The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

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John le Carre's classic spy yarn gets a suitably brisk, unromanticized telling in this quintessential Cold War movie. A British agent (Richard Burton) sets up an elaborate cover story for being lured into defecting to the Communists, but he hardly needs to manufacture his disgust and cynicism over spying. The grim business of point-counterpoint espionage has rarely been depicted with less glamour; Burton's great climactic speech on the subject is the definitive take on sinking to the level of the enemy. Claire Bloom is an offbeat love interest, and a bearded Oskar Werner is an East German investigator on Burton's case (the pecking order in the Communist spy hierarchy is a source of black humor). Director Martin Ritt extends his unvarnished approach to the movie's stripped-down look, which means that Richard Burton is constantly in a harsh, unflattering light. He looks terrible, but it's in the service of a fine performance. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Gripping Cold War Intrigue.......2007-08-13

I remember when this movie was first released, a friend saw it and afterward complained bitterly about how boring it was. This was around 1965 and he was expecting something more along the lines of James Bond, Our Man Flint, Matt Helm or any of the other James Bond knockoffs going around back then. But "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" was totally different. No flashy fantasy picture here; this is stark, cold reality showing cold war espionage the way it probably really was.

The movie is shot in black and white adding to the stark reality. The musical score is very subtle and low-keyed and used sparingly as the tension builds, but still manages to set the desperate mood of the story. The acting is superb; Richard Burton and Oskar Werner give outstanding performances. The tribunal and escape scenes toward the end of the movie are some of the most powerful you'll ever see as the many facets of the mysterious Operation Rolling Stone finally come together.

I really appreciate understatement and compactness in film and this is a good example of that. There are absolutely no wasted scenes or dialog, no throwaway gag lines and no laughs. Every minute of this serious film is vital to the story line. The audience must pay close attention. It must have been quite a challenge for director Martin Ritt to film such a complicated story, but he and the screenwriters pulled it off

A blurb in my copy of the book by John LeCarre says this is one of the best spy stories ever written and I totally agree. The screenplay is generally faithful to the book. The dialog is taken almost verbatim from the book in many of the most powerful scenes, and the story itself is a masterpiece of convoluted intrigue. I've read the book and seen the movie each several times and I see different angles to the story each time. This is one of the best spy films from the cold war era that you will ever see.

THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD.......2007-08-09

RICHARD BURTON IS TREMENDOUS IN A VERY EXCITING FILM WHICH HAS A LOT OF TWISTS AND TURNS RIGHT UP TO THE VERY END - A GREAT MOVIE

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.......2007-07-02

The finest anti-James Bond movie ever made, Ritt's adaptation of John Le Carré's novel portrays the bleak world of Cold War espionage in a decidedly realist, unromanticized fashion. Burton, in a masterful performance, portrays Leamas as a brooding, beleaguered soul who's thoroughly disgusted with his line of work, as well as the world's dueling ideologies. Excellent performances by Oskar Werner (as an East German spook) and Sam Wanamaker (as traitorous go-between Peters) add heft, while Claire Bloom brings pathos as Nan Perry, the leftie library assistant who sees beneath Leamus's alcoholic fog and world-weary veneer. Terse direction, moody cinematography, and icy plot twists keep "Cold" from freezing up.

BEING A SPY IS COLD OUT THERE.......2007-06-19

John LeCarre debunks the James Bond glamour myth with it's bevy of beauties and clever gadgetry to give us the real portrait of espionage during the cold war years. Spies were nothing but underpaid civil servants and pawns in a chess match to see who wins the round--even if it is at the expense of the innocent. Much has already been written about this great movie adapted from an even greater novel, but little has been said about the machinations behind this movie.

Despite Burton's salary disputes, his jealous wife's presence on the set to keep her philandering hubby in tow (he had a brief affair some 20 years earlier with co-star Claire Bloom), wife Liz Taylor need not have worried. Burton was drunk so much of the time on the set, he had to rely on cue cards. Thanks to clever editing and careful shots by director Martin Ritt, Burton managed (under the circumstances) to pull of the almost incredible feat of being nominated for an Oscar in this gritty film, despite his condition. He plays a burnt out spy and looks it! Bloom (superb as always), plays Burton's lover who unwittingly becomes involved in this game and becomes an expendable pawn. Her performance is subtle and understated and highlights the film. Oskar Werner is also superior as the East German interrogator assigned to Burton who is pretending to defect to East Germany all for the sake of love and country that betrays him in the end.

The London scenes were shot in a dreary section of Dublin and adds to the bleak realism of the film.

This isn't always easy to watch, especially for those who love the clever 007 movies. Here is the reality. Get use to it.

A tour-de-force for Richard Burton....truly Oscar material.......2007-06-06

So much has already been said about this movie, so let me shed some light on this film which, for now 40 plus years on, so expertly defines the climate of the Cold War during the mid-60's. Interestingly, this is a film that improves upon multiple viewings. And it is not hard to see why Burton was nominated for an Academy Award for this picture.

Depicting cold war espionage at its dirtiest and realistic best---first, note how Ritt uses black and white instead of color to personify the drab, "grey" existence of the protagonist, Alec Lemas, at time when color was the norm--and it is all the more better for it. Ritt captures the depressing environs of East and West Berlin, and the wet, dismal streets of downtown London.

It is of curious note that this was NOT a film where the director (Ritt) and star (Burton) got along famously--in fact, far from it. Ritt wanted to play Lemas as the anonymous and expendable cog caught up in the bureaucratic machine, but to do so would be a film without the strong presence, elequence and crisp delivery of Richard Burton--the actor's finest gifts. But alas, sometimes the tension between director and star can produce some of the finest examples of filmmaking, as we see here. Ritt had repeatedly tired of Burton's drinking on the set and his tempest-tossed, on again-off again relationship with Ms. Taylor.

Moreover, in the physical sense Burton carries the role expertly as well. Bloated and looking physically and emotionally spent, LeCarre himself commented that Burton looked "....as if he lived too well rather than having lived a lot..." but it all seems to work effortlessly and Ritt directs a picture that engrosses the viewer until the very end. It is noted that Lemas is supposedly 39 years old in the film, but Burton makes his protagonist look and feel as if 10-15 years older. That is, for lack of a better word, expert casting on the part of Ritt who went to bat for Burton with Paramount, put up with his issues, and met his salary demands.

Supporting cast is excellent with Oscar Werner as Fiedler, Cyril Cusack as Control, and Claire Bloom as Nan Perry all deserving top honors here. Even Bernard Lee, better known as "M" from the Bond films, is distinguished as a grocer who unfortunately demands "cash" rather than "credit" for Lemas' mock caviar, peaches, and scampi--a pivotal scene in the film--take my word for it.

Paired with this masterpiece, I don't think I have seen the dim world of espionage depicted as so brutally realistic than Yorkshire Television's "The Sandbaggers" (1978-80) featuring Roy Marsden and Ray Lonnen.

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