Eye of the Needle (1981)

This 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.

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)

I 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...

The movie Eye of the Needle is one of the most exciting pictures I've ever seen - in 40 years of being a movie buff. The historical setting of England at the start of World War II, and the remote channel island puts you in another world. As in other movies, where we often side with the villain, we find a German Admiral played by Donald Sutherland, a spy operating in England. His dedication to his assignment causes him to work tirelessly, and at times ruthlessly for Germany. You might hope that things could end differently, because it involves a heartbreaking romance with Kate Nelligan in an outstanding performance. If you haven't seen this movie, I suggest you make an effort to do so.