One of The Great Alfred Hitchcock's later films, Topaz is an international espionage thriller, set across various locations.
Topaz doesn't have the feel of a Hitchcock movie, firstly it doesn't have the usual pace and intensity, and secondly the story just doesn't feel like Hitchcock, it put me more in mind of John Le Carre.
Topaz isn't a bad movie, it has some wonderful elements, but at times it's quite a frustrating affair. It seems to lack a clear focus, it's a bit messy at times.
The opening sequences were fantastic, scenes of that Russian family fleeing KGB Agents in Denmark looked fantastic, they were fast paced and energetic, sadly the rest of the film was more pedestrian, the Cuban sequences at times were too drawn out.
Pacing was a real issue, at over two hours long, this could have easily been edited down to about 90 minutes, it would have flowed so much better, it needed to be so much tighter, if it were a conversation, it would be full of waffle.
The music does not fit this film, it's way too jolly, it would have fitted one or Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple films so much better, it really doesn't work.
The cast were pretty good overall, one or two were a little wooden, Karin Dor stole it for me.
The best element, the visuals, it's a remarkable looking film, it's a sumptuous, lavish production, it truly looks like it was done on a big budget.
80 minutes in and I needed a double espresso, as I was starting to nod off, the ending was pretty good.
6/10.
Topaz doesn't have the feel of a Hitchcock movie, firstly it doesn't have the usual pace and intensity, and secondly the story just doesn't feel like Hitchcock, it put me more in mind of John Le Carre.
Topaz isn't a bad movie, it has some wonderful elements, but at times it's quite a frustrating affair. It seems to lack a clear focus, it's a bit messy at times.
The opening sequences were fantastic, scenes of that Russian family fleeing KGB Agents in Denmark looked fantastic, they were fast paced and energetic, sadly the rest of the film was more pedestrian, the Cuban sequences at times were too drawn out.
Pacing was a real issue, at over two hours long, this could have easily been edited down to about 90 minutes, it would have flowed so much better, it needed to be so much tighter, if it were a conversation, it would be full of waffle.
The music does not fit this film, it's way too jolly, it would have fitted one or Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple films so much better, it really doesn't work.
The cast were pretty good overall, one or two were a little wooden, Karin Dor stole it for me.
The best element, the visuals, it's a remarkable looking film, it's a sumptuous, lavish production, it truly looks like it was done on a big budget.
80 minutes in and I needed a double espresso, as I was starting to nod off, the ending was pretty good.
6/10.