Leofwine_draca EYE 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.

edwagreen Wonderful 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.

vvjti Another role for donald sutherland playing a German following on from 'the eagle has landed' but in this film donald sutherland plays central character and is main star. An intriguing film and a great story again about a German spy in the uk. It makes for tension, drama and suspense because he's placed with an unsuspecting family and part of tension is that he has romance with his hosts wife as well being undercover spy making contact with Germany. the rugged scenery of Scottish isles where spy donald sutherland is stranded adds to film. good scenes include where spy sutherland reveals ruthless side and when spies identity discovered. a film more subdued than faster moving 'eagle has landed' but good film to watch

ShootingShark Heinrich Faber is a undercover Nazi agent in Britain who has uncovered crucial data on the location of the imminent Allied invasion. In a desperate bid to relay the information to his superiors he is shipwrecked on Storm Island, a remote rock on the west coast of Scotland, where he is befriended by a lonely woman, Lucy Rose. Can he get the message out, and how long before Lucy discovers his true identity ?Based on a bestselling spy thriller by Ken Follett, this is an interesting, old-fashioned sort of WWII action/thriller/drama. The stylings, and the classical score by veteran composer Miklós Rózsa reinforce this, as does the focus on strong characterisation, in the vein of old classics like Night Train To Munich or Notorious. Sutherland is perfectly cast as the resourceful, chilling agent Die Nadel (his codename comes from his weapon of choice, a stiletto); few other actors could play someone who matter-of-factly murders a cripple and yet still retains some sympathy. His character is slightly reminiscent of the one he plays in the superior The Eagle Has Landed, but he has so many good scenes - notably the after supper chat where he pegs Lucy's character instantly - that it hardly matters. Nelligan is not quite so good in the pivotal role, but gives it her all and is lumbered with a depressing husband and a pointless child. The location photography (the Storm Island scenes were shot on Mull) and rich period details are nicely done and there are several well-mounted suspense sequences throughout. However, this is a film which doesn't quite excite me. There's nothing specific wrong with it, and Faber and Lucy's relationship is fascinating, but it just doesn't seem to grip me somehow - perhaps it's because despite being highly stylised it's fairly unglamorous, or that the two story strands of wartime mission and repressed lovers don't come together so well. It's still a solid evening's entertainment though. Trivia - George Lucas was so impressed by this movie that he hired both Marquand and director of photography Alan Hume to work on Return Of The Jedi.