Hopscotch (1980)
DVD9 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 16:9 | Cover | 01:45:29 | 7,77 Gb
Audio: English AC3 1.0 @ 192 Kbps | Subtitles: English SDH
Genre: Adventure, Comedy | The Criterion Collection #163
DVD9 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 16:9 | Cover | 01:45:29 | 7,77 Gb
Audio: English AC3 1.0 @ 192 Kbps | Subtitles: English SDH
Genre: Adventure, Comedy | The Criterion Collection #163
Director: Ronald Neame
Stars: Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Sam Waterston
Miles Kendig knows too much. One of the CIA’s top international operatives, he suddenly finds himself relegated to a desk job in an agency power play. Unwilling to go quietly, Kendig, with the aid of a chic Viennese widow, puts himself back in the game by writing a memoir exposing the innermost secrets of every major intelligence agency in the world. The CIA wants Kendig dead, but he refuses to cooperate—he’s having too much fun. Based on Brian Garfield’s best-selling novel, and starring the inimitable comic team of Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson, Ronald Neame’s Hopscotch is a smart and stylish tale of international intrigue and a cat-and-mouse comedy.
Miles Kendig is a seasoned 30-year CIA operative who is demoted by Myerson, his new chief, for being soft on Communism. The agent shreds his file and takes off for Salzburg where he settles down for a while with an old lover and considers his options. Kendig decides to write an expose on the activities of the CIA and other espionage agencies around the world.
Most of Hopscotch is just that — scenes of Kendig hopping from one country to the next while being pursued by those who have the most to lose by the release of his memoir. Director Ronald Neame makes the best use of locations in Munich, Salzburg, Bermuda, London, and the Deep South as the ex-CIA wizard comes up with a delightful bag of tricks to elude his enemies.
The cast is superb: Walter Matthau's Kendig is a clever fellow whose wit is as sharp as his mind; Glenda Jackson is charming as his lover; Ned Beatty's portrayal of Myerson is a funny study of a by-the-book bureaucrat. Sam Waterson is just fine as Kendig's protégé; and Herbert Lom as a KGB agent is suave and self-seeking. Hopscotch offers a successful mix of adventure, comedy, and romance.
Edition Details:
• Video introduction featuring interviews with director Ronald Neame and novelist and screenwriter Brian Garfield (21:50)
• Original theatrical trailer and teaser
• The original television audio track, remixed for family viewing, presented as an alternate audio track
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