This movie is from a famous director, and is a famous movie in its own right. The script was based on a novel, and the English translation of the novel's title is "Cold Sweat- From Among the Dead." This movie is largely set in and around San Francisco (California.) This movie had an alternate ending. As was common at the time, the European censors were appeased by an ending that made sure no villain got away. (It can be seen as a deleted scene in the Collector's Edition.) Two of the main characters are safe, and a radio announcement tells of the arrest of the mastermind behind the crime.
It has been said that you need to see this movie at least twice to get it- once to focus on the plot, and once to focus on the characters and themes and so on. One criticism of this movie is the pacing- it suffers from a lack of explosions, fist fights, and flash, and the first half APPEARS to have little happening in it- the first time you see the movie. But if you trust that the movie earned its reputation and the director did as well, you can stick with it and observe the movie transform while you watch. Martin Scorcese raved about this movie. Among his comments- "As is the case with all great films, truly great films, no matter how much has been said and written about them, the dialogue about it will always continue." "In fact, it just stands alone - period. For such a personal work with such a uniquely disturbing vision of the world to come out of the studio system when it did was not just unusual - it was nearly unthinkable." He also praised the "astonishing" title sequence and the "tragically beautiful score."
One of the main characters is seen early in the movie, in a high-rise apartment. It is his friend's apartment, not his own, and he is visiting. Otherwise, we'd have a rather curious question to pose to the character or the director. Roger Ebert said of this movie that it was one of the two or three best films this director ever made, and the one where he dealt most with the themes that defined his art, that it was the most "confessional." One of the most famous shots of the film was achieved by zooming the lens in while simultaneously pulling the camera back. The mission seen in the movie was an actual one, and exists to this day- although the movie added a bell tower that does not (which was obviously necessary for the movie.) The director has a "don't blink" cameo towards the beginning of this movie, in front of the shipyard, carrying a trumpet case.
This movie is, apparently, famous enough that a remake has been considered. Robert Downey Jr has been cast to play the male lead, if it ever actually gets filmed. Since this film has a considerable following, the restoration of the film- restoring the color, remaking the audio- was accomplished rather painstakingly. They used the director's original notes concerning the audio tracks as guidelines. They were also clever enough to hide hisses, pops and bangs in the source tapes by adding sounds appropriate to the scenes- like extra seagull cries and a foghorn to the scene at Cypress Point. Due to a matter of who owned the rights to the movie, the movie was not released for DVD home viewing until 1998, but has been released several times since then, on DVD and Blu-Ray, as a standalone movie and as part of a collection of the director's works (at least 3 different collections have been done and included it so far!) (It was released on VHS in 1985.)
At the time this movie was released, the reviews were lukewarm at best in the US and in the UK. In France, the reviews were positive. (Ideas about what makes a great movie can vary from country to country, and is one reason why "foreign" films can seem so foreign when we try to make sense of them.) The British Film Institute does a once-a-decade list of what leading critics consider the top 10 films of all time. This film, initially, did not make the list. Later, it reached the list, and has moved up and down in the top 10, even holding the top spot once. Critics disagree as to whether this film classifies as "film noir." It is in color, but the plot, tone and motifs are pointed to as the qualifiers by dissenters.
