This is very slickly made film which sadly doesn't have a good reputation or a decent widescreen release. The camera-work on the film is excellent with much moving camera a great score and good locations.
The odd thing is the bursts of full frontal nudity and one really graphic death scene. These seem to be included for fans of Bronson's gritty films but seem totally out of place here.
Sondra is dull as usual. Bronson solid. Robards doesn't seem to want to be bothered by doing a German accent. It has real visual sweep. Odd rather forced voice over which seems to be trying to set this up for a sequel perhaps at the end.
Despite these forced elements--of violence, nudity,and nostalgia--the bulk of the film works as a mystery and intrigue--rather than say action. One of the few of director Thompson's later films that really hearken back to his early Hollywood career of sweeping location quasi epics.
The ending builds suspense only to pay it off in an offbeat--and perhaps off putting way for some. Jerry Goldsmith contributes a fantastic score too, btw.
Deserves more respect and proper restoration than it gets especially among the later career of Bronson. In fact, as a bit of an update a blu ray of the film does now exist, you can see and enjoy the widescreen phototgraphy to it's full impact. The blu ray also includes a well made making-of-film done at the time, by one of Gregory Peck's children, no less!
