Enjoyable mystery movie involves a guilt-ridden agent , and her new friend who attempt to locate a strange murderer who leaves Jewish signals ; as it begins with an ancient warning and it ends at the edge of Niagara Falls . A feverish thriller in the Hitch style containing several iconographic elements and dealing with an ex-secret serviceman called Harry Hannan (a tremendous Roy Scheider) and his wife being attacked by hoodlums (Joe Spinell) when they find on holiday . The government agent barely recovered from nervous breakdown after seeing his spouse shot by bullets and he then becomes involved into a criminal intrigue . As someone attempts to push him under a train , other people pursues to him . Later on , he receives a mysterious death threat in Aramean language . There happens five murders , Harry must solve the or die trying . Meanwhile , an anthropologist (a non box-office actress named Janet Margolin , here excellent , though sadly died a bit later on) unintentionally shares Scheider's flat . Scheider has his old colleagues (Christopher Walken) and his brother-in-law (Demme frequently casts Charles Napier) out to get him .

Entertaining mystery movie packs thrills , action , suspense , pounding soundtrack and breathtaking outdoors from Niagara . This agreeable picture has a number of elements and iconography from Alfred Hitchcock : vertiginous heights , innocent men wrongfully accused , gorgeous bombshells , voyeurism , long non-dialogue sequences , among others . Demme's tribute to Hitch includes various street scenes from ¨Marnie¨ , the bell-tower from ¨Vertigo¨ and the final climax straight from ¨Saboteur¨ transferred from the Statue of Liberty to Niagara Falls . Furthermore , ¨Niagara¨ by Henry Hathaway , in which there is also a Femme Fatale played by Marilyn Monroe who spells a deranged man performed by Joseph Cotten and of course the breathtaking Niagara Falls with people fighting next to viewpoint similarly to ¨The last embrace¨. However , the film achieved limited success and in some countries was shunned by its distributors . Good acting by Roy Scheider as a secret agent becomes involved in a deep nightmare and Janet Margolin as a strange woman who has taken possession of his flat . Ample support cast formed by notorious secondaries such as John Glover , Sam Levene , David Margulies , Jacqueline Brookes , and Charles Napier . And brief acting from Christopher Walken , Max Wright and Mandy Patinkin . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Tak Fujimoto ; director Demme frequently uses Tak Fujimoto as his director of photography . Thrilling and intriguing musical score by the classic Miklos Rozsa in Bernard Herrmann style . The motion picture was well directed by Jonathan Demme who was voted the 45th Greatest Director of all time . Here includes his ordinary touches such as characters looking directly into the camera and heavy use of steadicam interspersed with shots of hand-held shots .

I can see what the critics say about the Hitchcock aspects, and it it similar to the Marilyn Monroe film, Niagara (towards the end),but this is quite a good film from director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs). When his wife and a cop are killed, Harry Hannan (Roy Scheider) has a breakdown, and the department he works for don't want him back. He knows someone is trying to kill him, but other suspicious deaths suggest there is more to it. His only help seems to be from the mousy Ellie Fabian (Janet Margolin) living in New York. She turns out to be a key suspect though (somehow),and there are great chase sequences that lead to Niagara Falls, where she dies. Also starring John Glover as Richard Peabody, Sam Levene as Sam Urdell, Charles Napier as Dave Quittle and Christopher Walken as Eckart. To be honest, all I was interested in was the good music by Miklós Rózsa, the big stars, the violence, and the great chases, but besides that, there is not much in my opinion. Good!

This film certainly had a memorable scene with a man clinging for his life with Niagara Falls below! It's always stuck with me, even though it has been a long time since I've seen the movie. I've been waiting for this to be released on DVD so I can see it again, but as of now it's only available in Region 2.

It might be fun again just to see veteran actors Christopher Walken, Mandy Patinkin and John Glover in a film made 30 years ago. Director Jonathan Demme has done some interesting films since then, too.

Most of the story involves "mysterious" people chasing others and if I went into it in any detail it would ruin things for anyone who hasn't seen it. That's especially true because there are so many twists and turns in this story. However, to be frank, I think Hollywood has overdone "conspiracy theory" movies, of which this is one. I also think the profanity could have been lowered in here, especially by Roy Scheider's character "Harry," and the film would still have been just as intense.

What I really appreciated, more than the actors or story, frankly, was the photography and Demme's direction. There were a lot of really interesting camera angles, shots that zoomed in an out and other gimmicks that I usually fall for. There were enough of them to carry the first hour, at least. Living not too far from Niagara Falls, I was glad to see that in the climactic finale.