Cracking Code
Added 2/7/2010
I saw this in the theater when it first came out and recall being underwhelmed as I pretty much just ticked off the characters and events as I recalled them from Robert Harris' fine novel. I appreciated it, I suppose, but didn't really get into it.
Watching it (and re-watching it) now when I recollect little of the book, I really admire this film on it's on terms. It's a gorgeous production, well directed and edited with two creative geniuses -- Tom Stoppard & John Barry -- offering up their assured, if in this case, low-key mastery.
The first time I saw this I thought Dougray Scott kind of marred the picture, as he doesn't convey the charm or charisma you'd expect of a thriller's lead. But what he's really doing is playing the bittersweet, coming-of-age side of the role, and he's very effective. The scenes where his romantic disappointments lead him to shame himself both personally and professionally, are almost difficult to watch, they're so acute. Saffron Burrows, (essentially in the title role) is also very good in these scenes.
In contrast to Scott, Jeremy Northam plays the conventionally dapper spy with a rakish yet effete flippancy and he's sensational. And despite any efforts to dowdy-up Kate Winslet, she's completely adorable in what may be her most charming performance.
The details of the plot aren't so complicated that you can't follow them, but complex enough that you can't recall them clearly when re-watching.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Nostalgic Movie, terrible picture
Added 1/18/2010
I remembered this movie from back in the days of VHS tapes and "be kind and rewind" and always wanted to see it again. Since its been apparently out of print it had been hard to track down until finally I saw it here on Amazon. I'll say it was fun to see the story again, I appreciated the plot, the acting, the movie in general however what I did not appreciate was the horrible picture quality! I'm watching a 32" HDTV with a BluRay player which always does a great job at upscaling and yet, this disc proved the exception. The picture quality was grainy and muddy, made it difficult to watch which is too bad since it really was a decent story. Do I recommend it? For the story, yes, but be prepared to be apalled by the picture, surely they could have done better in the tranfer to dvd!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
MORE LIES
Added 1/18/2010
I'm getting seriously sick and tired of the portrayal of Poles in World War II. Too many people (such as Brits, Americans, etc) due to ignorance and deliberate misinformation see them as vile, stupid, lazy, anti-semites who had not done anything to contibute to the victory in WWII. All that is just plain bull**** and this movie is just another example of misinformation to make the British look better and the Poles look worse.
FIRST, in numerous films and documentaries (INCLUDING THIS ONE), it's always shown the it was the British who were the ones who cracked the code, that it was the British who were the most responsible for this, THE POLISH ROLE IS ALWAYS MARGINALIZED AND NOT EVEN SHOWN. Where as IN FACT, it was the POLES and Polish mathematicians who first cracked enigma back in the early 30s and who had been reading the German enigma all along during that decade. MARIAN REJEWSKI, JERZY ROZYCKI and HENRYK ZYGALSKI were the POLISH MATHEMATICIANS who had first succeeded to EVER break the Enigma code. Their work was later presented to the British and French in July of 1939 and thats how the British first got started with the Enigma. They weren't the ones to intiially crack it or break it, it was the Poles, and it was the Poles who presented the British with the foundation for later cracking the German codes when more and more rotors were introduced. BUT HARDLY ANYONE MENTIONS THAT!! THATS ONE BIG EXAMPLE OF BRITISH MISINFORMATOIN REGARDING THE POLES.
SECOND, this movies shows that it was a POLE (and a FICTIONAL character at that!) who worked at Bletchley Park that became a traitor. WHERE AS IN FACT, it was a BRIT who was the traitor. His name was JOHN CAIRNCROSS and he spied for the RUSSIANS. ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF DELIBERATE BRITISH MISINFORMATION REGARDING THE POLES. AND THERE WERE ALSO THE CAMBRIDGE 5, the British spies who spied for RUSSIA since the early 30s up until the mid 50s!!! THEY CAUSED INCALCULABLE DAMAGE TO THE WEST AS A RESULT. (WHY COULDNT THE TRAITOR HAVE BEEN BRITISH??? To make it more realistic, or French, who were known to betray resistance fighters and allied pilots shut down over france)
READ THE ARTICLE ON WIKIPEDIA ABOUT THIS and scroll down to CRITIZISM [...].
Not only did Poles fight in every campaign and on every front of the war IN ADDITION TO CRACKING THE ENIGMA CODE, but they also helped to save Britian During the BATTLE OF BRITAIN!!! the POLISH 303 KOSCIUSZKO SQUADRON shot down more airplanes in less time than ANY OTHER ALLIED UNIT. They captured MONTE CASSINO, they fought in Operation Market Garden, they fought in Berlin. THEY CREATED THE BIGGEST and BEST ORGANZIED resistance army in EUROPE at the time, the ARMIA KRAJOWA, or the HOME ARMY. THEY FOUGHT IN THE WARSAW UPRISING. STARVING, low on ammo, weapons, and manpower, they resistet the GERMANS FOR over 2 MONTHS!!!!!.
THUS I AM SERIOUSLY SICK AND TIRED OF THIS BLATANLY INACCURATE, UNTRUE AND ABSOLUTELY SHAMEFUL PORTRAYL OF POLES IN THE CONFLICT!!!! THIS MOVIE IS JUST ANOTHER BIG EXAMPLE OF THIS KIND OF RIDICULOUS PORTRAYAL. THE POLES WERE OUR FAITHFUL AND COURAGEOUS ALLIES FROM THE START, AND THEY DESERVE TO BE PORTRAYED AS SO!!!!
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
ENIGMA - not Special Edition!
Added 11/1/2009
I ordered the Special Edition. The vendor sent me the regular edition. I retuned it and the vendor gave me a full refund.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Unique Spy Story Set in Bletchley Park
Added 8/17/2009
"Enigma" as a spy story is as the title of my post states, truly unique. This is because the story's protagonist, Tom Jericho (played by Dougray Scott) is not a World War II version of James Bond engaging in gunfights with the Gestapo and downing vodka martinis and bedding starlets in his down time. No, Jericho is a cryptanalyst, a codebreaker, and I don't think such an individual has ever been the hero of a suspenseful tale such as this. And the spy story is set at Bletchley Park, the epicenter of the British codebreaking effort during World War II. Moreover, Jericho is played as a brilliant but shy and fragile man who fell so head over heels in love with the mysterious Claire (played by Saffron Burrows) that he had a nervous breakdown when she abruptly dumped him.
Although the spy story is fictional, the plot (based on the novel "Enigma" is deeply rooted in the actual history of the effort to break into the Germans' codes. Before Jericho had his collapse, the British were able to read the Germans' U-Boat code, but shortly after he was packed off to Oxbridge to recuperate, the Germans abruptly changed their codes...almost as if someone had warned them that they were being broken.
It's Jericho's official task to help break "Shark," the U-Boat code, before Allied convoys sail into harm's way. But Jericho has another personal mission, to find out what happened to Claire, who has mysteriously disappeared...leaving behind clues that she was involved with whoever might have warned the Germans that their codes were being broken.
To use a British expression, the story is "ripping good stuff." As someone who has read the novel as well, the movie does an excellent job bringing the story to life. Scott possibly is a little too good looking to play the anxious, obsessive academic that is Tom Jericho, but that's a minor quibble. Kate Winslet does a very fine job as Hester Wallace, Claire's roommate. As one of her fans, I only wish she had more screen time. This being said, I was pleased that the filmmakers upgraded her relationship to Jericho in the novel from being just a helpmate to being an eventual love interest herself (and they made clever use of the fact that Kate Winslet was pregnant during the film and was beginning to show...concealing it until the end of story where we are left with the clear impression that Tom and Hester had gotten married and were expecting their first child by the time the story ended.
Enigma
So to sum up: "Enigma" is a great movie. The cast and story is excellent and the production values are superb (they even filmed it on the grounds of Bletchley). But it does require the viewer to think a bit.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
