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Topaz [VHS] [1969]
 
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Topaz [VHS] [1969]

VHS ~ Frederick Stafford
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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9 new from £1.58 12 used from £0.01 4 collectible from £3.99

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Product details

  • Actors: Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, John Vernon, Karin Dor, Michel Piccoli
  • Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers: Leon Uris, Samuel A. Taylor
  • Producers: Alfred Hitchcock, Herbert Coleman
  • Format: HiFi Sound, PAL
  • Language English
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: Universal Pictures UK
  • VHS Release Date: 21 April 2003
  • Run Time: 120 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004R6MJ
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 8,578 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

    Popular in this category:

    #14 in  Video > Classic Films > Directors > Hitchcock, Alfred

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Alfred Hitchcock hadn't made a spy thriller since the 1930s, so his 1969 adaptation of Leon Uris's bestseller Topaz seemed like a curious choice for the director. But Hitchcock makes Uris's story of the West's investigation into the Soviet Union's dealings with Cuba his own. Frederick Stafford plays a French intelligence agent who works with his American counterpart (John Forsythe) to break up a Soviet spy ring. The film is a bit flat dramatically and visually, and there are sequences that seem to occupy Hitchcock's attention more than others. A minor work all around, with at least two alternative endings shot by Hitchcock. --Tom Keogh


Synopsis

An American CIA agent discovers a NATO spy.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars WARNING: Pan-and-scan version of widescreen movie!, 12 Mar 2009
By Kenneth F. Mcara "Kenneth F. McAra" (Dundee, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Topaz [DVD] (DVD)
For resons best known to themselves, Universal UK have issued most of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960s/1970s films (The Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz, Frenzy) in pan-and-scan 1.33:1 ratio, although these films were originally shown in widescreen (1.85:1).

This is available via Region 1 imported discs - if your DVD player is multi-region - but surely the UK deserves a better service than this!

Come on, Universal UK - give us the same remastered widescreen versions that are available for the US market!!!
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A thriller with no thrills, 26 Feb 2006
By L. Davidson (Belfast, N.Ireland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Topaz [DVD] (DVD)
It is hard to believe that Alfred Hitchcock was involved in "Topaz". It is most unlike the rest of his work. "Topaz" is nothing more than a run of the mill, dull and cliched spy thriller. The acting is wooden,the dialogue and characterisation uninspired and the film is bereft of any action and build up of suspense. The storyline itself sounds quite promising ; the Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet spy rings in French intelligence, defectors, suicides and illicit love affairs all feature and there are a variety of glamourous locations used for the film such as Copenhagen ,Washington ,New York ,Cuba and Paris. However "Topaz" remains curiously flat and prosaic throughout its excessively long running time of two and a half hours. Perhaps this is to do with the absence of a charismatic actor ,like James Stewart or Cary Grant, playing the key role of Devereux, or maybe Hitchcock's heart just wasn't in the film. "Topaz" certainly isn't up to his usual standards.
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8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not the usual Hitchock....., 25 April 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Topaz [DVD] (DVD)
1969's TOPAZ was Hitchock's second return in that decade to his earlierspy thriller films. Shot directly after 1966's TORN CURTAIN, Hitchcock'sTOPAZ is a more matter-of-fact tale than a genuine thriller where reallives were at stake. Essentially an American intelligence head (JohnForsythe) uses his friend in the French Intelligence (Frederick Stafford)to spy for the United States in Cuba and at the same time they try toferret out a high French official passing on secrets to the Soviets. Thisall takes place during the height of the Cuban missile crisis. Roscoe LeeBrowne as Philippe Dubois has the best scenes in the film as he has to getclose to the Cuban United Nations delegation visiting Harlem and stayingat the Theresa Hotel to photograph some secret papers from a high official(John Vernon as Rico Parra). These scenes were what Hitchcock called purecinema. TOPAZ contains an interesting score by Parisian Maurice Jarre.
Although not the usual Hitchcock movie and made after Hitchcock had passedhis prime, this is still an engrossing film which never gets the respectwhich it deserves.
10/10
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Some great filmmaking, but not a great film
Topaz is widely regarded as one of Hitchcock's worst films, but while certainly problematic there's still a lot to admire in this spy thriller set against the Cuban missile... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Trevor Willsmer

4.0 out of 5 stars Trapped by the Iron Curtain
After the cold war in East Germany in "Torn Curtain", Hitchcock had to deal with the big bad wolf, the USSR. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Jacques COULARDEAU

2.0 out of 5 stars No, this will not do!
This film proves that I am right! When I see the other reviews I see the disappointments upon seeing this film. Even with its 3 alternate endings! Read more
Published 17 months ago by Ogun Eratalay

5.0 out of 5 stars Slick, stylish and utterly absorbing..
This is without a doubt one of the most underrated films in history. In many respects it is 3 stories in one - it starts off with the defection of a Russian Agent in Denmark and... Read more
Published on 14 Dec 2004 by dht09

1.0 out of 5 stars I expected much better from Hitchcock
When I heard this film was very James Bondish I was instantly intrigued. Being a James Bond and Hitchcock fan, the idea of them being put together was great. Read more
Published on 14 Jul 2004

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