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Eye of the Needle (1981)
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Overview
Release Date:
24 July 1981 (USA) moreTagline:
Codename: "The Needle". Only one person can stop him: The woman who loves him ! morePlot:
A ruthless German spy, trying to get out of Britain with vital information about D-Day, must spend time with a young woman and her crippled husband. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
1 nomination moreUser Comments:
Sutherland proves that having sex is easier than riding a bike! moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Donald Sutherland | ... | Heinrich 'Henry' Faber | |
| Stephen MacKenna | ... | Lieutenant | |
| Philip Martin Brown | ... | Billy Parkin | |
| Kate Nelligan | ... | Lucy Rose | |
| Christopher Cazenove | ... | David Rose | |
| George Belbin | ... | Lucy's Father | |
| Faith Brook | ... | Lucy's Mother | |
| Barbara Graley | ... | David's Mother | |
| George Lee | ... | Constable | |
| Arthur Lovegrove | ... | Peterson | |
| Colin Rix | ... | Oliphant | |
| Barbara Ewing | ... | Mrs. Garden | |
| Chris Jenkinson | ... | German SS Officer | |
| William Merrow | ... | German Radio Operator | |
| Patrick Connor | ... | Inspector Harris |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
112 minCountry:
UKColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Australia:M | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #26243) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | West Germany:12MOVIEmeter: 
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The Needle's motorcycle is a Velocette moreGoofs:
Revealing mistakes: 1981 Juniper Films version on MGM DVD copyright 2000. The final, aerial scene edited onto this version must have been not-too-carefully reversed: one is flying away from the beach and up and around the lighthouse, and smoke is going *down* the chimney! moreFAQ
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Eye of the Needle is based on historical fact - the allies deceived the Germans into thinking that the D-Day invasion would take place at Calais rather than Normandy by assembling a dummy military force in Kent (not East Anglia as in the film). However, the intelligence and counter-intelligence manoeuvres that took place in maintaining this deception were rather more complex than in this simplistic movie.
The best part of the film is the culminating love affair on a remote Scottish island between the murderous German spy, Faber (Donald Sutherland), and the sexually frustrated Lucy (Kate Nelligan), which is credible and convincingly portrayed. Sutherland also has a few good scenes in the earlier parts of the movie, though certainly not the opening sequence with his curious accent and ludicrously stiff one-handed cycling! But most of the other characters are cardboard stereotypes, and the dialogue would not have been out of place in a 1930s B picture. (In particular, Ian Bannen as an MI5 sleuth makes the least of some especially ludicrous lines.)