Torn Curtain (1966)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Graham J

  
  Though it is a minor work for Hitchcock, this one still features many great moments and in my opinion is a huge step up from the two films before it.

• Alexander D

  
  This is actually the first real Hitchcock "flop"--bad acting, bad special effects, poorly conceived--but nevertheless suspenseful.

• Anthony L

  
  I hate to say it but Torn Curtain is fairly terrible. It's plot is thin, the script is awful and the lead acting and the story are a real let down. It's fairly well known that the production didn't exactly go to plan and many said during the filming that it was doomed… More
  I hate to say it but Torn Curtain is fairly terrible. It's plot is thin, the script is awful and the lead acting and the story are a real let down. It's fairly well known that the production didn't exactly go to plan and many said during the filming that it was doomed from the start but to be fair, it does have some good points. The scene in the farm house is brilliant, pure Hitchcock and utterly unforgettable. The colours and many of the scenes are as beautiful as you'd expect from a Hitchcock film and the supporting cast generally do a good job. It is just the ridiculous plot that is the problem, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews's characters are pretty stupid considering they are rocket scientists! Newman's heart isn't in it and Julie Andrews is woefully miscast. A real shame.

• AJ V

  
  This is my least favourite Hitchcock movie of all time so far. Andrews and Newman don't make a good team, and both aren't right for Hitchcock's movies either. The story is boring and confusing as well, which doesn't help. I don't recommend seeing this… More
  This is my least favourite Hitchcock movie of all time so far. Andrews and Newman don't make a good team, and both aren't right for Hitchcock's movies either. The story is boring and confusing as well, which doesn't help. I don't recommend seeing this movie.

• Conner R

  
  I absolutely love Torn Curtain, it’s a perfect Cold War thriller from the master of suspense. It has everything you could ask for: beautiful sets, a perfect script and a plot that captures the era in a way you don’t usually see. I think the pairing of Paul Newman and Julie Andrews… More
  I absolutely love Torn Curtain, it’s a perfect Cold War thriller from the master of suspense. It has everything you could ask for: beautiful sets, a perfect script and a plot that captures the era in a way you don’t usually see. I think the pairing of Paul Newman and Julie Andrews was an unlikely, but extremely rewarding match. It’s one of Hitchcock’s most underrated films and one of my absolute favorites. It still holds up today as being one of the most intelligently written and constructed period pieces, the paranoia of war is ever present.

• Tsubaki S

  
  I like some Hitchcock films, but this was boring. It's dated, tedious and could only be considered a "suspense" film if you're on medications. Andrews and Newman have zero chemistry together.

• danny d

  
  an underrated hitchcock classic. newman was solid as always and the story was interesting. because of the length of the film it loses a bit of steam at one point, but then it picks back up and ends well. overall a great film.

• Saskia D

  
  Although this movie was entertaining enough, Andrews and Newman just didn't really seem to match. There were moments when I almost expected Andrews to start singing! Which she didn't of course, but it was still funny (well, I thought it was funny anyway :p). Newman always… More
  Although this movie was entertaining enough, Andrews and Newman just didn't really seem to match. There were moments when I almost expected Andrews to start singing! Which she didn't of course, but it was still funny (well, I thought it was funny anyway :p). Newman always does it for me, so it wasn't really hard to sit this one out (aw shit, I went there again..) Although I haven't watched a lot of Hitchcock's movies, I don't consider Torn Curtain one of his best.

• Cassandra M

  
  The first time I watched "Torn Curtain," I grew bored and turned it off before it was over. I've watched it in its entirety more than once since then. It's difficult not to conclude that the master director's age was beginning to take its toll by 1966. It… More
  The first time I watched "Torn Curtain," I grew bored and turned it off before it was over. I've watched it in its entirety more than once since then. It's difficult not to conclude that the master director's age was beginning to take its toll by 1966. It could have been a great film except for some major flaws. First, the main characters. Newman and Andrews look distinctly ill-at-ease and their acting is wooden. There is very nearly no chemistry between them, and viewers are not really drawn into their somewhat implausible situation. Both actors are compelling in other films, but for some reason not in this one. Second, Hitchcock would have done better to keep his villains' identity less specific. In "The Lady Vanishes", "The Thirty-nine Steps," and "North by Northwest," the identity of the foreign agents is left deliberately vague and thus little plausibility need be attached to their actions. Here they are East German communists, of which we know rather a lot. Third, there are inconsistencies in the plot. At one point Newman and Andrews are forced to go out into an open space to avoid being overheard. But in another scene a pro-western spy communicates confidential information to Newman in a hospital room, seemingly oblivious to the possibility of wiretaps. Finally, there's John Addison's score, which seems to have been written quite independently of the film's action. A suspenseful scene is inappropriately matched with cheerful, melodic music. Everyone knows, of course, that Hitch's longtime musical collaborator, Bernard Herrmann, wrote a mostly complete score for the film, but the two had a falling out on the set and Herrmann was dismissed. Another example of poor judgement on Hitchcock's part. Herrmann's score would have immeasurably improved a mediocre film. (Look at "Obsession" nearly a decade later.) With all the recent film restorations, I would love to see someone redo "Torn Curtain" and put in as much of Herrmann's score as the composer was able to finish. (But perhaps there would be copyright problems.) Had Herrmann's score been used, the murder sequence in the farmhouse might have become as famous as the shower scene in "Psycho." As I was watching the protagonists flee through the East German landscape in their efforts to reach the west, I found myself thinking that, if they had only waited another twenty-three years, the wall would have come down anyway and they could simply have walked out! That's how much their plight gripped me.

• Mason W

  
  Torn Curtain starring Paul Newman & Julie Andrews is a classic Alfed Hitchcock film. Lies and deception plague this young couple. They are spies behind the iron curtain in 1960's Germany. I would not usually think of these two actors togeher or Andrews in a Hitchcock film… More
  Torn Curtain starring Paul Newman & Julie Andrews is a classic Alfed Hitchcock film. Lies and deception plague this young couple. They are spies behind the iron curtain in 1960's Germany. I would not usually think of these two actors togeher or Andrews in a Hitchcock film but it turned out to be a very good pairing.

• jay n

  
  Not top flight Hitch but still a good film.

• Pierluigi P

  
  although the story is somewhat weak, Hitch's visual skills and pace never let down, delivering an entertaining spy flick with one of the best murders ever filmed.

• Drew S

  
  Torn Curtain is a reasonably strong effort, but very uneven as Hitchcock goes. Julie Andrews tries her damndest, but her character is ostensibly the weakest heroine Hitchcock has concocted, with no defining traits except blind devotion to her husband. Paul Newman is similarly… More
  Torn Curtain is a reasonably strong effort, but very uneven as Hitchcock goes. Julie Andrews tries her damndest, but her character is ostensibly the weakest heroine Hitchcock has concocted, with no defining traits except blind devotion to her husband. Paul Newman is similarly cardboard. The plot is uninvolving and the suspense only works sometimes. Still, there are a lot of great moments. Hitchcock was a master cinematographer - his sense of the aesthetic is unparalleled. The movie works quite well about half the time, but when it doesn't, you have an obfuscated and uninteresting movie on the whole.

• Matthew Y

  
  If you were to read the plot summary "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" and then find out that double agent is Paul Newman and the woman he loves is… More
  If you were to read the plot summary "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" and then find out that double agent is Paul Newman and the woman he loves is Julie Andrews, you'd probably think Torn Curtain was a four star classic. Unfortunately, that is not the case, Torn Curtain is dull and remarkably boring and uneventful. There are two good scenes 1) When Newman and Andrews struggle to kill an enemy agent 2) The ending sequence where Hitchcock manages to get suspense out of a bus potentially being followed by...another bus. Everything else is complete poop!

• Burger S

  
  With Hitchcock's reputation and great talent like Newman and Andrews, I have to say I was dissapointed. In some of the outside scenes, the sets were obviously fake backdrops. It reminded me of a movie 25 years older - Gone With the Wind. The plot really dragged out and was barely… More
  With Hitchcock's reputation and great talent like Newman and Andrews, I have to say I was dissapointed. In some of the outside scenes, the sets were obviously fake backdrops. It reminded me of a movie 25 years older - Gone With the Wind. The plot really dragged out and was barely interesting. At the end when they make their escape back to the West it was a little suspensful, but still very dry.

• Mike T

  
  Even the films that we label as Hitchcock's misfires are hardly deserving of that term. This is a frequently panned effort that I actually enjoyed, full of fascinating visual concepts and brilliantly staged suspense. Paul Newman is a well-cast lead, and some of the camera work… More
  Even the films that we label as Hitchcock's misfires are hardly deserving of that term. This is a frequently panned effort that I actually enjoyed, full of fascinating visual concepts and brilliantly staged suspense. Paul Newman is a well-cast lead, and some of the camera work displayed is downright stunning. Worth a look for the "hard man to kill" scene in the farm alone.

• Andre T

  
  This is an excellent spy movie by the master Hitchcock.Classic scenes, like the KGB agent murder and the reunion with Prof.Lindt are anthological.

• Sunil J

  
  The story doesn't progress too far from where it starts but it's interesting and has a good cast.

• Leanna E

  
  I watched this as part of my 'Paul Newman night in' as I'm trying to catch up on all the movies of his I've missed out on. This is a tense cold war thriller, with a good storyline and some interesting plot twists, but its lacking a little something. The chemistry… More
  I watched this as part of my 'Paul Newman night in' as I'm trying to catch up on all the movies of his I've missed out on. This is a tense cold war thriller, with a good storyline and some interesting plot twists, but its lacking a little something. The chemistry between the two stars isn't all that great (did they not like each other in reality?), and there are some unnecessary scenes in the movie which you expect to take you somewhere in terms of plot development, but which end up going nowhere. The use of music here also leaves a lot to be desired! Overall, it kept me watching, but possibly only because I am a big Paul Newman fan. I have never been a huge fan of Hitchcock, and this certainly isn't one of his greatest.

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