Barnes & Noble

The professional spy’s existence, glorified in the wildly popular James Bond movies, was effectively deglamorized in this superb 1965 adaptation of John le Carré’s bestselling novel of Cold War espionage. It’s still a potent, realistic, and gripping film, thanks largely to Martin Ritt’s matter-of-fact direction and Richard Burton’s sober, thoughtful portrayal of an embittered British secret agent nearing the end of his career. Importuned to take a desk job, he instead undertakes what is perhaps his most dangerous assignment: stalking a crack East German agent (Oskar Werner). The tension is almost instantly palpable, because the Burton character is depicted as weary, disillusioned, and therefore susceptible to defection. Spy doesn’t rely on the picturesque locations or super-scientific gadgetry seen in the Bond films; it takes place in the gray, grimy cities of Europe and revolves around the exacting cat-and-mouse games that apparently cause even the most clever spies to burn out. The normally flamboyant Burton underplays his role with perfect control, and Werner is similarly punctilious about his character. Ritt’s command of pace and tone heightens the sense of realism and generates bona fide suspense as the advantage shifts from hunter to hunted. The Cold War is long over, but le Carré’s fictional spies still retain the capacity to grab viewers and keep them engrossed in diabolical chess games, in which these accomplished agents often find themselves used as pawns. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by John Le Carre, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold stars Richard Burton as a dispirited, end-of-tether British secret agent. He comes in from "the cold" (meaning he is pulled out of field operations) to act as a undercover man behind the Iron Curtain. To make his staged defection seem genuine, Burton goes on an alcoholic toot and is imprisoned and publicly humiliated. Once he has been accepted into East German espionage circles, Burton discovers that what he thought was his mission was a mere subterfuge--and that he's been set up as a pawn for an entirely different operation. Though Ireland and England "stand in" for East Berlin, Spy Who Came In From the Cold has the air of authenticity throughout, thanks in great part to the bleak black and white photography by Oswald Morris. The film was condemned as incomprehensible by those filmgoers accustomed to the simplistic melodramatics of James Bond; seen today, the double-crosses and double-double crosses seem all too clear and credible. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 715515033121
• Source: CRITERION
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: B&W, Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Language: English
• Time: 1:52:00
• Sales Rank: 8,324

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