| | | An Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece.
Features: DVD, Dolby, Digital Audio, English, Spanish, French, Aspect Ratio 1.33:1
Alfred Hitchcock s exciting 1942 wartime thriller stars Robert Cummings as a Los Angeles aircraft factory worker who witnesses his plant s firebombing by a Nazi agent. During the deadly explosion, Cumming s best friend is killed and he, himself, is wrongly accused of sabotage. To clear his name, Cummings begins a relentless cross-country chase that takes him from Boulder Dam to New York s Radio City Music Hall, and finally, to a harrowing confrontation atop the Statue of Liberty.Hitchcock s first film with an all-American cast moves with breakneck speed towards its spine-tingling climax to create a riveting masterpiece of suspense.System Requirements:Running Time: 109 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE
"A solid action thriller..." Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
"Full of quirky touches, unusual supporting characters, and some outstanding set pieces..." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
Editor's Note
A forerunner to Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST, SABOTEUR is the story of defense plant worker Barry Kane (Robert Cummings), who stands falsely accused of planning a factory explosion that killed his good friend. Recognizing that he has been set up and that no one is likely to believe his story, Kane is forced to piece together the little information he can recall from the event to find the true leader of a spy ring. The film carries themes later explored more deeply in other Hitchcock films. The lone hero escapes and races cross country, searching desperately for proof of his innocence. Kane has the good fortune to win the trust of a blind musician and later the affection of the musician's daughter, Patricia Martin (Priscilla Lane). Over the course of a series of explosive scenes Kane, both the pursuer and the pursued, approaches the inner circle of agents. Among the hairpin plot twists and near misses are the traditional absurd Hitchcockian touches--such as when the lovers seek refuge in a train car filled with circus misfits. The ultimate climax, the clash on the Statue of Liberty, is one of Hitchcock's most famous scenes.
Plot Summary
This grand Alfred Hitchcock thriller finds the director making full use of the North American continent and mythos to tell the story of an innocent on the run. Barry Kane (Robert Cummings) is a man unjustly accused of sabotaging an American airplane factory in Glendale, California, during WWII. He escapes the police with a daring jump off a bridge and sets out in pursuit of the real criminal. Full of quirky characters and plot surprises, this forerunner of THE FUGITIVE is a Hitchcock gem full of action as it spirals towards its stupendous climax.|
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono | | Featurette | | Interactive Menus | | Photo Gallery | | Scene Selection | | Theatrical Trailers |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 9/4/2007 |
| Running Time: 109 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1942 | | Catalog ID: 28312 | | UPC: 00025192831225 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"...Exciting early Hitchcock, including one of his most memorable finales." -- Rating: A- 09/20/1996 p.90DVD Verdict 8 of 10
Saboteur is a very interesting way station in Hitchcock's film career. Some elements of the story draw from his previous efforts (for example the sequence in the Radio City Music Hall is reminiscent of the movie scenes in Sabotage [1936, Britain] and the handcuffs and escaping couple remind one of The 39 Steps[1935, Britain]) while others are precursors to similar but more elaborate ones in the future...I can only hearken back to the capability of the two lead performers. Had we had two actors with more of an edge than Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane, Saboteur could have ranked with Hitchcock's top films. - Barrie Maxwell
Movie Vault 7 of 10
No review of a Hitchcock film, however, is complete without a discussion of the set pieces. In Saboteur, however, the set pieces are kept to a minimum running time: the initial firestorm at the factory is followed by the protagonist's escape by diving from a bridge; another attempted escape via horseback is quickly thwarted; the charity event in the third act is less choreographed set piece than a suspense sequence dependent on character interaction. - Mel Valentin
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