Rent Topaz (1969)

Cold War. - Topaz review by Steve

Alfred Hitchcock's longest film is another cold war thriller. He was inspired to make his previous film, Torn Curtain, by news stories about the Cambridge spy ring, but really this is more similar, though with French government officials handing over secrets to the Soviets in Cuba.

It's tempting to compare Hitch's two cold war thrillers, which oddly get criticised for not being what the other one is. Torn Curtain is typical Hitchcock and got negative reviews because he was repeating himself. But Topaz gets overlooked because it's an outlier. There are no stars, no romantic subplot and no bravura set pieces.

 The most memorable image is a view from above of a gunned down Cuban counter-revolutionary, her dress pooling beneath her like spreading blood. The ensemble cast is mostly made up of French actors. There's a a nice atmosphere and it looks appealingly unglamorous.

Hitch tells the convoluted story- from a novel by Leon Uris- reasonably well. But this is the forgotten Hitchcock. While it doesn't add anything to the director's considerable reputation, it is still an interesting period piece which leads up to a satisfyingly cynical and understated twist. But it's a bit long and slow in getting there.

Underrated - Topaz review by NP

The sprawling, epic nature of this espionage story is its chief pleasure and most of the spy-craft sequences showcase Hitchcock's technical genius (especially the set-piece with the florist – a character entirely deserving of his own franchise). Okay, some of the actors leave something to be desired, but when the filmmaking is this impeccable I'm willing to overlook the flaws.