Topaz
The Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, brought a best-selling spy novel to the screen with riveting results in this spellbinding espionage thriller. John Forsythe stars as an American CIA agent who hires a French operative named Devereaux (Freddrick Stafford) to go to Cuba and check out rumors of Russian missiles and a NATO spy called Topaz. In Havana, Devereaux's investigation becomes dangerous, leaving behind a wake of shaken governments, murder, betrayal and suicide. His mission complete, Devereaux returns to France but as he moves in to expose the double agent, the danger and the suspense builds to a heart-pounding conclusion in this lavish, globe-trotting thriller.
Member Reviews
My kind of film but not typical Hitchcock - Coconut_Willy
Although there are some shots in this movie where you will recognize Hitchcock's style, this is a much more straightforward spy movie than what he has accustomed us to. The storyline is very good and intricate. It is well developed in general although I thought there were a few superfluous side plots that basically just stretched the movie. The cast is unusually large with a few well known faces of French cinema doing a fair acting job with a well written dialogue and interesting characters. The sets and locations are very good, the soundtrack is good and the camera work is appropriate. Again, a few shots are very good but overall, pretty ordinary. After watching this movie, I was satisfied that it was an interesting political thriller but I was also a bit disappointed that Hitchcock did not use much of his trademarks in it; not much humor, not a lot of suspense through shots and editing. A pretty good although long film that would probably be considered very good from anybody else, but subpar for the Master.Not on par... - kevinm
This Hitchcock film is not quite on par with the rest of his work. It is quite long and the plot is too drawn out. The 'fun' elements of a classic Hitchcock are missing like suspense, great cast and simple plotline... I only recommend it to true fans of the man, who like myself wish to see the whole body of his filmwork...Fans Only - Movie_Maven
Any fan of Hitchcock will undoubtedly sit through this long, tedious exercise but casual fans take heed. There are certainly some stunning visuals but the usual Hitchcockian tropes are mostly absent here. The DVD extras will try to convince you otherwise but I think the argument is futile. Even the great ones have a dud.
Member Reviews
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My kind of film but not typical Hitchcock - Coconut_Willy
Although there are some shots in this movie where you will recognize Hitchcock's style, this is a much more straightforward spy movie than what he has accustomed us to. The storyline is very good and intricate. It is well developed in general although I thought ...Not on par... - kevinm
This Hitchcock film is not quite on par with the rest of his work. It is quite long and the plot is too drawn out. The 'fun' elements of a classic Hitchcock are missing like suspense, great cast and simple plotline... I only recommend it to true fans of the ...Fans Only - Movie_Maven
Any fan of Hitchcock will undoubtedly sit through this long, tedious exercise but casual fans take heed. There are certainly some stunning visuals but the usual Hitchcockian tropes are mostly absent here. The DVD extras will try to convince you otherwise ...