Topaz
Universal Pictures | Release Date: December 19, 1969 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The New York TimesVincent Canby
Topaz is not only most entertaining. It is, like so many Hitchcock films, a cautionary fable by one of the most moral cynics of our time. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Hitch's most plausible, least suspenseful spy thriller, based on Leon Uris' reality-inspired novel of intrigue in Cuba and France. [23 Jun 2006, p.C2]
70
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Topaz tends to move more solidly and less infectiously than many of Alfred Hitchcock's best remembered pix. Yet Hitchcock brings in a full quota of twists and tingling moments. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
Few directors are capable of this kind of structural experimentation so late in their careers, and Hitchcock deserves much credit for his audacity. Read full review
67
ColliderCatherine Searcey
Despite these positive attributes in terms of the production and style, the actual plot is ultimately convoluted, confusing and quite dull. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyWesley Stenzel
Though one of his later films, Topaz suffers from unusual pacing that drags for long stretches, but it also features exemplary Hitchcock suspense sequences, including a brisk escape set piece in Copenhagen and an impossibly tense scene in Harlem. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Loosely based on the true-life exploits of French spy Philippe de Vosjoli and the 1962 "Sapphire" scandals in which top French officials were uncovered as Soviet agents, the film has a sense of authenticity but fails to fire up as much suspense as most of Hitchcock's intrigues. Read full review
40
TimeStaff (Not Credited)
At 70, Hitchcock seems suddenly to have forgotten his own recipe. Topaz contains no chills, no fever—and most disappointing, no entertainment. Read full review
40
Time OutGeoff Andrew
The near-incomprehensible plot (something about French and American agents trying to find out more about a Russian undercover group, directly involved with Cuba and working within the French security network) might appeal to devotees of Le Carré et al, but it certainly doesn't make for dramatically exciting cinema, especially given Hitchcock's flat, seemingly uninterested direction. Read full review
40
The New YorkerPauline Kael
A larger, slower, duller version of the spy thrillers [Hitchcock] made in the 30s.
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