Bridge of Spies

Shows both sides of the character and based on true events

It worked, it played, great film

It was a good film but I felt there was something missing. I think it was how the character's storyline wove. We had the main guy - Hanks. Tom Hanks is a great actor so it's easy to invest in his character but the telling of his story we seemed to get yanked out of it to tell the stories of Powers (a lot of it I think was not needed as in the end Powers was just someone Hanks' character had to "interact" with). On top of this we are first told to invest in Abel also, and the character development between Abel and Hank's character, yet this relationship is cut short abruptly which almost makes it feel like I was watching a 2 part film. However, there was good acting and I wasn't bored, I just wish for an emotional film I was more emotionally invested (if you don't quite get me, think of Saving Private Ryan and how every character has a story, and every time one of them dies you feel their pain...this film didn't have that).

Superb, Really good!

What can I say. There were several spies in this film and multiple bridges were shown, and used to perfect effect. Cant fault it Tom Hanks is predictably brilliant. I have never seen him in a bad movie, but thats only because I refused to watch the recent Pinnichio film. I am only assuming this and have done no research whatsoever but Tom Hanks has now played more real life people in movies than all other Hollywood actors combined. Alive or dead, not including versions of themselves. Mark Rylance steals the show with the most powerful and commanding performance of a quiet man I have ever seen. And I've seen at least 3. It doesn't even make sense that he can do that, so thats when you know your watching a master craftsman. i.e British with a Shakespearian pedigree, But not as confusing or boring. Spielberg is on top form here and pulls out a few tricks from his old directors bag. Classic feel and look, subtlety funny and tense in the right moments. Repetitive scenes, like people staring at each other on trains is played out to a satisfying conclusion. Slightly twisty plot, but Straightforward and easy to understand because I didn’t have to rewind it and watch some parts again to keep up with what was going on. The most impressive thing about Speilberg, which I’m sure you have noticed, is he always keeps his child actors in line, on a tight leash and only when absolutely necessary. They are not as insufferable and annoying as in most other comparable films. He always seems to get the best out of them, and you can tell it looks like he gets the shot in very few takes. I don't know if he threatens them off camera or hypnotises them in some way, but he definitely deserves more credit for this. All in all, a great film, with a compelling historic story and Top class Acting, which I can definitely see me rewatching again, but not because I didn't follow the plot the first time.

I enjoyed the film. I was based in West Berlin during the 80's and 90's right up until The Wall came down. Back then, you assumed everyone was working as a 'spy'. I recall my first visit to East Berlin via Checkpoint Charlie. I was driving my car with my wife and a couple of friends. I only had the one visit, as my security level was increased afterwards. I remember being petrified initially, but once through to the 'otherside' I relaxed a little. East Berlin was deserted. We went for a meal in a big hotel, we were the only ones there. The East Berliners all drove Trabant cars that spewed out smoke which smelt dreadful and stuck to your skin. You could walk across the 'Bridge of Spies' as it was inside the western zone at the time. On the other side was the border and the East. I was there and witnessed The Wall coming down, which at the time we thought would never happen ever. I've been back to Berlin several times, and I recommend a visit to this fascinating place.

I expected this film to be good: it was far better than that! I’m astounded that some say this is second division Spielberg. Perhaps they were expecting an action packed Cold War Indiana Jones spectacular that they didn’t get. This is character and plot driven that I found utterly captivating throughout, requiring a concentration span of more than a few minutes. The reconstruction of the building of the Berlin Wall was amazing. I also thought the shooting down of the U2 was fantastically staged. The evocation of Cold War East Berlin was genuinely chilling and one felt real fear and dread for the imprisoned student. Tom Hanks created a very human and well developed character. The recreation of the period was brilliantly realised helped immeasurably by superb photography. Spielberg was pretty restrained from resorting to sentimentality, though I thought the woman in the train double take was heavy handed and unnecessary. Despite criticisms that the film was politically biased, it was in fact critical of the USA in parts though it did resort to some chest beating in places to keep the domestic market feeling righteous.

Great story

Trasig

Loved this movie, it brought me back to the actual bridge where Gary was exchanged. And Tom is no matter what an American icon in acting.

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.

Steven Spielberg has done it again. I went to see Bridge of Spies recently and it is nothing short of brilliant. Centred on the trial of accused Russian spy Rudolph Abel in New York City, and the subsequent spy swap for U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers, this movie is full of suspense as it carefully unfolds the story of the surveillance of alleged spy Abel, his capture, trial, the fear within America of nuclear attack, the preparations for American U-2 spy flights in Soviet airspace, the downing of Powers' plane, his arrest and sentencing in a Russian court, and, eventually, the mission of New York lawyer James Donovan (who had been recruited by the U.S. government to defend Rudolph Abel so that the U.S. is perceived to be effecting due justice) to arrange a prisoner exchange — Russian spy Abel for American spy Powers — in East Berlin where a wall had just been erected to stem the flow of civilian flight from east to west. Spielberg deftly intersperses the U-2 flight training and preparation in between scenes of Donovan (Tom Hanks) doing his best for his client despite the opposition of the majority of U.S. citizens. Donovan refers at one point to Powers as being the most hated man in America after Abel, and himself. His family endures threats and violence because of his defence of the stoic Col. Abel, who is portrayed beautifully by British actor Mark Rylance. Donovan argues to Judge Byers against the death penalty, that there may come a time when they need to redeem a spy of their own. Byers (played by Dakin Matthews) agrees and sentences him to 30 years — an extremely unpopular decision which unleashes a lot of hatred toward Donovan and his family. Sure enough, along comes Francis Gary Powers (played by Austin Stowell). We see a unique view of the Russians building the wall in 1961 and the bitterness of west Berliners for the devastation of their city by the Russians. Here Spielberg inserts an interesting sidebar that didn't get a lot of press at the time. A young university student, Frederick Pryor (played by Will Rogers) is in Berlin working on his thesis on communist economics. As he tries to rescue his professor and the professor's daughter, he is detained at the wall, then imprisoned as a spy. CIA operative Gamber (played by Victor Verhaeghe), ‘Bridge of Spies’ by DreamWorks Studios.coaching Donovan behind the scenes through the exchange negotiations, couldn't care less about Pryor but Donovan is determined the exchange will not happen unless they get this young man as well as Powers. The tension on the bridge as Donovan waits for confirmation that Pryor is being released at Checkpoint Charlie is palpable as Agent Gamber keeps trying to get Abel to cross for the exchange and he sides with Donovan and waits. BRIDGE OF SPIES, directed by Steven Spielberg, is the story of James Donovan, an insurance lawyer from Brooklyn who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA enlists his support to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.y, I wrote a review of the classic movie Thirteen Days, a movie which gives a glimpse into what life was like back in the early 60s with two super powers threatening nuclear war. This movie, also, gives a retro-look at the fear the cold war instilled in Americans (and their neighbours), and also, to a lesser extent, at life in Berlin — a divided city where most people on the eastern side lived with fear, deprivation, and loss of civil liberties. Even with knowledge of the basic story — which is, afterall, history — this movie resonates with tension, suspense, and empathy for a lawyer trying to thread a moral way through a labyrinth of political contradictions, jealousies, and government disinvolvement. Several statements over the end visuals tell what happened to the various main characters which brings closure to the events. You can learn more about this major part of American history at numerous sites around the web. As different parts of US documentation becomes declassified, there are more questions than answers about some of the events portrayed in what is, beginning to end, another magnificent movie from Spielberg and Hanks.

Als Jugendlicher (wenn man politisch interessiert war) hat man die Story noch in den Zeitungen verfolgen können: Den Abschuss der U2 Aufklärungsmaschine über der Sowjetunion, den Fallschirmabsprung von Pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell), dessen Festnahme und den folgenden Schauprozess. Auch die Festnahme von Sowjetspion Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) in den USA und dessen Verurteilung war ein Thema hier in den Zeitungen. Diese Ereignisse sind die Basis des Films von Steven Spielberg von 2015. Alles andere ist teils fiktiv teils wahrheitgemäß. Abels Pflichtverteidiger James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) erreicht statt der Hinrichtung eine lange Gefängnisstrafe. Schließlich kommt man überein, ihn nach Ostberlin zu schicken, wo er in der sowjetischen Botschaft und mit dem DDR-Unterhändler Vogel (Sebastian Koch), der schon viele andere alliierte Gefangene freikaufen konnte, in mühsamen Verhandlungen erreicht, dass ein Austausch von Powers gegen Abel stattfinden kann. Ebenfalls Teil des Austauschs soll der Wirtschaftswissenschaftsstudent Fredric Pryor (Will Rogers) sein, der während des Mauerbaus noch nach Westen fliehen wollte, aber festgenommen und eingesperrt wurde. Donovan verhandelt mühsam in der Botschaft und mit Vogel, jedoch zunächst ohne Ergebnis. Erst nach tagelangen, zähen Gesprächen und Rückfragen in Moskau, erhält die Botschaft vom Kreml die Zusage des Austauschs. Das DDR-Regime hatte ursprünglich beabsichtigt, die führende Rolle bei diesem Austausch einzunehmen, das wurde jedoch vom Kreml abgelehnt. Donovan macht den Vorschlag, den Austausch auf der Glienecker Brücke durchzuführen, wo ähnliche Transaktionen bereits des Öfteren durchgeführt worden waren. So geschieht es. Abel geht zu Fuß in den Osten und wird mit dem Auto abtransportiert, was auf einen unfreundlichen Empfang hindeutet. Pryor wird am Checkpoint Charlie den Amerikanern übergeben. Das Drehbauch von Matt Charman und Ethan und Joel Coen schildert die Abläufe spannend und größtenteils tatsachengetreu. Spielbergs Regie ist - wie immer - straff und zeichnet die Charaktere realistisch. Dass die Verhandlungen im harten, düsteren Ostberliner Winter stattfinden, erhöht noch den Reiz der Story. Das Bild ist Widescreen 16:9 (Farbe), der Ton Dolby Digital 5.1. Sprachen Deutsch, Englisch. Als Extra gibt es noch eine Dokumentation "Ein Kapitel des Kalten Krieges".