Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.0

Eye of the Needle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 18, 2018

Richard Marquand's "Eye of the Needle" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailer for the film; archival audio interview with Donald Sutherland; alternate ending; four vintage British propaganda films; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The chameleon

The talent is there, and so is the good story from Ken Follett’s novel, but Eye of the Needle is still one seriously disappointing film. It demands so much blind faith from its audience to legitimize its characters that it is not long before the whole thing begins to look like an awful parody. Truly, one has to be incredibly naïve to even begin to accept that WW2 might have been won or lost by real characters behaving like the ones that Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan were hired to play.

An elusive German spy named Faber but known to his foes and comrades as The Needle (Sutherland) is on a mission to acquire crucial information that could determine who emerges victorious in an inevitable decisive clash between Hitler’s armies and the Allies. What makes the man hard to identify and catch are his incredible instincts and ability to constantly alter his identity, as well as the fact that he was raised in his enemy’s backyard.

While terminating various British agents that have been dispatched to get him, Faber makes a shocking discovery and collects vital visual data which he is ordered to personally deliver to Hitler. He arranges to be picked up by a German submarine, but a terrible storm destroys his boat and he ends up on a remote Scottish island. Here, he begins recovering thanks to the efforts of Lucy (Nelligan) and her handicapped husband (Christopher Cazenove). Not long after that, Faber manages to seduce the visibly frustrated Lucy who fails to recognize the cold killer hiding behind his soothing voice, and then goes to work to figure out how to reconnect with the people in the submarine that is supposed to take him back to Germany.

Follett’s original story is quite good, but Stanley Mann’s screenplay and Richard Marquand’s management of the leads in the unique period environment are awful. Frankly, there is a total disconnect between the authentic environment that temporarily emerges early on, which is desperately needed for the story to be convincingly recreated on the big screen and the one that overtakes it thanks to Marquand’s obvious desire to deliver a moving period melodrama. As a result, even before the action moves to the island it already feels like the material has been extracted from an overcooked late-night cable production.

The character transformations are especially problematic and the tension that is required to build up the drama never materializes. The entire segment where the supposedly cold-hearted spy quickly forces the frustrated wife out of her cage, she cheats on her husband and then the protective mother in her reemerges to defend her child and save her country is so poorly conceived that it is difficult to imagine that it was left in its current form. For a while, it feels like the clichés would never end, so when the critical climax eventually occurs the relief is immense. (By the way, there is an alternate ending on this release that makes it even more obvious that all along Marquand and his people had the wrong concept for the film. It is awful).

The only bright spot is the predictably brilliant symphonic score by the great maestro Miklos Rosza (Ben-Hur), but even the music routinely feels at odds with the visuals. A shame.

Eye of the Needle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Richard Marquand's Eye of the Needle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the BFI.

The release is sourced from a remaster that was prepared by MGM in the United States. It is an older remaster that can be quite frustrating because it is very inconsistent. Indeed, there are many well-lit close-ups with decent delineation that can trick one to assume that the rest of the visuals are also wonderful, but anywhere where there are gentle nuances and especially during indoor and darker footage where usually there is a lot of black crush it is painfully obvious that plenty of native detail is lost. In some cases the grain structure that ought to support the detail actually completely collapses and as a result the visuals instantly become incredibly flat and mushy (see an obvious example in screencapture #12). On the other hand, it is certainly true that the original cinematography handles light in very particular ways because direct exposure to it is often restricted and this is something that can produce unusual nuances, but the shortcomings of the remaster should not be excused and trained eyes will very quickly be able to identity the difference. Colors are stable, but this is another area where I feel that nuances should be expanded rather substantially. The good news is that there are no traces of sharpening adjustments. Also, overall image stability is excellent, and there are no serious source imperfections to report. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Eye of the Needle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very strong. Miklós Rózsa's dramatic symphonic score breathes with great ease and adds quite an edge to the action. The dialog is also very clean, stable, and easy to follow. There is no background hiss, pops, cracks, hum, or other serious age-related imperfection that may impact negatively your viewing experience.

Eye of the Needle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Eye of the Needle. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Alternate Ending - this alternate ending was previously included on the UK DVD release of Eye of the Needle. Remastered. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Commentary - this audio commentary features essayist Julie Kirgo, filmmaker Nick Redman, and music historian Jon Burlingame. It was recorded in 2018.

• Donald Sutherland Guardian Interview -presented here is a vintage audio interview with Donald Sutherland in which the actor discusses various phases of his career and his collaborations with different actors and directors. The interview was recorded at the National Film Theatre in 1987. In English, not subtitled. (73 min).

• Careless Talk Costs Lives: Wartime Warnings - presented here are three vintage propaganda films that were produced by Ealing Studios for the Ministry of Information in 1940. In English, not subtitled. (35 min).
  
  1. Now You're Talking
  2. All Hands
  3. Dangerous Comment

• Booklet - 12-page illustrated booklet featuring critic Paul Fairclough's essay "Threading the Needle", as well as technical credits.

Eye of the Needle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have tried multiple times over the years to like this film and it has never worked. I think that the original material from Ken Follett's bestseller was clearly mishandled by screenwriter Stanley Mann and director Richard Marquand and the end result isn't any better than what an overcooked period cable production typically offers. The entire second half is a classic example of how even very good actors can look mediocre because they were asked to work with a seemingly endless arsenal of awful cliches. The release is sourced from a remaster that was prepared by MGM. Occasionally it can look decent, but ideally the film should have a far superior appearance in high-definition.