Customer Reviews
a laconic cat and mouse game - By: Dr. U. L. Khawaja, 28 Aug 2008 
flawed yet laconic cat & mouse game
i both liked & disliked but then took obvious delight in mike winner's cold war espionage thriller,
the script left innuendoes without any crystal clear answers to various riddles ,but it was definitilely nihilistic & a dark,atmospheric,piece which satisfies even today,
burtlancaster as-cross is rather typecast with his quizzical ,morose look ,delon as laurier is also average-the movie is stolen by zarkov-paul scofield ,he is worth watching in every scene & the aphorisms he utters are in total context & make this an above average movie,
the set pieces from vienna are inspired from the THIRD MAN BY O.WELLES & it is evident vienna has that surreal ,mystic,impressionist appeal for expressionist cinema ,it does vacillate between georgetown,moscow,paris & vienna & still remains coherent & entertaining in a trashy but familiar manner ,
it is devoid of any humour & that is a bleak flaw-yet it is terse & brutal & winner does indeed deliver a winsome thriller in the end .
the finale is both surprising yet predictable & still you do like the cat loving assassin delon & his mentor burt,who is accused of being a double agent without clear reason -lancaster has some reallly good action pieces & he delivers even at his age .
finallly the movie works with it's handsome production design -my mouth was watering at the antique treasures in zarkovs apartment in vienna & some intriguing suspense with a twist which was rather tame but but still imaginative .
usman khawaja
- jbz7879
Readers' Reviews (1)
