Eye of the Needle
1981 · Movie · R · 108 min · ★ 6.7 · 72% critics
In wartime Britain, a ruthless enemy spy carrying information that could affect the D-Day plans is hunted across the country. After a shipwreck, he hides on a remote Scottish island with only a small family for company, where suspicion, attraction, and survival collide as the net closes in.
Based on Eye of the Needle
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Details
- Years
- 1981
- Release date
- 1981-07-24
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 72/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.7/10 (254 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a tense WWII spy-on-the-run thriller with a moody island setting and a risky romantic thread, in the vein of Marathon Man; Not for you if you dislike slow-burn pacing or implausible coincidences.
Pros: relentless suspense; strong central performances; striking Scottish setting | Cons: uneven pacing; contrived plot turns; can feel confusing
Themes
- husband wife relationship
- based on novel or book
- submarine
- spy
- world war ii
- d-day
- period drama
- nazi spy
- cold blooded killer
- 1940s
- isolated island
Cast & crew
Donald Sutherland
as Faber
Kate Nelligan
as Lucy
Ian Bannen
as Godliman
Christopher Cazenove
as David
Faith Brook
as Lucy's Mother
Barbara Ewing
as Mrs. Garden
David Hayman
as Canter
Alex McCrindle
as Tom
Philip Martin Brown
as Billy Parkin
Stephen MacKenna
as Lieutenant
Directed by Richard Marquand