The Spy Who Came in From the Cold | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

Audience Reviews

Sydney C Yet another film that Richard Burton should have won the Academy Award for but these dopes who vote for this (most never even saw the movie) clearly have no clue as to what great acting even looks like e.g. Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia because, ostensibly, it was his first film. What pure rubbish! THIS is what great acting looks like. PERIOD! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/28/23 Full Review nick s Maybe I was not in the right mood for this film because I found it's dragging pace rather tedious. Burton seemed to be in a drunken stupor, which I guess was his character but it was a chore to watch. The cinematography was great and nothing wrong with the talent. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/11/23 Full Review Josh G A cold warish thriller with a slow burn and good character actors and decent set pieces. This is a based on a novel I have read and in a post 007 world, this is a dull affair. The lead actor is very good at being paranoid and drunk, while waiting; Richard Burton. The Surprise of Bernard Lee (M of 007) as a clerk in a store is fun and has some good scenes. While the first half of the film is slow it builds to a decent finally. Though it's dull it's not have bad just doesn't deem much time to think about. It has many elements bridge of spies draw from. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/22/22 Full Review matthew d A contemplative spy thriller that's all detail and nuance.Director Martin Ritt, of Hud fame, brings John le Carré's espionage thriller The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) to astonishing life. His hazy direction is sterling as he gets the concept of a paranoia thriller just right where anyone could be a spy or traitor. It's Cold War era espionage at its finest. I did not see the twist coming, nor even suspect it, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is just that smart.Anthony Harvey's slick editing keeps you on edge and cuts just when a conversation needs a jump. He dials into the words with minimal cuts in conversation until we need to see a crucial reaction for information and perspective. For 112 minutes, I was enchanted by each scene of spy interactions of subterfuge and infiltration. Cinematographer Oswald Morris' stunning black and white photography is enthralling. His slow panning shots follow Richard Burton everywhere, so that we always feel like we know where he is, where he's going, and what he's thinking from moment to moment. I'm still shocked by the ending of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.Martin Ritt's frosty direction keeps all the cards in hand as the viewer is only given clues and hints at the truth. He just shows you the perspective of the English spy, so we're only aware of what he knows. I like how complex John le Carré's story is about a British spy for "The Circus" getting sent to East Germany as a fake defector in the hopes that his disinformation testimony will lead to a brutal German leader to be killed as a traitor by his own government. Ritt's direction kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was going on with all these secret meetings and shadowy contacts.It's incredibly nuanced and cleverly written with funny jokes and intricate details from screenplay writers Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper. John le Carré was a genius author and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is one of his masterpieces up there with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Cool lines like "Spies must come in from the cold" or "It's the innocents who get slaughtered" are hard edged and thoughtful commentary on the coldhearted lethal work spies accomplish in the shadows. Cold War fears lead to paranoia on both sides and this film leans into the mistrust sown by spies.Richard Burton is perfect as the bitter British spy Alec Leamas. He's cautious and clever, with a grit to his hardened spy. Burton gives a phenomenal subtle performance that only lets on how he's thinking and feeling when it's necessary. Richard Burton pulls off haunting stares and gritty monologues with a world weary jaded delivery. His brutally honest critique of God and Karl Marx is funny and striking. I like when he attacks Bernard Lee's cameo role as the hilarious grocer Mr. Patmore. This is a performance of sheer brute force and inner anguish over dealing in spy work.Claire Bloom is very sympathetic and sweet as Nan Perry. I liked her kind performance that has a caring personality, but also her own political identity separate from Burton's Leamas. Okar Werner is crazy and paranoid as German secret agent Fiedler. Sam Wanamaker is stern and attentive as Peters, who records Burton's fake spy testimony. Rupert Davies is intriguing as English spy George Smiley. His quiet performance is neat to see in another version of John le Carré's famous spy. Cyril Cusack is fascinating as the indifferent and coldhearted Control, who leads England's spies during The Cold War with no remorse. Peter van Eyck is fearsome and intimidating as German spy Hans-Dieter Mundt. I found him enthralling as well.Composer Sol Kaplan's moody jazz score for The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is genius. Gentle piano melodies plink away in empty spaces until brazen brass horns throb into life in the darkness. I love the sound of Sol Kaplan's dreary and mesmerizing music that fits the harsh and paranoid atmosphere of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Sound designers John Cox and John W. Mitchell neatly fades in the score during the quiet moments for a bit of reflection that I appreciated. The voices soar and echo with clarity in the sound mix. Sophie Devine's costumes have all these grisly trench coats and formal suits for a cold and secretive design.In all, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a fascinating espionage thriller for those that want an interesting slow burn in their spy films. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Tony S The polar opposite of Bond films and novels, as well as any other spy-related extravaganza of the time. Inhuman and cold shenanigans between west and east, where methods become so indistinctively cruel that it is no wonder Leamas, played brilliantly by Richard Burton, ceased to see his country or his job as any paragon of freedom or virtue. So it is to the benefit of the story that this jaded spy with a commanding personality eventually gets dragged into a game that will take the rest of the hope he thought he no longer had and throw it into a cell. As a dispassionate hierarchy of spy officials will chew him up and remind him that he is nothing more than a pawn to be sacrificed. It's gorgeously shot and very slowly paced, which adds to the mood of the "coldness" it tries to relay, but the story keeps you engaged as the movie likes to keep secrets as to what some of the scenes even mean, letting you come to your own conclusions before the inevitable reveal. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/19/22 Full Review Roger H Riveting, with an exceptional performance from Richard Burton, a clever plot, and fantasticly fluid cinematography. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/19/21 Full Review Read all reviews

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

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