Review of Topaz

Introduction

I`ve not seen a Hitchcock movie for years, and, like buses, four come along at once! Topaz is the second of the four and features a plot set during the Cold War at the height of the Cuban missile crisis. Following the defection of a senior KGB agent to America, a secret mission to Cuba is organised to uncover the truth behind the Cuba-Russia trade agreement, and the participants in a ring of spies known as Topaz.

Video

The video is presented in 1.33:1 full-frame and is of reasonable quality given that the movie is now approaching 40 years old. The image is stable, but a little grainy at times and there is some evidence of dirt on the print. In addition, some scenes are a little lacking in contrast, leading to some overly dark shadows.

Visually the film suffers from an over reliance on rear projection and use of composite shots – a trait of many Hitchcock movies – and one which sadly ages the film badly at times. The rear projection is often slightly out of focus and less detailed than the foreground action, leading to rather unconvincing scenes at times.

Audio

The soundtrack comes in Dolby Digital Mono and adequately reproduces the dialogue and sound effects – as you would imagine from a 60`s movie – there isn`t much in the way of excitement from the soundtrack.

The dialogue is always clear and understandable, apart from where Hitchcock intends otherwise of course!

Features

Extras consist of alternative endings, the trailer and a documentary from film critic Leonard Maltin.

The documentary is superb, and looks at numerous aspects of the movie, with Maltin proving to be a very articulate and knowledgeable commentator. This is certainly one of the most informative documentaries I`ve seen and also includes production stills, deleted scenes and storyboards. There is also a look at the three different endings, which are included in their entirety elsewhere on the disc.

Conclusion

I hadn`t seen Topaz before and found it to be an enjoyable spy-thriller, with an interesting plot, good script and strong characters. Although criticised by some for not featuring any big stars, I thought that this helped the movie, as I had no pre-conceptions about the characters.

The video and sound are both as you would expect from a 1960s film, and they are backed up by good extras, which include an excellent documentary.