Saboteur is typically Hitchcock. Its succession of incredible climaxes, its mounting tautness and suspense, its mood of terror and impending doom could have been achieved by no one else. That is a great tribute to a brilliant director. Like all Hitchcock films, Saboteur is excellently acted. Norman Lloyd is genuinely plausible as the ferret-like culprit who sets the fatal airplane factory on fire. Robert Cummings lacks variation in his performance of the thick-headed, unjustly accused worker who crosses the continent to expose the plotters and clear himself; but his directness and vigor partly redeem that short-coming. Not the director's fault. Cummings was always an actor with limited range and Hitchcock gets the best out of him. There is the customary Hitchcock gallery of lurid minor characters, including a group of circus freaks, a saboteur whose young son has the macabre habit of breaking his toys, and a monstrous butler with a sadistic fondness for a blackjack. TRIVIA: The shot of the ship on its side towards the end (when Fry looks out of the window on his way to the Statue of Liberty) was an actual shot of the sinking of the USS Normandie, which had been sunk at its pier in what turned out to be an actual act of sabotage. (But it was the Mafia, not Nazi spies, who did it - they were hoping to persuade the government to pay them to provide protection against Nazi sabotage.) The US Navy wanted Hitchcock to delete it from the film, but he refused. The world premiere of Saboteur took place in the Radio City Music Hall Cinema, which itself features in a prominent sequence in the picture. There is no on-screen credit for the actor who portrays Barry's ill-fated best friend Ken, despite the fact that he gets several lines and acts as the catalyst for the rest of the plot. 4 STARS OUT OF 5 Saboteur Alfred Hitchcock Buy UK Dvd (This Site) (Shipped from UK) Single Disc [2001] Actors: Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, Norman Lloyd, Otto Kruger, Alan Baxter Director: Alfred Hitchcock Format: Black & White, PAL Language: English Region: Region 2 (UK & Europe) Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number of discs: 1 Classification: PG Studio: Universal Pictures UK DVD Release Date: 2001 Run Time: 104 minutes DVD Features: Main Language: English Saboteur: A Closer Look - Making Of Storyboards Hitchcock Sketches Art Gallery Theatrical Trailer 4 Page Booklet with Production Notes SUBTITLE TRACKS: English German Dutch Swedish Norwegian Danish Finnish Price: £12.99 (UK Sterling) / $ 27.99 (US Dollars) (Shipped from UK) (Price includes worldwide postage & packaging) Also available: amazon.co.uk Movie Review Alfred Hitchcock saboteur dvds | videos al pacino | michelle pfeiffer yul brynner | christopher plummer | romy schneider the godfather | the godfather part ii marlon brando | james caan | diane keaton | al pacino laurence olivier | clark gable | vivien leigh | leslie howard | alfred hitchcock | robert montgomery | grace kelly olivia de havilland | humphrey bogart | howard hawks | frank capra | charlie chaplin | lauren bacall | fritz lang jean harlow | greta garbo | ava gardner | audrey hepburn | edward g. robinson | john garfield erich von stroheim | wim wenders | madeleine carroll | marlene dietrich | rita hayworth alfred hitchcock dvds alfred hitchcock videos Movie Review Alfred Hitchcock saboteur dvds | videos al pacino | michelle pfeiffer yul brynner | christopher plummer | romy schneider the godfather | the godfather part ii marlon brando | james caan | diane keaton | al pacino laurence olivier | clark gable | vivien leigh | leslie howard | alfred hitchcock | robert montgomery | grace kelly olivia de havilland | humphrey bogart | howard hawks | frank capra | charlie chaplin | lauren bacall | fritz lang jean harlow | greta garbo | ava gardner | audrey hepburn | edward g. robinson | john garfield erich von stroheim | wim wenders | madeleine carroll | marlene dietrich | rita hayworth Page created by: lenin@netcomuk.co.uk Changes last made: 2004