Cambridge Spies
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Movie Reviews of Cambridge Spies
Movie Review: Well done!
Summary: 5 Stars
This historically accurate portrayal is really well done. Interesting character development and terrific acting. Good insight into recent history. Very moving and tragic as well.Movie Review: Sympathy for the devils
Summary: 4 Stars
This 2003 BBC miniseries about the much-analyzed Cambridge spy ring of Burgess, Maclean, Philby and Blunt takes as sympathetic a view of the four as might be possible: they are represented as acting out of the highest ideals (a hatred for fascism and reactionary politics), and are shown to be extremely sympathetic men who suffer for their cause and who hold their friendship with one another among their highest ideals. This presents a very unusual take on the story that's rarely been seen before (except in the langurous but somewhat silly film ANOTHER COUNTRY). The production values are terrific, and some of the acting is quite good, especially from Tom Hollander, fittingly over the top as the brilliant but impossible narcissist Guy Burgess, and Samuel West, surpisingly hunky as the smooth and cautious Anthony Blount. The production values are excellent, and there are lovely cameos from Anthony Andrews as King George VI (struggling to overcome his speech impediment) and Imelda Staunton as his wife Queen Elizabeth, who slyly toys coversationally with Blount about his sexual preferences.
One of the best things about this DVD package is that it comes with a one-hour documentary from the History Channel about the Cambridge spy ring that takes almost the opposite take of the mini-series, presenting the spies are mercenary and corrupt and the entire Soviet system in as negative a light as possible. (The documentary also takes affirmative stands on questions concerning the spy ring the mini-series denies, such as the possibility of John Cairncross being the group's "fifth man" and the possible bisexuality of Donald Maclean.) The documentary is so righteous and portentous in its conservative editorializing that it seems almost astonishing it postdates the fall of the Berlin Wall; nonetheless, it provides a useful balance to the extremely sympathetic view the mini-series takes of four of the most demonized Englishmen of the twentieth century.
Movie Review: Growing Up to Be a Spy
Summary: 4 Stars
Well-acted, if somewhat sketchy, analysis of the careers of the imfamous group of Cambridge University students who espoused Marxism as undergraduates and went on to become the most effective British spies of
the Cold War era. The production focuses on the ideas and events which drew these men into the twilight world of espionage, and offers a rather limited depiction of the deterioration of their lives and careers as a result of their politics and their character flaws.
The writer and director of this BBC production display sympathy for these men who make a commitment wihout clearly anticipating where their youthful enthusiam may lead later in life. The sympathy the characters evoke is, in large measure,dependent on the efforts of four gifted young British actors who succeed in communicating the raw nerves and psychological pain of these increasingly desperate men. The stress of their undercover work fractures both their personal and professional lives. Definitely not a good advertisement for a career as a spy!
Movie Review: Ending
Summary: 4 Stars
The first hour set-up is a bit boring, but it gets much better after that. The bonus features are outstanding and are sufficient alone to purchase this set. Regarding the movie itself, however, I was very disappointing with the ending. Basically, the film ends when Burgess and MacLean defect to Mosocw. Thus, it does not include the remaining 12 years of Philby's spying, nor the eventually unmasking of Blunt. Additionally, Philby's relationship with CIA Chief of Counterintelligence James Jesus Angleton is vastly underrepresented -- particularly as it is germain to at least a portion of Philby's access while he was posted to the British Embassy in the U.S. Lastly, there are several very glaring factual inconsistencies, though the disclaimer at the beginning of the movie acknowledges that the makers took poetic license for "dramatic effect". Frankly, the true story is dramatic enough, and I feel (like a previous reviewer) that this movie was a bit of a lost opportunity to tell the whole story accurately. That said, it still is a decent-enough movie, and worth purchase for the bonus features which contain actual footage of the spies.Movie Review: Fine acting and storytelling
Summary: 4 Stars
Watching "Cambridge Spies" on BBCAmerica was eye-opening and insightful. By now, most viewers will have heard of Britain's most notorious spy ring. The story of the traitors (I was surprised the BBC hasn't lauded them as heroes) is edited and condensed quite well to fit miniseries time constraints. While in most movies there is at least one character to empathize or sympathize with, there is no character here that one feels inspired to "understand." One finds himself or herself just waiting to find out how and when these folks "got what was coming to them." Overall, the acting was superb, especially that of Toby Stephens. (Sidebar: He's the young Clint Eastwood in "Space Cowboys," if you can believe that. The guy's got a wide acting range.) As a avid viewer of BBCAmerica, I look forward to more terrific series as this one.