Review of Torn Curtain (1966) by Corey M — 29 Sep 2008

Weak Hitchcock, the narrative felt overly familiar and that ends half way through the movie. Then there is about another hour of suspense and chases. They work well but they only feel like Hitchcock is just spinning his wheels.

The best sequences are the barn house fight and how Newman uses the echoing sounds in the Museum to escape. Not only are they effective because of tight editing and use of sound, but are actually pertinent to the plot at that moment.

I actually really liked the scene in the theatre too with the freeze frames on the dancer; but that was at the very end of the film so I barely even cared. Entertaining movie but could have gone through a re-write to better integrate the escape from behind the curtain.