1922年,23岁的希区柯克执导他的首部电影《13号》,宣告了一代悬念大师的银幕初登场。曾执导过多部电影史纪录片的英国导演马克·卡曾斯以《13号》百年庆为契机,推出了这部致敬希区柯克的论文电影。影片出人意料地从希区柯克的角度出发,以口述方式(由著名影星阿利斯泰尔·麦高恩配音)、模拟了一出“希区柯克带你看希区柯克电影”的戏码。通过这个虚拟的主观视点,向影迷介绍希区柯克数量庞大的经典作品中的共通点、以及隐藏在趣味和高能背后的视听技巧,亦展现了卡曾斯本人的博学和洞察力。
厌倦了逃亡生涯的匈牙利赝品画家艾米尔德霍瑞(Elmyr de Hory)于1969年回到西班牙伊维萨岛,成为岛上名人,并结识了美国作家克利福德艾尔文(Clifford Irving)。导演奥逊威尔斯在介绍艾米尔德霍瑞的同时穿插讲述了曾轰动一时的克利福德艾尔文造假美国飞行业大亨霍华德休斯自传案,随后又杜撰了女友欧嘉蔻达(Oja Kodar)与毕加索之间的一段奇事。真假穿插中,奥逊威尔斯提出了“艺术是什么”与作品归属权的问题。
本片是美国导演奥逊威尔斯的最后一部完整的电影作品,大部分镜头素材来自由艾尔文克利福德编剧,法国导演弗朗索瓦莱兴巴赫(Francois Reichenbach)导演的关于匈牙利赝品画家艾米尔德霍瑞的BBC纪录片。
Although this rather lame crime story is labeled as a giallo in most books, it lacks almost everything that makes a giallo a great thriller. This film looks like a classic Agatha-Christie-like murder mystery that came about 12 years too late (would it have been made in the Mid-1960s, it would at least have gone through as a rip-off of the British Miss-Marple-mysteries starring ...
A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of a secret meeting held just after the start of the Vietnam War between Dell and the then President's most trusted advisors.
Whitney Cameronn (Cotten), a man with a strong affection for his sister-in-law (Peters). When one of her stepchildren dies, it's revealed that the child was poisoned to death. Whitney suspects his sister-in-law committed the murder and is afraid that her other son may be in danger. The film climaxes during an ocean voyage aboard a cruise ship.
二战后,美国作家马丁(约瑟夫科顿 Joseph Cotten 饰)应好友哈里(奥逊威尔斯 Orson Welles 饰)邀请到维也纳工作,岂料刚到达目的地就传来了哈里车祸身亡的消息。哈里葬礼上,马丁遇到了当地军官卡洛维,卡洛维很不客气的请他马上离开维也纳。马丁没有理会,决心留下调查出好友死亡的真相。
马丁找到哈里的女友斯科姆特小姐(阿莉达瓦莉 Alida Valli 饰)一起调查事件的真相。随着调查的深入,他们发现内幕越加扑朔迷离,首先是他们的房东遇害,接着马丁自己发现被人跟踪,而且他查出哈里死的时候还有个第三人在场。于是,一切关键就在于找出这个神秘的第三人。