Torn Curtain
by Alfred Hitchcock
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DVD details
Actor: Julie Andrews, Paul NewmanDirector: Alfred Hitchcock
Brand: NBC Universal
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); German (Original Language); Norwegian (Original Language); Swedish (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 128 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-02-07
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Torn Curtain
DVD Review: "You will take coffee with me, Professor Armstrong!"
Summary: 4 Stars
At the height of the Cold War, American nuclear physicist Michael Armstrong is playing a very deep game. On the surface it seems as if the discontented professor has defected to East Berlin, to beyond the Iron Curtain. But this is a Hitchcock thriller and "on the surface" only means that the story's just getting started, and that first glances can be deceiving. Hold on for that switcheroo. It's coming.
When you ponder Alfred Hitchcock's best suspense thrillers, TORN CURTAIN probably doesn't surface on the memory until very late. TORN CURTAIN, THE PARADINE CASE, and THE WRONG MAN tend to wallow in obscurity while more celebrated films like NORTH BY NORTHWEST and TO CATCH A THIEF always seem to get the spotlight. And rightly so.
Hitchcock got the idea for TORN CURTAIN from a real life incident in 1951 when two British diplomats, Guy Burges and Donald McClain, defected to Russia. Hitchcock went on to muse: "What did Mrs. McClain think of the whole thing?" TORN CURTAIN is broken up in three acts, and we view the first act thru Julie Andrew's eyes. She plays Michael Armstrong's fiancee and assistant, Dr. Sarah Sherman, and we witness her growing disquiet as Michael begins to behave very suspiciously. She catches him in a lie and trails him to East Germany, and she promptly becomes a complication Professor Armstrong did not at all envision.
The second act begins and the viewpoint switches to that of Armstrong as we follow his initially puzzling movements. In fact, it's not until around the 44 minute mark that we finally for certain get wise to the true goings on. The third act is basically comprised of a series of chase scenes, and Hitchcock unveils another suspenseful permutation of his patented man-on-the-run concert hall sequence.
One scene towers above the rest. On the heels of those flashy James Bond thrillers, Hitchcock had intended to demonstrate the dirty side of the spy game and how noticeably out of depth Newman's amateur operative is with the cloak and dagger business. In particular Hitchcock wished to demonstrate just how hard it truly is to kill someone. I'm not about to forget that extended murder scene in the farm house, in which the victim gets put in a stranglehold, stabbed, whacked with a shovel, and then asphyxiated (that last one does the trick). Don't think I didn't catch the irony of the East German agent finally getting his via a gas oven. But, no, murder ain't easy.
There's no denying the moments of sluggishness. Several things factored into TORN CURTAIN being dismissed as an artistic flop. MARNIE's death at the box office had something to do with it, as an unsure Hitchcock then allowed the studio to interfere with his creative process. Julie Andrews was an actress he didn't want for the film, but the studio insisted and then her limited availability made Hitchcock rush into production before he was entirely satisfied with the script. Then he was forced to fire his longtime collaborator, composer Bernard Herrmann, and in hindsight Herrmann's work would probably have elevated the film. Hitchcock clashed with Paul Newman, an outspoken gent who had his own issues with the script. Newman and Andrews could have displayed better chemistry onscreen; a fiery romance would've tremendously helped the story. And, other than the oven scene, I don't recall much of Hitchcock's penchant for black humor.
DVD features include: the "TORN CURTAIN Rising" documentary which explores the themes in the movie as well as detailing the film's troubled shooting history (00:32:24 minutes); scenes scored by composer Bernard Herrmann before Hitchcock fired him; this includes Herrmann's scoring for the extended murder scene, which by the way improves it (00:14:36); production photos; 7 pages of production notes; and the theatrical trailer.
Has the march of time improved Hitchcock's 50th film? I'm no expert, but it's pretty evident that it's not in the same stratosphere as the more heralded stuff by the Master of Suspense. But TORN CURTAIN, irregardless of chemistry issues, does have two all-time movie stars playing the leads - but, no, Julie Andrews doesn't sing. The tension-fraught set pieces aren't quite as tension-fraught as Hitchcock's masterpieces, but they're still heaps better than most other director's efforts. Who else but Hitchcock can jangle one's nerves merely by a bus gradually catching up to the camera? Heck with it, I'm rating this 4 out of 5 stars. You can't mess with Hitchcock.
But someone hand some mustard to the aging Lila Kedrova, who plays the raggedy countess so frantic to escape to America. The mustard is for all her ham.
Description of Torn Curtain
World-famous scientist Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman) and his fiancee/assistant, Sarah Sherman (Julie Andrews), travel to Copenhagen for a physics conference. When Sarah mistakenly intercepts a message meant for Armstrong, she believes that he is secretly defecting to East Germany. Or is he? As Armstrong goes undercover to glean top-secret information, the couple find themselves running for their lives from enemy agents in this action-packed thriller. Starring: Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Lila Kedrova, Hansjorg Felmy, Tamara Toumanova, Ludwig Donath, Wolfgang Kieling, Gunter Strack, David Opatoshu, Gisela Fischer, Hansjoerg Felmy Directed by: Alfred HitchcockPaul Newman and Julie Andrews star in what must unfortunately be called one of Alfred Hitchcock's lesser efforts. Still, sub-par Hitchcock is better than a lot of what's out there, and this one is well worth a look. Newman plays cold war physicist Michael Armstrong, while Andrews plays his lovely assistant-and-fiancée, Sarah Sherman. Armstrong has been working on a missile defense system that will "make nuclear defense obsolete," and naturally both sides are very interested. All Sarah cares about is the fact that Michael has been acting awfully fishy lately. The suspense of Torn Curtain is by nature not as thrilling as that in the average Hitchcock film--much of it involves sitting still and wondering if the bad guys are getting closer. Still, Hitchcock manages to amuse himself: there is some beautifully clever camera work and an excruciating sequence that illustrates the frequent Hitchcock point that death is not a tidy business. --Ali Davis
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