Spy Vs Spy

Hopscotch is a fairly conventional spy thriller that's lifted by an excellent Walter Matthau performance and Ronald Neame's fine direction. Pushed out of his job as a field operative Matthau decides to write a book about his cold war escapades - cue a globe trotting game of cat and mouse as everyone scrambles to stop publication. An amusing little thriller.

Despite an impressive cast including Lancaster, Hurt, Hopper and Hauer Sam Peckinpah 's The Osterman Weekend is a right mess. Hurt stars as a widowed agent who enlists TV journo Rutger in hunting a Russian spy ring made up by his old college chums and encourages him to turn their planned weekend into a paranoia party. According to Wiki Peckinpah fought over the script, the production and the editing so I guess it's no surprise this is a preposterous and muddled thriller, apparently there's another cut available but I won't be bothering.