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Torn Curtain on DVD (1966)

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Average rating: 64%
1113420101112
3.0
from 426 members
 
Starring: Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Lila Kedrova, Peter Lorre, Ludwig Donath, Hansjorg Felmy, David Opatoshu, Tamara Toumanova
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Studio: UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK
Run time: 123 mins
Certificate: 15
Collections: 100 Top Thrillers
Genres: Thriller
Languages: English
Released: 21/04/2003

Brief synopsis of Torn Curtain

TORN CURTAIN was Alfred Hitchcock's 50th film and signals a return to the espionage-romance theme the director showcased in such films as SECRET AGENT and THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. Hitchcock created a distinct look for the film, subduing lighting and gauzing the lens to give a more natural, less studio-produced feel. Notably, it was the strength of studio influence that contributed another change in the look of the film relative to most Hitchcock pictures, casting leads that departed from traditional Hitchcock types. Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, both at the heights of their popularity when the film was released, anchor this cold war spy thriller. An American scientist (Newman) attends a convention in Copenhagen with his fiancee-assistant (Andrews). While there, she picks up a message meant for him and is drawn into a complex web of espionage behind the Iron Curtain that he had intended to face alone. Her presence throws all his plans into disarray, and the two lovers discover too late that it's easier to get in than to get out again. In one of the film's most memorable scenes, Hitchcock shows his audience just how difficult murder can be when opposed by the will for survival.

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Critics Reviews

Rating of 3 stars out of 5 Radio Times

What looked in its day to be a failure and a disappointment to fans of maestro Alfred Hitchcock now reveals itself to be, if not a key work, then at least the movie that contains one of Hitch's most compelling sequences. “I wanted to show how difficult it is to kill someone”, Hitch said, and in a prolonged scene involving Paul Newman played without dialogue he certainly does. It's the high spot in a remarkably ridiculous Cold War thriller, very much of its period, with phoney locations, phonier (although admittedly deliberate) back projection, and, phoniest of all, the casting of Newman and Julie Andrews (particularly Andrews) as an alleged American defector and his fiancée. If there was any chemistry between the stars, it certainly doesn't show on the screen. Still, Hitchcock fans won't mind, and shouldn't miss it. Everybody else needs a very large pinch of salt.

Rating of 2 stars out of 4 Halliwell's Film Guide

Patchy Hitchcock with some mechanically effective suspense sequences, a couple of efforts at something new, a few miscalculations, some evidence of carelessness, and a little enjoyable repetition of old situations.

Time Out

Spy thriller in which Newman's defecting scientist is followed to East Berlin by his troubled fiancée/assistant... Read more on www.timeout.com

See all 3 Critics Reviews »

Members Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Rated - 2 starsA little disappointed

A customer from Manchester, UK , 14/08/2004

Well, this is my opinion and you don't have to agree. I thought this didn't really feel like it was a Hitchcock movie. I think maybe there was more attention paid to the stars (Paul Newman & Julie Andrews) than the tension.

Also, there was a distinct lack of humour in the dialogue which was flat and dull. Not Hitch's best, but there is a scene in an Austrian farmhouse that allows for some entertainment.

  3 out of 4 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 2 starsLack of suspence of the master of thrillers

Darren Oliver from London , 04/04/2005

Torn Curtain tells the story of a pre-eminent nuclear scientist Professor Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman) and his assistant and parter Sarah Sherwood (Julie Andrews) who defect to East Berlin in order to build a defensive nuclear weapon which the US government has stopped funding. However, all is not what it seems and both people are drwan into a desperate scramble to save themselves and escape the counrty.

Although there is nothing bad about the film, it is not one of Hitchcock's films. Newman seems ill at ease in the role and you are never entirely convinced how he managed to defectin the first place. Although the idea behind the film is strong, it is not translated to the screen particularly well and there is a distinct lack of suspence in the movie. Its also a little too long and the escape sequences seems to last forever.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 4 starsMary Poppins and the Master of Suspense

Matti White from London, UK , 05/08/2006

I'd always wondered about this... A Hitchcock film with JULIE ANDREWS? But, as a huge fan of Hitch, I had to give it a try.

For the first few minutes it was slightly bizarre to see Julie Andrews away from the sugary films for which she is so famous - but, it is a huge credit to her acting ability that this image soon disappeared.

Torn Curtain is not as suspensful as Hitchcock's other spy thrillers, such as The Man Who Knew Too Much and Topaz, but it is still a very intriguing film: the storyline is fairly fast-paced and there are plenty of little twists to keep your attention!

The Hitchcock magic is by no means missing in this film. The scene in the theatre is particularly interesting, and has some excellent editing which hightens the viewers excitement. There are also the brilliant little touches of comedy which have become a Hitchcock trademark.

The plot is slightly different from the average '60s spy film, with the main characters not actually being spies themselves! Unfortunately, the film does have a rather heavy anti-communtist bias, but given the time it was released, and that it is an American studio production, this may have to be excused!

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 3 starsTorn Curtain

Ryan Kent from Manchester , 22/03/2006

I've seen about twenty or so of Hitchcock's films and this probably rates amongst the least thrilling (although that's not necessarily a bad thing). I'm not going to bother explaining the plot, you can read it above. Torn Curtain doesn't have you on the edge of your seat like other Hitch classics Rear Window and North by Northwest but it does contain a famous scene involving Paul Newman, an East-German commie, a timid lady, a shovel, a kitchen knife, and an oven - just watch it. I think Hitchcock could have upped the suspense a little more in parts though. All in all a decent thriller, not on par with Saboteur but definately watchable and far from being his worst movie.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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Most Recent Reviews

Rated - 2 starsA little disappointed

A customer from Manchester, UK , 14/08/2004

Well, this is my opinion and you don't have to agree. I thought this didn't really feel like it was a Hitchcock movie. I think maybe there was more attention paid to the stars (Paul Newman & Julie Andrews) than the tension.

Also, there was a distinct lack of humour in the dialogue which was flat and dull. Not Hitch's best, but there is a scene in an Austrian farmhouse that allows for some entertainment.

  3 out of 4 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 3 starsTorn Curtain

Ryan Kent from Manchester , 22/03/2006

I've seen about twenty or so of Hitchcock's films and this probably rates amongst the least thrilling (although that's not necessarily a bad thing). I'm not going to bother explaining the plot, you can read it above. Torn Curtain doesn't have you on the edge of your seat like other Hitch classics Rear Window and North by Northwest but it does contain a famous scene involving Paul Newman, an East-German commie, a timid lady, a shovel, a kitchen knife, and an oven - just watch it. I think Hitchcock could have upped the suspense a little more in parts though. All in all a decent thriller, not on par with Saboteur but definately watchable and far from being his worst movie.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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