Rent The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)

Cold War Classic. - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold review by Steve

Surely this is the best spy film ever made. Director Martin Ritt was an outsider, ostracised in Hollywood by McCarthyism. He was the perfect choice to direct this complex story of lies, subterfuge and betrayal. It's the chilly prototype for the spy-procedural genre, which annexed new wave realism to the glacial surfaces of John le Carre's classic novel.

And it introduces the motifs of the cold war thriller: the sedate bureaucracy of MI6; the locations like checkpoint charlie, and the Berlin wall; the laconic, elliptical dialogue; the grey, ultra realistic design. The superb support cast gives flesh to the layers of administration.

Richard Burton is profoundly credible as a spy who has been out in operation for too long, and is starting to think about the ethics. Control has an idea for how he can save their man in East Berlin. But it's not the clever, cynical double cross that he actually shares with his agent; he has a deeper, more devious scheme.

The astonishing narrative was allegedly taken from life. Most precious of all is the audaciousness of Le Carre's sleight of hand, which disorientates our moral perspective, and finds the burned out operative at the wall, with one last chance to subvert the dehumanising machinations of the Whitehall Circus.

Gritty, Thoughtful Spy Drama - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold review by GI

Adapted from the great Cold War spy novel by John Le Carré this is a bleak suspense thriller about espionage involving double cross and convoluted loyalties. This is no James Bond type narrative, here we are shown the uncomfortable and unromantic aspects of the profession. Spies are "seedy and squalid bastards" as the lead character says. Set in the early 60s at the height of the Cold War Alec Leamus (Richard Burton) is a burnt out and alcoholic MI6 agent based in West Berlin. When his agent is killed trying to cross the border Leamus, feeling responsible for the death, returns to London expecting a desk job but he is asked by the head of MI6, Control (Cyril Cusack) to take part in one final mission where he has to pretend to defect. But Leamus is not told the full extent of the plan nor of Control's intentions to use someone very close to Leamus to achieve success. Burton displays perfectly the seething anger, disappointment and stress of Leamus, a man on the edge of breakdown but who proves perfect for the devious plan that Control as devised. Claire Bloom, an often forgotten yet superb British actress, Oskar Werner and Peter van Eyck add support and the film boasts an appearance from Bernard Lee who had already appeared as M in the Bond films. This is also the first occasion where Le Carré's iconic spymaster character, George Smiley, makes as appearance here played by Rupert Davies. The depiction of a cold, damp London not only induces the nostalgia of a bygone Britain but perfectly reflects the squalid and run down nature of Leamus and his world of little hope. This is a superb British spy film, thoughtful, clever and very intricately plotted, there are hints of Hitchcock in its structure and suspense and it's most certainly a film to seek out if you've never seen it.