Cheap Cambridge Spies (DVD) (Tim Fywell) Price
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| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| DIRECTOR: | Tim Fywell |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 01 January, 2003 |
| MANUFACTURER: | BBC Video |
| MPAA RATING: | NR (Not Rated) |
| FEATURES: | Color, Closed-captioned |
| TYPE: | Feature Film-drama |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 794051186324 |
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Customer Reviews of Cambridge Spies
THOSE BRITISH FOLKS SURE CAN ACT This BBC-PBS T.V presentation is superb. It is not something that you can look at while darning socks, knitting, washing dishes, talking on the phone or having an evening party-it is NOT light entertainment. Go to commercial TV for that. You've got to sit-down, shut-up and concentrate on what is going on. In fact, it took me two viewings to fully understand what actually was going on. LISTEN closely; the script is fantastic.
All of the actors are superb with Tom Hollander as Guy Burgess a standout. The production is on a par with some of the best BBC productions that I have had the privilege of seeing. With the gorgeous sets and costumes, it creates a feeling of the era that is being portrayed.
If you are into historical presentations and love superb acting buy this DVD.
Ending
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.
Missed Opportunity
The true story of the Cambridge spies is a fascinating chapter in the history of espionage but it is also a study in the English class system. Four upper class idealists who were rather ignorant about the system they were spying for whilst betraying the system that allowed them wealth and opportunity out of reach of the common man.
This dramatization is too detailed on romance and does not focus on the real events enough. The amazing aspect is that they got away with it for so long but there should have been more explananation of the changing world events to illustrate this. The motivation of the four is never clear and the damage they caused is never explained.
If you like English dramas, you will probably like this. But for me far too much time is dedicated to the love affairs of the group and even though you would expect a true story about espionage during world war II and the cold war would be thrilling and exhilarating this is rather dull and boring. Good acting, good direction but a bit too much soft focus.