Nelligan's affair may be basically sexual,but there is real chemistry between them and a real sense of desperation,of two lonely people throwing themselves together. The last half hour is real edge-of-the-seat stuff,perhaps almost bordering on psycho-thriller,but it really works.
Throughout the film Sutherland remains the villain and does do some nasty things,but it's a measure of his performance that occasionally we do come close to sympathising with him. Acting-wise though the film really belongs to Nelligan,a tragically underused and beautiful actress who has to go through the motions of loneliness and frustration,than lust,then fear,and eventually heroism,and does so superbly.
Aided tremendously by the last ever score from the legendary film composer Miklos Rozsa,who provides a moving love theme and some especially thrilling music for the last section of the film,Eye of the Needle perhaps shouldn't really work as well at it does,but that's a measure of it's quality. -
Luigi Di Pilla5 March 2006I am satisfied with EYE OF THE NEEDLE. There are many plots and twists without great special effects or action. Anyway, the film shows a spy story set in the second World War and that is well directed. The picture and camera work is not as perfect as in today's big blockbusters but it doesn't shock because it is well compensated with historical details and facts from that war time. It's interesting seeing Donald Sutherland in this role as a lover and villain. He is for me one of the great actors that made many enjoyable thrillers. All in all a watchable movie that has a better class than these disappointing thrillers of nowadays and once again a DVD from the house of MGM that works for an entertaining Saturday evening. My wife and me vote 7/10 that matches exactly the actual vote of 7/10.
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rmax3048232 May 2006A ruthless German spy (Sutherland) discovers the secrets behind the Normandy landings and tries to give the information to the Nazis, committing a few murders in the process. But he finds himself stranded on an island, the guest of a bitter, legless sheep farmer (Casenove), his lonely wife (Nelligan), and their little boy. Southerland tries desperately to contact the U-boat waiting for him offshore but is shot and killed by Nelligan.
There are weaknesses here and there in the plot. I think we know, the moment we see the young boy, that he's going to wind up in the clutches of Sutherland's spy. And Casenove doesn't clean and oil his big revolver in an early scene for nothing. And there is a scene towards the end that resembles the "Straw Dogs" situation, with Southerland trying to sneak into a barricaded stone lighthouse.
That's about it for the conventional stuff. The rest is pretty original, noticeably above average. And the performances are above par too, including those of Sutherland, who must manage to put on screen a far more complex character than the opening scenes of murder and betrayal reveal. Nelligan is attractive -- nurturing and sexy at the same time -- without being stunningly gorgeous. Cazenove is often in roles requiring him to be treacherous and weak. He's weak here too, both physically and psychologically, but clever and brave as well.
I'll just say a few words about Sutherland's character, Henry Baker, whose code name is "Der Nadel" (the needle). All we know of him after the first half hour is that he is a dedicated Nazi spy and a cold-blooded killer. Scotland Yard agents (who include the superlative Ian Bannon) mention in passing that Sutherland was a brilliant student at military school but was raised in a frigid family. He was never married but had one passionate affair. (He later reveals that he killed the woman because she broke his heart.) His lifelong loneliness synchronizes later with Kate Nelligan's emotional isolation and her glandular glow -- her husband is capable of making love to her but avoids both talk and physical contact. Sutherland envies the couple and their grand isolation. (Applause for the set decorator.) He longs to be left alone on an island with Nelligan and her son. Asked earlier by another agent how one could possibly avoid ruthlessness and killing, Sutherland replies, "One can stop." And, although Sutherland doesn't "stop," he eases off enough at the end to let Nelligan live, and she kills him for it.
When Southerland is cast up on the doorstep of their cottage like a piece of rotting kelp from another world entirely, the couple take him in. Nelligan is delighted to have company. Casenove is suspicious and distant. During his first night in their home, while Casenove sleeps, she reveals her soul to him, reluctantly but honestly, and he responds not like a manipulative German agent but like a sympathetic shrink who knows exactly where she's coming from. Southerland says that he envies their son for being loved. "Every child is loved," says Nelligan. And Southerland replies that, no, sometimes children can be nothing more than instruments to fill the ambitions of their parents. And we know he's talking about his own childhood.
The ending is as tragic as it is because the writers, the director, and the actors have given us a glimpse into Southerland that has turned him into a recognizable human being instead of just another action-movie stereotype.
The photography is fine. Miklos Rosza's score is recycled from dozens of his earlier films.
Neatly done. Worth watching. An adult film, not in the cheap sense of the word. -
gcd702 February 2008Richard Marquand's 1981 WW2 thriller makes for intriguing conjecture as it considers the possibility that a lethal and cunning Nazi spy may have known of the Allies' intention to invade Normandy. Screenwriter Stanley Mann weaves a good old fashioned espionage yarn from the original novel by Ken Follett (a 1978 best seller), and an impressive cast and crew help bring it all to life.
Our director (Marquand) knows how to tell a story, and though he's working with a more simple plot than he did in 1985's "Jagged Edge", still manages to involve the audience and create real tension. Donald Sutherland certainly helps in this regard too, as the German spy "Faber", who has successfully infiltrated English society in the guise of a war veteran, and who'll stop at nothing to achieve his objective. As the reluctant heroine, Kate Nelligan successfully portrays vulnerability, frustration, desperation and terror as we share in her plight. Worthy support also comes from Christopher Cazenove, Ian Bannen and Philip Martin Brown.
Also a major factor in "The Eye of the Needle's" effectiveness is the artful cinematography (Alan Hume) that captures "Storm Island" so exquisitely, the efficient editing from Sean Barton and the authentic Set design and costumes that recreate the 40's most convincingly. Music is from Miklos Rozsa.
Strongest attributes are always the impressive, dramatic performances from leads Sutherland and Nelligan.
Sunday, January 8, 1995 - Video -
Director Richard Marquand and all the crew involved brought us a memorable film that keeps us on the edge of our seat from the beginning to the very last minute. The story follows a Nazi spy named Henry Faber (an extremely vicious Donald Sutherland), also known by his code name "The Needle", who is on to an important information about the Allies invasion plan to Europe during WW2 and might cause a disaster if he gets with that information to Berlin. Kate Nelligan gives a perfect performance as the naive Lucy who gets involved with the dangerous Henry Faber. Adopted from Ken Follet's novel, The film successfully keeps the tension on high level in just about every scene. The film is shot in a remarkably beautiful locations in Europe and really captures the alienated atmosphere during WW2. All in all this is a perfect film that shouldn't be missed by anyone who is looking for a powerful and memorable experience. This one is highly recommended 10/10.
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SnoopyStyle9 May 2015Henry Faber (Donald Sutherland) is actually a German spy nicknamed "the Needle" for his stabbing stiletto. He's been broadcasting since early in the war. He discovers the phantom Patton army as a fake leading up to D-Day. He is pursued by the British authorities. He tries to carry the valuable information back to Germany but his boat sinks off of Storm Island. He is cared for by Lucy (Kate Nelligan) and her crippled husband David with their son. A romance ensues as the drama escalates.
It's a good spy thriller with a wartime romance to top it off. Sutherland is terrific as cold hearted killer. I don't think we need David and Lucy until they encounter Henry Faber. It adds very little to the movie. They cut up the dramatic tension of the spy thriller in the first half of the movie. There is good thrills and good tension. -
edwagreen9 January 2010Wonderful World War 11 thriller with Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan providing fine chemistry and two people brought together by fate, he is a German spy trying to get back to Germany with information about D-Day and she is trapped in a bad marriage with a husband who lost his legs on their wedding day.
There is a wonderful score by Miklos Rosza in this film. It provides crescendo similar to that of Rosza's Oscar-winning scoring of "Ben-Hur" in 1959. With this theme, you can immediately identify it as a work of Miklos Rosza. His distinct style of musical scoring has yet to be topped.
Sutherland is terrific as the spy who was supposedly revered by Hitler himself. A loner who is vicious to the core, his soft-spoken facade masks a killer beyond belief. Nelligan, looking for love, thinks that she has found it until she realizes that Sutherland has killed her husband.
The tension builds to a climatic ending where the Nelligan character has done the allies a tremendous service. -
mark.waltz30 July 2017Hiding behind the mask of calm solitude, Nazi German spy Donald Sutherland is as quiet a killing machine as he is a lover. Having British secrets on the intention of a full scale on Germany, Sutherland doesn't hesitate to knife anybody who stands in his way, even co-conspirators he feels might reveal too much if captured. While trying to get the information to a German submarine, his boat capsizes, and he ends up on a British island where he is nursed back to health by the unhappily married Kate Nelligan and Christopher Cazenove, crippled in a car accident on their wedding night. Sutherland's presence brings out a longing for love by Nelligan and suspicion by Cazenove, and as Nelligan gets clues of her own, she realizes that she's fallen in love with a monster.
Subtle and mesmerizing, this gives an on-site into the insanity which took over the minds who chose to follow the Nazi regime. The story switches back and forth between the British investigation as to his whereabouts and Nelligan's plot to prevent him from going any further. The strength of individuals determined to stop evil keeps you on the edge of your seat, and the fact that Sutherland delivers such a quiet, often thoughtful performance, makes his character all the more creepy. This may not be in the realm of other recent Nazi related movies (such as "Marathon Man" and "The Boys From Brazil"), but it's extremely riveting none the less. -
mzav23 March 2000Sutherland was never darker or slicker, Kate Nelligan was never more heroic or attractive, and the outcome of World War Two was never so thoroughly in doubt. Suspenseful all the way, this movie convinces us that the Allied-Axis struggle was determined by the violent, romantic interplay among five people on a storm-tossed British isle. See it!
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ma-cortes20 April 2016This top-notch mystery movie with ingenious plot contains tension , mystery , surprises and , of course , a suspenseful ending , dealing with a Nazi German spy acting undercover as an Englishman who becomes involved with a married woman . The title "Eye of the Needle" is that it is a reference to the eye of the stiletto blade that Nazi spy Henry Faber uses to kill his enemies . This World War II movie is set in London 1940 , during the Blitz when it opens , there a German Superspy , the Needle (Donald Sutherland) gravitates towards murder and treason . Meanwhile , a young couple goes out in their ¨Just married¨ car , but they have a strong accident . Four years later , a new allied offensive to take place : Normandy or Calais ¿ ; then , the Needle discovers a vital evidence about the Allies D-Day invasion : Operation Overlord . As The Needle capable of terrible violence , he often uses killing means to carry out his purports , at the same time being relentlessly chased by Godliman (Ian Bannen) . While en route to report his Nazi commander , Admiral Canaris : Secret Service chief , he makes for the Scotish coast to escape on a U-Boat when his small boat is shipwrecked before being picked up and the Needle is washed ashore . Posing as a shipwrecked sailor , he washes on a deserted England island , off the Scottish coast , being saved by a family formed by a crippled man (Christopher Cazenove) , his wife (Kate Nelligan) and child . And the spy becomes involved with the spouse while he waits to be picked up and he , then , begins to contemplate his role in the war , as both of them must decide between their love or country .
Interesting drama/thriller plenty of thrills , taut , intrigue and twists . The film relies heavily on Donald Sutherland character when he falls in love with the woman and their lovely as well as twisted relationship . Despite of the fashion-able sex and violence , this is a satisfyingly old-fashioned sort of film that avid fans of the genre will love . Nice acting by Donald Sutherland as a German spy carrying information that will reveal the target and being stranded on an isolated island ; Donald gives a perfect performance as a cold killer using his trusty switchblade against suspects . This was one of three films in five years where Donald Sutherland played a German character who was either a Nazi or son of a Nazi . The movies are Bear Island (1979), Eyed of the needle (1981) and The Eagle Has Landed (1976). None of the main characters , Sutherland , Nelligan, Cazenove , is very sympathetic , but all of them are well drawn , which is more important here . Support cast is frankly good , such as Ian Bannen as relentless pursuer , David Hayman as Canter , Bill Frazer and debut credited theatrical feature film of actor Bill Nighy and first full length feature of Rik Mayall.
Colorful and brilliant cinematography by Alan Hume shot on location in Mull , Argyll , Oban and Bute, Scotland , Blackbush Airport, Hampshire, and in Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England . A cottage and lighthouse were constructed on the The Isle of Mull for the production . Impressive and breathtaking musical score by Hollywood maestro Miklos Rozsa in one of his last soundtracks . This intelligent thriller that the Bristish production seems to produce every two or three years was compellingly directed by Richard Marquand . He was hired by George Lucas after seeing ¨Eye of the needle¨ and only non-American to direct a Star Wars film : ¨The return of the Jedi¨, Lucas was mainly impressed how Marquand was able to finish a difficult production on time and on Budget , a factor which was critical on a huge production like Star Wars . His first film was the terror one titled ¨The legacy¨(79) , he went on with the successful ¨The jagged edge¨ (85) . However , his career failed with flops such as : ¨Until September¨ (84) a routine romance movie and a musical : ¨Hearts of fire¨ (87) until his early death. -
Theo Robertson17 January 2005I agree with the commentator who described this as a chick flick because my gut instinct is that the second half of the movie takes on the quality of a bizarre love story . However any female sitting through this would have to endure a story of a ruthless Nazi spy slaughtering anyone who stands in the way of his mission and some of the violence is quite brutal ( Channel 4 showed this in the late afternoon ) which I doubt would appeal to a female audience or indeed a family audience . As I said the second half of EYE OF THE NEEDLE changes in genre slightly so for all the lads who enjoyed the war/spy story will become rapidly bored with the second half romantic interlude . I've never read Ken Follet's novel but I got the impression it was something of a pot boiler that women read on sunny beaches so perhaps the story has been badly translated to screen ?
That's not to say the movie is bad . Donald Sutherland carries the movie as the cold , ruthless but charming " Needle " who'd probably cut his mother's throat if it expanded the cause of Hitler . It'd be easy for Sutherland to go right over the top in the role but he plays the part in a subtle manner and I did enjoy the aspects where it's revealed he's a spy and the subsequent hunt for him ( Even if it leaves a plot hole - How was he able to operate in Britain for four years after his first murder ? ) , but unfortunately if you enjoyed this aspect then you'd probably be annoyed with the second half and the amount of violence in the early part of the movie means much of the audience the film was intended for wouldn't want to see the latter half -
fertilecelluloid1 January 2005Donald Sutherland is superb as "The Needle", a Nazi spy pursued by the British government during World War II. Circumstances land him on Storm Island, a small, wind-swept patch of land off the English coast. There he falls in love with the sensual Kate Nelligan, the unhappy, lonely wife of a crippled war vet.
The late Richard Marquand's second feature film is a gripping, suspenseful wartime drama about doomed love. The blazing glow of this film is enhanced by sizzling yet subtle scenes of lovemaking and a stunning Miklos Rosza score.
The island vistas are breathtaking and Alan Hulme's pictures are rich and moody. -
I had just finished the book so my husband suggested the movie, which I didn't know existed. It's a satisfying, Old Hollywood sort of spy thriller with a bit of Hitchcock to it, at least in the second part. Sutherland is excellent, Nelligan is very good and the supporting cast is solid. The scenery is beautiful and the score is stirring, if a little heavy-handed (like I said, it's kind Old Hollywood).
The directing is well-paced overall, but trips up a little in the second half when things slow down and speed up in awkward ways sometimes.
Having just read the book, I wish they had allowed the Scotland Yard characters to be more fully realized characters who played more of a role. I also didn't like how they changed the ending from the book. It's fundamentally the same, but not quite as satisfying and....complete because of the changes.
A good watch. -
for a WW2 story from 1981,this one is pretty good.it does movie slow at times though.it is also pretty low key for this kind of film.this movie is much more character driven and relies on its two main players to really carry the film,and that they do.Donald Sutherland plays a German spy with ice in his veins who has no problem with murder when it suits his needs.so really he is also an assassin of sorts.he's sort of a Carlos the Jackal type character who may have been a real assassin who was a chameleon and who eluded authorities and was never captured or possibly even seen.anyway back to the movie.Kate Nelligan plays the love interest(and more than that) and does well in the role.Christopher Cazenov plays David,Lucy's(Kate Nelligan) husband in a very strong supporting performance. the movie has its share of suspense and action,but again it's low key.i found the writing quite good.it's based on a novel by Ken Follett.one thing that stood out in this movie is its subtlety.there's no over the top rah rah rah attitude that's evident in many later movies.but then this is a German/English production and not an American made movie.the point is,it's refreshing to see a well written story with well written characters that doesn't bombard your senses with sentimentality and inspirational pap.i liked this movie quite a bit.i give "Eye of the Needle" a 7/10
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Uriah435 August 2021Set in the United Kingdom during World War II, a German spy by the name of "Henry 'the Needle' Faber" (Donald Sutherland) has been sending messages to the Nazis about British troop movements since the very start of the war a year earlier. However, when he is discovered by a well-meaning landlady while transmitting a message he is subsequently forced to kill her with a stiletto and abandon his current clandestine operation for a short period of time. Meanwhile, during this same time a newly married couple have a car accident which results in them moving to an isolated location for some peace and solitude. What they don't realize is that their paths are soon to cross with Henry Faber who has just received top secret intelligence which can change the entire war-and he is deadly serious about using them to help him in that regard. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, even though I am not a great fan of Donald Sutherland, he seemed to perform this role in a very effective manner. On that note, I also think thought that Kate Nelligan" (Lucy Rose) also performed exceptionally well too. That being said, while this may not have been an outstanding espionage film necessarily, it was still good enough for the time spent and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
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Leofwine_draca25 April 2018EYE OF THE NEEDLE is an exceptional wartime thriller that I had heard very little about before watching, which is a surprise as I rate it alongside such classics of the genre as THE EAGLE HAS LANDED and DAY OF THE JACKAL, two films which it feels very much like. It's a story set in rural Britain, where ruthless Nazi spy Donald Sutherland has just got wind (and evidence) of the fake Calais invasion plans and must get word back to the Fatherland. The whole outcome of the war hinges on whether he manages to do so, which makes for one of those thrillers that's packed with suspense from the very beginning until the very end. This is a film made with a gritty, nasty streak to it and Sutherland is thoroughly convincing here, just as good as he was playing the hero of DON'T LOOK NOW and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. The film possesses a great cast, all of whom do no wrong, and in the second half it turns into a small-scale but riveting psycho thriller of the kind that would become popular in Hollywood a decade later. I really recommend it.
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styn_grieten15 June 2001Donald Sutherland is an obscure spy who frightens you during the whole film, with his scary eyes and his cold way of living, killing and dying. The movie is one of the darkest world war II movies i have seen, without focusing the 'fighting' elements of war. Nor is it focused on psychology or on 'plot'. It has more from a typical 80's 'chasing' thriller, which sometimes loses itself in a hard-to-believe content (especially after the killing of David) and a over-heroic end. But darkness remains in your mind...
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elcoat17 March 2016This is one of the greatest and most passionate World War 2 and/or spy movies ever made, and it is so British! :-)
German spy Faber (superbly played by the ever-errant Canadian actor Donald Sutherland) was a nonconforming discipline problem as a naval cadet and so became an intelligence officer for (anti-Hitler) Admiral Canaris's Abwehr agency. Planted in England and working in transportation ... and not young enough to be conscripted ... he is in perfect position to monitor British troop and equipment strengths and movements.
However, his cover is blown when his not unattractive landlady discovers him tapping out a message to home base, and he bloodily dispatches her with his stiletto "needle," evidencing a cold, calculated ruthlessness which then puts every viewer on the edge of his/her seat every time Faber is in desperate circumstances and around any potential victim. He later even kills a fellow German spy - a young courier - to prevent the latter from being captured and identifying him and his mission, directly ordered by Hitler.
Only Faber is trusted by Hitler to find out if the famous and feared U.S. General Patton's First Army Group is real or a mere diversion, to threaten a D-Day landing directly across the English Channel at Pas de Calais. Hitler intuits that Normandy will be the real landing site instead, and he needs proof to goad his generals into re-focusing German forces down there.
Once Faber discovers the truth about FAG, he must get the information radioed or in person back to Hitler, but MI6 - led by veteran actor Ian Bannen's Godliman - is closing in on him, and he flees north, eventually shipwrecked on a beautifully filmed island and given shelter by the bitterly hateful, unfulfilled former Royal Air Force fighter pilot and legless amputee David (grimly played by Christopher Cazenove) and his little family.
But totally complicating everything is David's voluptuous, sweet, spurned, and thus emotionally and sexually repressed and desperate young wife, Lucy. Then too, there is their little boy who loves and respects his daddy as well as his mommy, even if his parents are in such unhappy turmoil.
Moved out of his own emotional shell - cell - by the girl's unhappiness, Faber suddenly opens up as a human being and gives Lucy the sympathy and affection ... and sexual relief ... she craves. And so just as suddenly and irresistibly they fall deeply in love with each other.
(Kate Nelligan's remarkably perfect beauties were fully displayed in a later BBC TV series, the title of which I forget. Sorry.)
Sensing what has happened intensifies David's suspicions about their guest, and David finally discovers Faber's true identity and intentions. They get into a life-and-death struggle on the edge of a cliff - David wanting revenge for Faber's betrayal of his hospitality and to stop Faber's intelligence mission and Faber wanting to liberate Lucy from her domestic hell ... and for himself.
This battle between a ruthless spy and a determined, patriotic amputee revives Faber's ruthlessness, and Lucy soon finds out what has happened. But to save herself and her child she must fake love and sexual ardor with him - submit and essentially prostitute herself to this unmasked monster who has murdered her husband - for fear of him killing her and her little boy. This is a scene of unsurpassed horror ... and a disturbing kind of eroticism.
The climax of the film is the struggle by Lucy to save herself, her little boy - and (in loyalty to David as well) save D-Day and the Allies by somehow stopping Faber from escaping to a waiting U-boat to complete his mission. And Faber MUST get to that U-boat, regardless of any love or sympathy he has felt for Lucy.
The film's climax is right down to the sea and absolutely rending. -
Richard Marquand directs this well-wrought adaptation of Ken Follett's bestselling book concerning a vicious German spy on assignment in London during WWII who takes refuge with an unsuspecting British couple. Donald Sutherland does superlative work in the tricky lead, second-guessing every situation while seducing naïve Kate Nelligan in the bargain, without regard to her smarts and efficiency. The film's atmosphere is purposefully cold, and Marquand is intentionally careful and calculating, but those who stick with this will find the plot-threads absorbing and the performances extremely effective. Ardent admirers of Follett's novel were unhappy with the woman-in-distress finale, yet it certainly works for the picture, and Nelligan emerges as an actress of uncanny grace and bravery. **1/2 from ****
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Spuzzlightyear10 August 2005Eye Of The Needle is one of those films that I saw when I was a wee lad, which I watched again recently, to find out I enjoyed it as much as the first time (which rarely happens). Donald Sutherland plays the Needle, a German top spy who has a nasty habit with a knife. After taking pictures of a supposed American military base to spoil the chances of an American blitz, his plans are temporarily diverted when the boat he steals while getting away from those dang Allied forces, washes away on a beach, where Kate Nelligan and her husband lives. But they don't know his secret, and Sutherland must somehow make contact with a German U-Boat before Time Runs Out!! Everyone is wonderful in this. The plot sort of reminds me of I know Where I'm Going! mixed in with Breaking The Waves. Lots of twists and surprises to keep you going, A great popcorn movie!
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r-e-witt5 August 2007I stumbled on this film while researching Donald Sutherland. I have just watched the 1981 Juniper Films version on an MGM DVD copyright 2000. I enjoyed the film and thought it well worth watching. It was beautifully filmed and very well-acted. I enjoyed it enough to watch again in the future. According to what I'm reading here at the IMDb, there exist several versions with different endings. The final scene in this version must have been a not-too-carefully-done reverse. It is as if one is flying away from the beach and up and around the lighthouse. Why reversed? Because if you look carefully, smoke is going *down* the chimney!
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starrywisdom9 January 2010I don't know what it is about Donald Sutherland's acting style, or vocal style, but he always seems to be acting from behind a massive wad of soggy Kleenex. He's just...I don't know, THICK? Somnambulistic? On meds? Weird.
That said, I just saw the flick again for the first time since its original release, and frankly, I don't remember it ending anything LIKE that. A bad ending, too, because nothing gets tied off. What about the dead husband? The annoying child (and was the kid dubbed?)? The Scotland Yard and military pursuers? I would have liked something wrapping things up and giving some dramatic closure to it all, not just the big panoramic pull-away.
And what woman sleeps with the man she knows just killed her husband? Even if she was trying to allay Needle's suspicions to protect her kid, she could always have had a headache. That last encounter made me feel way too itchy and uncomfortable...