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• Plot Description
• Soundtrack
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• Popularity
DVD Release Date
• R1: Jul 13, 2004
Running Time
1 hour, 52 minutes
Country UK
Studio Paramount, Salem Films
More info on IMDb.com
Other Titles
• The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
• Der Spion, der aus der Kälte kam (1966)
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Genre: Thriller, Spy, Suspense, Betrayal, Deception, Political, Cult Classic
Plot: Martin Ritt's adaptation of the John Le Carre bestseller THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD stars Richard Burton as Alec Leamas, a burnt-out spy soon to retire from British Intelligence. For his final assignment, Alec must pose as a drunk who wants to defect to East Germany, where the chief of operations for the Communists, Hans-Dieter Mundt (Peter van Eyck), has captured several British spies. His acting works: Communists throw Alec into jail for public drunkenness and for having an affair with a young member of the local Communist party, Nan (Claire Bloom). In jail, he is approached by Mundt's agents and asked to defect. They take Alec to East Berlin where he is grilled by Mundt's top man, Fiedler (Oskar Werner), who believes that Mundt is actually a double agent. Shot in stark black and white in documentary style, Ritt's film is a realistic portrait of the grim life of a spy, revealing all of the profession's complexities in a style that is equally as thrilling as an elaborate action scene in a James Bond movie. At the heart of the film is Burton's bitter and world-weary Alec, and his performance here ranks among the best of his career.
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Related Movies:
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1980) [sequel]
- Smiley's People (1982) [sequel]
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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| Written by |
Paul Dehn
Murder on the Orient Express, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes | John le Carré
The Constant Gardener, The Tailor of Panama, The Russia House |
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| Cast |
Richard Burton
The Longest Day, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Where Eagles Dare |
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 | Claire Bloom
Crimes and Misdemeanors, Mighty Aphrodite, Daylight | | Sam Wanamaker
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Private Benjamin, Raw Deal | | Rupert Davies
Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, The Oblong Box | |
[more] |
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