Line #3 Film/EyeOfTheNeedle


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eye_of_the_needle_lobby_card.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Lobby card]]
3	''Eye of the Needle'' is a 1981 UsefulNotes/WorldWarII spy-thriller film directed by Richard Marquand and [[TheFilmOfTheBook based on the book of the same name]] by Creator/KenFollett. It stars Creator/DonaldSutherland, Creator/KateNelligan, Christopher Cazenove, and Ian Bannen. Creator/BillNighy and Creator/RikMayall make their film acting debuts in bit parts.
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5	It's 1944, and the Allied Armies in England are on the verge of launching an invasion force to liberate mainland Europe from the Nazis. Henry Faber, a ruthless German spy nicknamed "Die Nadel" (The Needle) for his signature weapon, has learned that the coming invasion will not be at Pas-de-Calais like the Germans have been lead to believe, but at Normandy. With information that could turn the tide of the war, Faber makes his way across Britain with Allied agents hot on his tail, and finds himself stranded on a remote Scottish island populated by a reclusive ex-pilot, his wife, and their young son. As Faber tries to find away to alert his superiors, the wife begins to slowly fall for him, catching him a doomed love triangle as her husband begins to suspect he's not what he claims to be.
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7	''Eye of the Needle'' is notable as the film that convinced Creator/GeorgeLucas to hire Marquand to direct ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', impressed how he handled such a difficult production on-schedule and on-budget. To-date, it's the only theatrically-released adaptation of Follett's works.
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9	!!This work features examples of:
10	* AdaptationalVillainy: In the novel Faber is ruthless but not sociopathic to the event he is in the film. He kills the landlady who walks in on him, but is shocked by the act and [[StressVomit throws up afterwards]]. He can't bring himself to kill Lucy either, much to his own surprise. The film also downplays his misgivings with National Socialist ideology and that he considers himself [[MyCountryRightOrWrong a German patriot first and a Nazi a distant second]].
11	* AllGermansAreNazis: Faber isn't just a Nazi, he's a personal friend of Adolf Hitler.
12	* AnArmAndALeg: David gets both his legs amputated, leaving him largely wheelchair-bound and ending his burgeoning Air Force career.
13	* ArtificialLimbs: David has a pair of prosthetic legs that he uses outside the house.
14	* ArtisticLicenseShips: The German U-53 is portrayed by a British S-class submarine.
15	* BlueBlood: Faber's parents are both German nobility, and his parentage is said to be a big part of how he was able to rise through the ranks of the Nazi party so swiftly.
16	* BluffingTheMurderer: An unintentional version. [[spoiler:Lucy returns home after discovering David's body (seemingly dead of an accident), but just as she's about to tell Faber, he tells her (not realizing she's seen the body) that he just saw David alive and well.]]
17	* CareerEndingInjury: David's career as a fighter pilot is cut short by a car accident on his wedding day.
18	* ChildrenAreInnocent: How David and Lucy's son is portrayed.
19	* DeepCoverAgent: Faber is one, working as a supervisor at British munitions and train yard and frequently fraternizing with servicemen and officers, at least until his cover is blown.
20	* EvenEvilHasStandards: In the novel after killing the landlady, Faber tears the clothes on her corpse to [[InfractionDistraction make it look like a sex crime]], but refuses to [[ILoveTheDead rape the body]] to further sell the illusion because he won't go that far "even for the Fatherland".
21	* {{Fauxreigner}}: Faber's as English as they come, replete with a "chin-chin" attitude and a love of good tea. You'd never guess he was an undercover German spy.
22	* FeedTheMole: What the British were doing to Faber and his fellow agents. The plot of the film is kicked off by him realizing he's been had and rushing to get the correct information to his superiors.
23	* GenreMashup: It's a spy thriller, set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, with a romance at the center.
24	* HandicappedBadass: Despite being a double amputee, David has no qualms about [[spoiler:fending off Faber after he realizes he's a German spy, very nearly killing him before being thrown off a cliff.]]
25	* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Faber asks his fellow spy this [[spoiler:before stabbing him to death.]]
26	* JustPlaneWrong: The helicopter used by the Allied agents wouldn't exist for another several years.
27	* LeaveNoWitnesses: How Faber treats anyone who might be able to ID him.
28	* PaperThinDisguise: Faber never makes any attempt to disguise or significantly alter his appearance. It's also notable that he doesn't even seem to be using alias.
29	* RealityHasNoSubtitles: The film has several scenes of untranslated German.
30	* RetractableWeapon: Faber's signature stiletto, a thick, razor-sharp needle that pops out of a metallic handle.
31	* RunForTheBorder: Faber is trying to get to a U-Boat off the coast of Scotland to get out of Britain before the D-Day invasion.
32	* SwitchToEnglish: Faber insists he and his fellow spy converse in English, lest a passerby overhear some German and become suspcious.
33	* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: Until his cover is blown, Faber is thought by everyone as a quintessential Englishman, well-liked and even admired by his friends and neighbours.

Context Film / EyeOfTheNeedle