Spy Who Came from the Cold [WS] [Criterion Collection]

Director: Martin Ritt Martin Ritt

Overview

Based on the novel by John Le Carre, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold stars Richard Burton as a dispirited, end-of-tether British secret agent. He comes in from "the cold" (meaning he is pulled out of field operations) to act as a undercover man behind the Iron Curtain. To make his staged defection seem genuine, Burton goes on an alcoholic toot and is imprisoned and publicly humiliated. Once he has been accepted into East German espionage circles, Burton discovers that what he thought was his mission was a mere subterfuge--and that he's been set up as a pawn for an entirely different operation. Though Ireland and England "stand in" for East Berlin, Spy Who Came In From the Cold has the air of authenticity throughout, thanks in great part to the bleak black and white photography by Oswald Morris. The film was condemned as incomprehensible by those filmgoers accustomed to the simplistic melodramatics of James Bond; seen today, the double-crosses and double-double crosses seem all too clear and credible.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/25/2008
UPC:	0715515033121
Original Release:	1965
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:52:00
Sales rank:	14,442

Special Features

Disc Two - New video interview with Author John le Carré; Selected-scene Commentary featuring Director of Photography Oswald Morris; The Secret Centre: John le Carré (2000), a BBC documentary on the author's extraordinary life and work; A 1967 interview with Richard Burton from the BBC series Acting in the 60's, conducted by film critic Kenneth Tynan; An audio conversation from 1985 between Director Martin Ritt and film historian Patrick McGilligan; Gallery of set designs; Plus: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Michael Sragow; ; Disc One: New, restored high-definition digital transfer; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Richard Burton	Alec Leamas
Claire Bloom	Nan Perry
Oskar Werner	Fiedler
Cyril Cusack	Control
Peter Van Eyck	Hans-Dieter Mundt
Sam Wanamaker	Peters
George Voskovec	East German Defense Attorney
Rupert Davies	Smiley
Michael Hordern	Ashe
Robert Hardy	Carlton
Bernard Lee	Patmore
Beatrix Lehmann	President of Tribunal
Esmond Knight	Old Judge
Walter Gotell	Holten
Tom Stern	CIA Agent
Niall MacGinnis	German Checkpoint Guard
George Mikell	German Checkpoint Guard
Scot Finch	German Guide,German Guide
Katherine Keeton	Stripper
Richard Caldicott	Mr. Pitt
Marianne Deeming	Frau Floerdke
Michael Ripper	Lofthouse
Henk Mobenberg	Passport Officer
Richard Marner	Vopo Captain
David Bauer	Young Judge
Steve Plytas	East German Judge
Anne Blake	Miss Crail
Michael Ritterman	Security Officer
Edward Harvey	Man in the Shop
Nancy Nevinson	Mrs. Zanfrello
Warren Mitchell	Mr. Zanfrello
Philip Badoc	Young German Officer
Philip Madoc	Young German Officer
Richard Caldicot	Mr. Pitt
Sol Kaplan	Composer

Technical Credits

Guy Trosper

Paul Dehn

Guy Troper

Martin Ritt	Producer,Director
Guy Trosper	Screenwriter
Paul Dehn	Screenwriter
Gordon Daniel	Sound Effects
John W. Mitchell	Sound Effects
Guy Troper	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Spy Who Came In From the Cold - The Film
1. Checkpoint Charlie [7:13]
2. Control [5:28]
3. Nan [12:16]
4. "The Link" [7:03]
5. Contact [5:58]
6. The Pussy Willow [7:09]
7. Paid Defector [9:55]
8. Fiedler [2:02]
9. Fresh Air [7:45]
10. Mundt [9:20]
11. Tribunal [6:03]
12. Surprise Witness [11:20]
13. Escape [7:43]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Spy Who Came In From the Cold - The Film
   Play The Movie
   Chapters
      Color Bars
   Trailer
Disc #2 -- Spy Who Came In From the Cold - The Supplements
   John Le Carré
      Play
   The Secret Centre: John Le Carré
      Play
      Index
         "The Secret Path"
         Switzerland
         "The Call"
         The Berlin Wall
         Smiley
         "Endless Standoff"
   Martin Ritt
      Play
         Early Career
         Present and Past
         Progressive Artistry
   Oswald Morris
      Play
      Index
         Opening Scenes
         Leamas And Nan
         Strip Club
         Tribunal
         Ending
      Set Designs
   Acting In The 60's: Richard Burton
      Play
      Index
         Introduction
         Leading Man
         Hamlet
         Film
         Elizabeth Taylor
         Live Audience

Editorial Reviews

The professional spy’s existence, glorified in the wildly popular James Bond movies, was effectively deglamorized in this superb 1965 adaptation of John le Carré’s bestselling novel of Cold War espionage. It’s still a potent, realistic, and gripping film, thanks largely to Martin Ritt’s matter-of-fact direction and Richard Burton’s sober, thoughtful portrayal of an embittered British secret agent nearing the end of his career. Importuned to take a desk job, he instead undertakes what is perhaps his most dangerous assignment: stalking a crack East German agent (Oskar Werner). The tension is almost instantly palpable, because the Burton character is depicted as weary, disillusioned, and therefore susceptible to defection. Spy doesn’t rely on the picturesque locations or super-scientific gadgetry seen in the Bond films; it takes place in the gray, grimy cities of Europe and revolves around the exacting cat-and-mouse games that apparently cause even the most clever spies to burn out. The normally flamboyant Burton underplays his role with perfect control, and Werner is similarly punctilious about his character. Ritt’s command of pace and tone heightens the sense of realism and generates bona fide suspense as the advantage shifts from hunter to hunted. The Cold War is long over, but le Carré’s fictional spies still retain the capacity to grab viewers and keep them engrossed in diabolical chess games, in which these accomplished agents often find themselves used as pawns.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

Among the dark, revisionist espionage films to crop up in the mid-1960s as an antidote to the James Bond phenomenon was The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, an existential examination of the spy world which has lost little of its impact, even since the end of the Cold War. Richard Burton provides the movie's emotional center; he's perfect for the role of the disaffected, burnt-out secret agent. The striking, somber art direction and cinematography and Martin Ritt's terse direction lend weight to Burton's brooding lead performance. Ritt also coaxes quality supporting work from Claire Bloom and Oskar Werner. Inevitably, the film's gritty, bleak mood translated into a poor showing at the box office, but healthy television airings and video rentals have restored its luster.

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