The Defector (1966)
- Original title
- L'espion
- Directed by
- Raoul Lévy
- Genre
- spy film, thriller film
- Country
- West Germany, France
- Runtime
- 1h 46m
- Rated
- 16
- Rating
- 5.8 of 10 from 9 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
An aging nuclear physicist is recruited by American intelligence to travel to East Germany and retrieve a top secret device. He gets drawn into a web of deception and personal danger while grappling with his own failing health.
moodysombertensemelancholicslow-burnbleakresignedunsettling
What happens
The Defector is a 1966 thriller film starring Montgomery Clift, Hardy Krüger, Roddy McDowall and Macha Méril. It was directed and co-written by Belgian director/producer Raoul Lévy and based on the 1965 novel L'espion (The Spy) by Paul Thomas. This was Clift's final film, and he only agreed to the part so that he could prepare himself for his next role in the 1967 film Reflections in a Golden Eye (the role went to Marlon Brando). Although obviously very ill (he died less than three months after most of the shooting was completed), Clift still managed to give a convincing performance in what has been termed a very moody and somber film. This characterization is in stark contrast to the exuberance displayed by his love interest, who was played by Méril, an obviously more youthful woman. Lévy committed suicide on December 31, 1966, less than two months after the film's American release. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Torn Curtain (1966)
The Lives of Others (2006)
The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
Z7 Operation Rembrandt (1966)
Spy Pit (1967)
Target for Killing (1966)
To Commit a Murder (1967)
To Skin a Spy (1966)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.