Search - Torn Curtain on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Violence, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1966 DVD Release: 03/06/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 8 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Spy Film, Thriller, Political Thriller See Also: Torn Curtain

A double agent has to contend with enemies on both sides of the political fence as well as the woman he loves in this thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Prof. Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman) is an gifted American physicist who, at the height of the Cold War, decides to defect to East Germany. To his surprise, his fiancée, fellow scientist Sarah Sherman (Julie Andrews) follows him, and she soon discovers Armstrong is no traitor, but acting as a secret undercover agent. As Armstrong attempts to ingratiate himself with political and scientific factions in East Germany, Gromek (Wolfgang Kieling) becomes his guide, though Armstrong is aware he's a government agent assigned to trail him, and as he tries to shake Gromek, Armstrong realizes his new "friend" knows what his real agenda happens to be. Torn Curtain was one of the rare Hitchcock films from his "classic" era which did not feature a score by Bernard Herrman; due to objections from his studio, Hitchcock removed Herrman from the project, though excerpts from the score he had begun were included as a bonus on the film's DVD release in 2002. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Paul Newman - Prof. Michael Armstrong
Julie Andrews - Sarah Sherman
Lila Kedrova - Countess Luchinska
Hansjörg Felmy - Heinrich Gerhard
Tamara Toumanova - Ballerina

The novelist Brian Moore, who scripted Torn Curtain, believed that losers were always more interesting than winners. This Paramount DVD release proves that while Torn Curtain is considered one of Alfred Hitchcock's few losers, it's still more interesting than most filmmakers' winners. The DVD's "making of" documentary is a big disappointment compared with others in Universal's Hitchcock reissue series. It doesn't feature any interviews with members of the cast or crew, and the narration seems like it was scripted by an old professor who can't wait to retire. This is unfortunate because the story behind Torn Curtain is so compelling. The movie was rushed into production before the script was finished and its bugs were never ironed out to anybody's satisfaction. To add to this, both Hitchcock's longstanding cinematographer and editor had just died, leaving him with a new set of collaborators. To top it off, the studio didn't like Bernard Herrmann's striking score for the picture and Hitch replaced it with one by John Addison. While Addison's work is fine, the DVD adds a couple of scenes with Herrmann's discarded score and they add a different, darker slant to the proceedings. Unfortunately, Herrmann never worked with Hitch again. While the DVD doesn't do justice to the film's history, it does feature an excellent anamorphic widescreen transfer that shows off John F. Warren's striking cinematography. Torn Curtain remains a noble failure, worthy of repeated viewings on this DVD. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide