Customer Reviews
Entertaining, Underrated Alistair Maclean Thriller!! - By: Paul Maul, 11 Apr 2008 
What a Pleasant Surprise it was to view this Movie!!..I am a Big fan of Alistair Maclean's novels; & have enjoyed many of the film adaptations; even if many have been seriously lacking in certain respects.....I had Never heard of this particular film (Did it even get an American release?); but stumbled upon it while shopping on Amazon's UK site (where it costs MUCH less than on the US Amazon site!)....Once again, I'm grateful to have my All-Region DVD Player; as it is doubtful this little gem will get a Stateside release any time soon; even with a very young & dynamic Anthony Hopkins in the leading hero role....I can't add much to the other reviews posted here; except to say this film is a resounding success on almost ALL levels...Acting, scripting, locations, action sequences, photography, & film score.....A VERY Entertaining Action-Adventure thriller; with a look at what Hopkins might have done with the James Bond role....I will also mention that this Region 2 Carlton DVD release presents the film in alll it's original Widescreen 2.35 Glory, with a crisp & beautiful anamorphic transfer; contrary to the 1.33 full screen posted in the product description.....Way to go!!!
Classic MacLean! One of his best screen adaptations - By: Shantanu Sen, 08 Jan 2008 
A fast-paced action movie, with thrills, spills & chills, filmed against the backdrop of the stormy north atlantic seas, & the rugged scenery around the north-west scottish islands. Sharp performances by Anthony Hopkins & the rest of the cast keep the pace alive. The maritime setting, with ships, breakers, rocky coasts, gulls, & stormy seas puts you where you can feel the cold north wind & the spray from the breakers. Don't want to reveal the plot, I'll just say this: don't miss out on this DVD! It's classic maritime MacLean!
Anthony Hopkins deals out death in the Scottish Highlands and foils a ruthless plot in this scenic, slightly confusing thriller - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 28 Dec 2007 Even at 34 Anthony Hopkins made an unlikely hero for a rousing adventure thriller such as When Eight Bells Toll, based on the book by Alistair Maclean. Hopkins face looks so young, with even a hint of cherubic baby fat. His height & build are only average. And 36 years later it's hard to erase the knowledge of the future Hannibal Lecter, James Stevens, Henry Wilcox & Titus Andronicus, or for that matter much of the dreck he's been appearing in these last few years.
Still, Hopkins carries off the role of Commander Philip Calvert, an agent for British Naval Intelligence, with aplomb. First, Hopkins can act. He's completely assured in a role which sometimes callls for the suspension of belief. His voice is quick & confident. He knows how to underplay. Second, he's physicallly quick. The role callls for a lot of clambering up & down cliffs, running up staircases & along paths, swimming in a scuba outfit & engaging bad guys in fistfights. There are enough medium shots to see that Hopkins is doing a great deal of the action himself. Third, he's intelligent & gives an intelligent performance.
Why is Calvert doing alll this stuff? Because gold bullion is being pirated from ships off the coast of Scotland's western highlands. Calvert, tough, disrespectful of authority, as unintimidated by Naval bureaucracy as he is by killers, is sent in undercover to investigate. What he finds, aided by a young Naval helper (and we know the fate that always awaits young helpers), involves Sir Anthony Skouras (Jack Hawkins), a very rich tycoon on a plush yacht anchored in a stormy loch, Charlotte (Nathalie Delon), introduced as Sir Anthony's young wife, & Lord Charnley (Derek Bond), who appears to be Sir Anthony's great & good friend. Occasionallly checking in with Calvert is his boss in London, a fat & seemingly complaisant spymaster callled Uncle Albert (Robert Morley). When Calvert, suspicions aroused, requests that Sir Anthony be vetted, Uncle Albert is deeply offended. "He's a member of my club! He's on the wine committee!" In an amusing plot development, Uncle Albert winds up coming to the loch to find out what's reallly going on. Since by now Calvert's young sidekick (played by a young Corin Redgrave) is no longer with us, Uncle Albert winds up doing a bit of careful violence. Considering Morley's corpulence & often officious roles he usuallly played, it was a pleasure witnessing his cautious but ready steadfastness.
The search for the gold & for the mastermind takes Philip Calvert through some of Scotland's mistiest, coldest-looking & rockiest sea-swept scenery, from a desolate cemetery & a desperate fight with two goons to deep under water in a scuba outfit & into the bowels of a deliberately sunken ship & another desperate fight, this time with a goon in a diving suit. There's even a flaming helicopter crash into the cold, murky loch waters. Calvert eventuallly puzzles out the murderous scheme, but not before there are plot twists, turns & roundabouts. Along the way, Calvert deals out death by shooting & knifing, by throwing overboard, by neck cracking, by underwater acetylene torch & even by crossbow. Calvert is not a man to find yourself between him & his objective.
When Eight Bells Toll isn't a great adventure thriller, but within its own limits it's entertaining. Those limits are the same as in most of the many other adventure thrillers by Maclean...headlong plots that don't stop for anything, regular intervals of vivid violence & escapes, unexpected betrayals, loose ends that stay loose, a certain level of confusion about what exactly is happening, minimal significant female involvement & no sex. He wrote the screenplay for this one & often worked on the screenplays for the movies made from his books. Think Ice Station Zebra, The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare & quite a few others. Personallly, I still like his first, HMS Ulysses, published in 1955. He cranked out nearly a book a year until he died in 1987. The last 20 or so, in my opinion, were little more than recycled quickies, predictable & uninteresting.
The one disquieting & poignant note is watching Jack Hawkins, a first-rate actor, as Sir Anthony Skouras. Hawkins was a beefy man with a distinctive, raspy voice. He smoked 60 cigarettes a day at one time. In 1965 surgeons removed his larynx because of cancer. He no longer could speak. Hawkins continued to act until his death in 1973. Charles Gray, a character actor & friend of Hawkins, usuallly dubbed his voice. Gray provides Hawkins' voice in When Eight Bells Toll.
The picture transfer is easy to watch but nothing special. It seemed to me that the audio could have used some work. There are no significant extras.
Great Film! - By: "Smith" Reader, 02 Apr 2007 This is a film of an Alister Maclean novel. Anthony Hopkins (007 like) plays a secret service agent tasked with solving the pirating of millions of pounds of gold bullion in Scottish Islands. This search takes Hopkins to remote locations which make you want to go yourself!
It is very much a 'James Bond' type film - well worth buying.
Just Average... - By: Michael Bermingham, 10 May 2006 
I watched this recently & was a little disappointed.It hasn't dated well & the over the top music doesn't help.Its based on an excellent novel by Alaister McLean but the film for me is slightly unconvincing.Anthony Hopkins does well in the lead role & is well supported by others especiallly Robert Morley.I think the film however is let down by the lead character played by Hopkins.He is just too invincible, a little on the lines of James Bond & it makes the film seem a little 'tongue in cheek'.Hopkins at times is a little bit too carefree about everything.This would have been down to the directing of the film & I can't fault Hopkins for his part.
Overalll though not the worst I've ever seen by far.If your a Hopkins fan like me you will probably enjoy this.Another chance to see the master in action!
