Other Titles • The Spy Who Came In from the Cold • Der Spion, der aus der Kälte kam (1966)
Synopses for The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965)
1.
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
From the Back Cover Forget James Bond for a moment and step into the real, dour and chilling world of spies and counterspies. Richard Burton is the burn-out British agent who refuses to "come in from the cold" to take a desk job--but instead launches into the most dangerous assignment of his career, stalking East German agent Oskar Werner. John Le Carre's best-selling novel provides the basis for this breathtaking thriller of espionage, intrigue, crosses and double-crosses. First-rate performances from the entire cast are matched by a tension-packed and brilliantly-plotted screenplay, and masterful direction by Martin Ritt.
(20 votes)
2.
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.
(17 votes)
3.
Forget James Bond...and step into the real, dour and chilling world of spies and counterspies. Oscar nominee Richard Burton is the burnt-out British agent who refuses to "come in from the cold" to take a desk job-but instead launches into the most dangerous assignment of his career, stalking East German agent (and Golden Globe winner) Oskar Werner. John Le Carre's best-selling novel provides the basis for this breathtaking thriller of espionage, intrigue, crosses, and double crosses. First-rate performances from the entire cast are matched by a tension-packed and brilliantly plotted screenplay, with masterful direction from Martin Ritt (Hud, Sounder).
(15 votes)
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