Topaz
With John Forsythe, Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin.
US, 1969, 35mm, color, 127 min.
One of Hitchcock’s only overtly political films, Topaz is a densely-layered spy story set during the Cuban Missile Crisis, inspired in part by the director’s admiration for John F. Kennedy. Taken from the best-selling novel by Leon Uris and based on an allegedly true account of a communist spy being discovered within General Charles de Gaulle’s entourage, the film also served as Hitchcock’s opportunity to create a “realistic” counterpoint to the James Bond films, which in his mind had plagiarized and ruined his trademark brand of romantic suspense. Featuring a huge cast without any stars and relying largely on dialogue to forward its complex plot, Topaz engages with reality on a level unseen in Hitchcock’s other films, even incorporating actual footage of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Vertigo
To Catch a Thief
The Trouble with Harry
The Paradine Case
Stage Fright
Rebecca
Notorious
Rear Window
Dial M for Murder
Lifeboat
Saboteur
Murder!
Family Plot
Under Capricorn
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Spellbound
Strangers on a Train
Torn Curtain
Suspicion
Shadow of a Doubt
