Eye of the Needle

1981 Juniper Films version on MGM DVD copyright 2000.

The final, aerial scene edited onto this version must have been not-too-carefully reversedone is flying away from the beach and up and around the lighthouse, and smoke is going *down* the chimney! Other then in Burma, and a bit of Coast Guard work, Helicopters were not around in Military use (or few others for that matter) in 1944.

That model was not flown by the RAF until 1953.

The car which is driven by David Rose on the island is a German 4WD type DKW Munga, which was built after the war between 1956 and 1968.

Several of the trains shown in the film are in British Railways livery but British Railways was not formed until 1948.

As Inspector Godliman is speaking to other officials at a harbor in Scotland, modern radar antennas can be seen on some of the boats behind them.

In the scene when needle goes to the base where all the mock-ups are, the Jeep the MPs are riding is a Willys Model M-38, which was not manufactured until 1950.

When David & Lucy's MG TA goes off the road an incendiary/smoke effect is already burning/smoking where the car is about to crash to the ground.

The farm truck is left hand drive, the reverse of normal for the British Isles.

In the scene where Lucy is getting away in the truck, we see it has normal peace-time headlights, not the black-out ones during the war.

While in the taxi, approaching the railway station, you can see double yellow lines through the car window.

Double yellow lines were first introduced in 1958.

Just before ditching the stolen motor cycle Faber crossed Connel Bridge near Oban.

In the period of the film it was a railway and road bridge, and there were no signs of railway lines.

(In the 1960s it was also a toll bridge.

) When Faber is trying to get into the house he says "I'm not going to hurt you Lucy, I promise, but I am coming in" we see him reaching up for the bolt as he finishes this line and his lips are not moving.

When Faber pulls into the train station in the cab, an 80s-style sign for National Westminster Bank can been seen in the cab's rear window.

Also in the same shot on the side window of the cab an 80s style blue car can be seen.

The opening credits roll over scenes of British soldiers at a train station and in the background is a truck with US Army markings.

After the credits, there is a title card marked "London 1940".

However, the US wouldn't enter the war for another year so there shouldn't be any US military vehicles present.

After Lucy sticks the nail into the light bulb socket, her thumb and first two fingers are blackened from the electrical shock.

Moments later at the shore, her fingers are now back to their normal color.

When Lucy finds her dead husband in the surf, she wades into the water to get his body.

A few minutes later when she's back at the farm house, she's completely dry.

The submarine that is going to pick up the needle is U53.

U53 was sunk on the 23 of feb.

1940 In the North sea by the British destroyer HMS Gurkha.

When Lucy drives up to (followed by Farber on foot) the lighthouse, and ditches the car, the twilight shows mostly clear skies, yet it is pouring rain and we are led to assume very stormy weather.

This is one of the greatest and most passionate World War 2 and/or spy movies ever made, and it is so British! :-) German spy Faber (superbly played by the ever-errant Canadian actor Donald Sutherland) was a nonconforming discipline problem as a naval cadet and so became an intelligence officer for (anti-Hitler) Admiral Canaris's Abwehr agency.

I have wanted to see this movie forever since this is how Marquand got the directing job for Return of the Jedi. I thought the suspense and everything was really good but I think it would have been much better if it just focused on the island.

Good entertainment based loosely on WWII fact. Patton, the army's best general, was wasted (Patton was on the 'outs' with President Roosevelt and General of the Army Eisenhower because Patton, in combat, slapped a cowardly private in the Italian campaign) on a ruse to deceive the Germans as to the allies intended D-Day landing location.

I saw this film first and then read the Ken Follet novel from which it comes. They are both gripping thrillers and stand alone in their brilliance because every now and then the people bringing a text to a visual media get it right.

This top-notch mystery movie with ingenious plot contains tension , mystery , surprises and , of course , a suspenseful ending , dealing with a Nazi German spy acting undercover as an Englishman who becomes involved with a married woman . The title "Eye of the Needle" is that it is a reference to the eye of the stiletto blade that Nazi spy Henry Faber uses to kill his enemies .

One of the best movies of all time. I have seen this movie at least three times and it is still riveting.

Dear Kate Nelligan, your presence and performance made this above average spy thriller set during the second world war, worth a watch. Your were nice to look at what with your buxom presence and winning manner.

A really good story. Once again, one of the hidden gems of storytelling that should be retold - vs remaking cult classics that everyone will inevitably despise Hollywood for.

Donald Sutherland is superb as "The Needle", a Nazi spy pursued by the British government during World War II. Circumstances land him on Storm Island, a small, wind-swept patch of land off the English coast.