Eye of the Needle

"To love a stranger is easy. To kill a lover is not."

1981 1h 48m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 269

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Great Britain, 1944, during World War II. Relentlessly pursued by several MI5 agents, Henry Faber the Needle, a ruthless German spy in possession of vital information about D-Day, takes refuge on Storm Island, an inhospitable, sparsely inhabited island off the coast of northern Scotland.

“To love a stranger is easy. To kill a lover is not.”

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Cast

Donald Sutherland
Faber
Kate Nelligan
Lucy
Ian Bannen
Godliman
Christopher Cazenove
David
Faith Brook
Lucy's Mother
Barbara Ewing
Mrs. Garden
David Hayman
Canter
Alex McCrindle
Tom

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Marquand
Writers: Stanley Mann
Languages: English, German
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Marquand, shot by Alan Hume. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sean Barton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan and Ian Bannen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "To love a stranger is easy. To kill a lover is not.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Marquand directs. Alan Hume behind the camera. Miklós Rózsa scores. Sean Barton cuts. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

145 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Richard Marquand, shot by Alan Hume. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Sean Barton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan and Ian Bannen carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "To love a stranger is easy. To kill a lover is not.".
9IMDB entry: tt0082351 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "husband wife relationship", "based on novel or book", "submarine", "spy".

The technical file

Cinematography: Alan Hume
Original score: Miklós Rózsa
Editing: Sean Barton
Production design: Wilfred Shingleton
Makeup / hair: Wally Schneiderman
Sound: Gerry Humphreys
Stunt coordinator: Eddie Stacey
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $18,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Eye of the Needle (1981)

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Richard Marquand

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2023-04-27
★ 8/10
To kill and love during WW2 with Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan A German spy in Britain (Sutherland) has strategic info on the D-Day landing in 1944. As he tries to elude the authorities, he stumbles on a couple living remotely near the coast (Nelligan and Christopher Cazenove). Will he make it out? Who will live and who will die? "Eye of the Needle” (1981) is a war drama/thriller, but not a conventional war movie. The plot has similarities to “The Eagle Has Landed” (1976) with the same actor as the spy (Sutherland). It’s almost as if they’re the same character. The difference is that “Eagle” features military combat whereas this one is decidedly a spy-on-the-run flick with the thrills thereof. Like “Eagle,” this is easily one of Sutherland’s top movies. The British scenery is awesome, the palette is colorful, the adventure is compelling, the drama/romance is good and the suspense is off-the-charts in the final act. There are elements of “The Eagle Has Landed,” “The Heroes of Telemark” (1965) and the later “The House on Carroll Street” (1988). If you like these flicks, this is a must; it’s as good or better than any of ’em. The film runs 1 hour, 52 minutes, and was shot in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, which is located in southwest Scotland, including Oban, nearby Connel Bridge and the Isle of Mull. Studio stuff was done in England in the greater London area, as well as the airport scene filmed at Blackbushe Airport. GRADE: A-

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