User reviews

One of Hitchcock's last movies, TOPAZ is actually an excellent movie. Sure, it's not Psycho or Rope, but it's a classic in its own right. Too many people who think "007" when they hear "spy movie" have probably seen this movie and been turned off by its realism and lack of explosions.

The acting is somewhat wooden, but it's not terribly noticeable until after the movie, when you have time to think about it. And the ending is incredibly abrupt, but so was the ending to Vertigo, and no one complains about that.

Hitchcock's work here is fabulous. The murder scene is absolutely incredible (the purple dress), one of Hitchcock's finest moments ever (up there with the Spellbound milk-drinking and the Rear Window climax). Another excellent moment, as previously mentioned, is the wordless bribing of secretary Uribe in the beginning of the movie. The opening scene of defection and the torture scene are also very good.

The plot is very good as well. Unlike Torn Curtain, which falls into nothing but repetitive scenes and events, Topaz's plot is coherent and engaging. It features several great twists and turns, and although many characters do have underdeveloped parts, that seems almost necessary to keep the movie under 3 hours.

It's not a Hitchcock classic, but it is certainly an excellent movie, and it deserves to receive much more credit than it does.

9/10

I had never seen this particular Hitchcock until now. After seeing it, I think it is not only under rated but it ought to get a lot more respect than it has previously. This is a film that will grow more respect as more people see it.

John Forsythe is the name actor in this, working with him earlier in Hitches dark comedy, The Trouble With Harry. In this film, Forsythe has no jokes. He is a top American Intelligence official. A lot of unknowns in 1969 played in this, some would get more fame later. Roscoe Lee Brown who just recently passed away has a key role in this film.

The reason this film is under rated I feel, is the lack of appreciation of Alfred going back to some of his earliest talent when he made this film. That was the talent he learned from mentor Fritz Lang, how to tell a story visually. In this film, there are several sequences where Sir Alfred does this with a deft masters touch. This film is better to me than the star powered Torn Curtain spy thriller he did previous to it.

There are times where the story is a little predictable. Leon Iris novel about the true incidents involving the intelligence operations exposing the Russian Missiles in Cuba is the reason for this. You can't change documented history. It has some brilliant backdrops & messages within the film.

Early on the quality of the photography shows up. Even deft subtle touches like Forsythe standing in front of a portrait of JFK stand out. If you really want to see this well, get the TCM version from the boxed set. Not only is the film digitally re mastered, but it has extras including 2 alternate endings tried for the film & Leonard Maltin's commentary on the film. It is interesting that Maltin observes the fascinating use of no sound for suspense employed by Sir Alfred in this movie, but he is not smart enough to realize where Hitchcock got it from.

Hitch was definitely still a great film maker in 1969. Audiences at the time might have still been worried about Russian's and the realism Hitchcock puts into this film is great.

A wonderful alternative scenario to the Cuban Missile crisis... and although I wasn't even born until years later, as a student of history, one wonders if Hitcock (as Tom Clancey of the 80s and 90s) didn't know more than he was supposed to... A very difficult plot to follow, but then, so is any real plot involving espionage, murder, and politics of the early 1960s and Cuban, American, and European politics of that time.

I consider all of Hitchcock's post-PSYCHO movies his late career output. While I have yet to see FAMILY PLOT, I can tell you that TOPAZ is the only one of these films I have enjoyed and to be honest, I am shocked I enjoyed it. After being bored with the likes of TORN CURTAIN and frustrated with everything else, I was expecting this other Cold War thriller to be a bore, but instead I found TOPAZ to be a wonderful slow-burn espionage story.

It is no doubt very different from Hitchcock's normal style: there are no big name stars, few flashy set-pieces, little in the way of dark humor. The general tone is one of understatement, but it is no less suspenseful than Hitchcock's best work. We still have scenes displaying Hitchcock's mastery at visual storytelling, rooted back in his early work during the silent era, as well as some imaginative staging and camerawork during even the most mundane scenes.

About the only flaw for me was the ending. It's far too abrupt and unsatisfying, with only a snarky sense of irony to prevent it from ruining the movie to a greater degree. The two alternate endings included on the DVD release are both far superior, suiting the characters and tone much better. Regardless, this is a fine, fine spy flick, worth the time of any movie lover.

I wasn't expecting much based on old reviews. However my husband and really enjoyed it. I recommend it!

This is not your typical Hitchcock film, nor is it an easy film to follow and understand, but Topaz is a fantastic film! Took me many years of living and a few viewings over the decades to get it. Topaz is complicated, with a half a dozen McGuffins, tons of fascinating and intriguing international subplots, two parallel love stories, and an amazing cast of actors. After watching Hitch films for 50 years, and following the politics and spy craft of America, Cuba, Russia and France, all of which is needed to appreciate this film, for those who do their homework this film will be loved and seen as high quality Hitchcock with tremendous suspense and one awesome Hitchcockian murder scene. Visiting Cuba (yes - go!) and understanding the context of the geo politics in 1962, with respect to Russia, France and America will help greatly. My only fault with the film is the musical score which is subpar; a shame the great composer Bernard Herrmann was not able to work on this film. I will only say this: if you love Hitchcock and modern day geo politics you will love Topaz!