It's the atmosphere, stupid ...

I've always thought of 'Torn Curtain' as Hitchcock's best and I've seen about 90% of his films more than once. The main reason being the aspect I've mentioned in the subject title: atmosphere. Heaps of it, if only you care to get into the whole 'cold war period feel'. Atmosphere, mood and tone more than anything else in the film lend the picture a sense of foreboding, of fear hidden just beneath the surface, of uncertainty parading as normality, of colours made up of shades of grey.
Sure, there are gripes to be had with many aspects of 'Torn Curtain': the almost laughable use of green screen-studio backdrops, the possibly irritating overacting of characters such as the professor or Gromek, the somnambulant acting of Newman and so on, but - again - atmosphere makes up for this by a very long stretch indeed.
As someone in the know as to the historical setting (I'm a history buff), I feel that the film - and I admit this may not really have been the intention of all involved - succeeds marvelously in (re)creating the sense of doom, negativity and hopelessness so entwined with and in the period in question: the almost panicky fear as beautifully portrayed by Lila Kedrova's character, brought about by a lifelong longing to escape the oppressive social and political climate of the GDR; the mounting suspense during the bus ride, felt by all - aboard and in front of the tv/film screen; the menacing and unrelenting presence of Gromek; the unsettling, total absence of any joy whatsoever in Carolyn Conwell's face and predicament; the depressing drabness and dreariness of the hotel room, decked out in - again - those shades of grey; the eerily silent walk in and around cold war Berlin's Pergamon museum ...
I could go on citing lots of examples like that, only to bring home once again the fact that I gladly overlook and ignore the flaws in acting, production design, credibility and the likes, because the atmosphere is what keeps bringing me back to this film. Total immersion: yes, indeed, what ANY film should provide the viewer.