BRIDGE OF SPIES

“Bridge of Spies” is a Steven Spielberg-directed spy thriller that stars Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Austin Stowell, and Will Rogers. It tells the true story of how an obscure New York lawyer is recruited to negotiate an exchange of spies between the United States and the Soviet Union. Four men are at the center of this fascinating and well-told story. Rudolf Abel (Rylance) is a Soviet intelligence agent working in New York City. In 1957, the FBI arrests Abel for espionage. He is quickly tried and convicted of the charges. Abel’s defense lawyer is James Donovan (Hanks), who previously had been requested for the job. Donovan reluctantly agrees to defend Abel. With all the anti-communist hysteria surrounding the case, he knows that it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that Abel will be convicted. About the best Donovan can hope for is to convince the hard-nosed trial judge not to give his client a death sentence. The third and fourth men in this story are Francis Gary Powers (Stowell) and Frederic Pryor (Rogers), two Americans serving time in separate prisons behind the Iron Curtain. Powers is a U-2 pilot working for the CIA. He had been shot down while flying over the Soviet Union. Pryor is a graduate student studying in Berlin, who just happens to be on the wrong side of the infamous wall then under construction. Their cases are about to become linked in a high stakes game of power politics between the world’s greatest superpowers… Re-enter James Donovan. The CIA recruits him to go into Berlin – by himself, and with no government backing – to negotiate an exchange of prisoners. The CIA wants an Abel for Powers-only swap. But on his own, Donovan decides to negotiate a two-for-one exchange: Abel for Powers AND Pryor… How will the CIA and the governments of the Soviet Union and East Germany react? What will be the outcome? And what dangers does Donovan face while scurrying about in Berlin in search of a deal? Watch this great film to find out… I really enjoyed “Bridge of Spies.” The film had just the right amount of tension to make it a first-rate spy thriller. As one might expect, all the actors are at the top of their game – especially Mark Rylance, who won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his superb acting. Tom Hanks turns in another in a long line of outstanding, polished performances as James Donovan. “Bridge of Spies” is one of the best films of 2015, and one of my new favorites.. Highly recommended.

Not a tom hanks fan but I enjoyed this movie. The drama and plot were intense

Great movie. I appreciated that it shows both sides of the espionage story rather than the typical white/ black, good guys/bad guys approach. The Soviet spy is a very interesting character; I wish his story had been developed more. And Tom Hanks is Tom Hanks, although his stance on the motorcycle accident rankles me a bit. Like I'm going feel concerned about how an insurance company makes out in a lawsuit. 🙄

When one hears the phrase, "a Steven Spielberg film", a number of near Pavlovian reactions occur. Some good, some not so good. Powerful; sentimental; schmaltzy; predictable. WAIT. The last one just doesn't cut it anymore, especially with "Bridge of Spies". This Cold War elegant painting of a movie is simply a fine piece of work from a powerful craftsman. What appears from the promotional poster to be yet another Tom Hanks-is-the-good-smiling-American-hero-boring-us-again movie, is in fact, anything but. This may be the best work Hanks has done in quite some time, certainly since he entered his elder statesman phase. He encompasses the role of James Donovan, a comfortable, Brooklyn based insurance lawyer in the early 60s with cardigan wearing ease, and imbues the character with a particularly old school American cinema veritas that is all the more surprising in its effectiveness, as the viewer expects the predictable Hanks/Spielberg schmaltz to turn around the next frame's corner, yet never does. A clear signpost ahead (to paraphrase the late, great Rod Sterling) of a quality film is the harmony of its casting. The always emotionally intelligent Amy Ryan is pinpoint as ever as Donovan's sort of long suffering wife, and Mark Rylance as the Russian spy Rudolph Abel earned his Best Supporting Actor nomination with a beautifully understated dignified gem of a performance. The subtly intelligent script by the Coen brothers (yes, them) both reminds us of the dark edginess of the Cold War in all its nuclear showdown possibilities, while cleverly presenting a view of the "enemy" as suffering humans too. With production design and cinematography both of Seth Curry like accuracy, the viewer is fully transformed into the darkly difficult Eastern Europe of the early cold war era. Guided by pitch perfect performances every step of the way---Sebastian Koch the wonderful lead in "The Lives of Others", Mikhail Gorevoy, Jesse Plemmons (try not to think of his well deserved demise in "Breaking Bad") Dakin Matthews and the always crackling Alan Alda---the intertwined stories of Gary Powers and Abel come to life in a manner and with mannerisms that both detail this period in history and cry out for a little bit of our better angels today. Well worth seeing, and maturely provocative, "Bridge of Spies" is a walk to be taken.

Trasig

Bon film sur la période guerre froide et espionnage de cet époque. Un peu trop américain à mon gout cependant.

Superb, Really good!

I myself recommend this movie very much cause i experienced it myself in imax, and i loved, bcoz it shown the dealings and negototians in exhange of their spies and he himself defending a traitor, its a very good exceptional spy film But at the same time its not a movie where americans are won, they're great stuff like that, propaganda all, This movie is about a humanity, and prosperous relationship b/w countries. It all ties really well with this true event. And that is a great feat. I mean hanks and tom gave us another exceptional film on spies propaganda and all, but i won't recommended this in blu ray cause why to waste that much money on a blu ray which is mainly focuses on true story, I'll only recommend blu ray for great cgi effects and action ones, so I'll recommend cause guys its a quality thats more than enough for a true event story, and dvd is a very fair deal. Hope you'll enjoy it.

Una muy buena producción como la mayoría de la películas en las que actúa Tom Hanks, muy bien lograda y con un tema muy interesante.