Cheap Enigma - Special Edition (Widescreen) (DVD) (Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet) (Michael Apted) Price

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Customer Reviews of Enigma - Special Edition (Widescreen)

The story, set in WWII, and based on real events, centers on Tom Jehrico (Dougray Scott), a brilliant codebreaker at Blenchly Park, who cracked the Nazi Enigma code. But now that code has been changed, and supplies that the British need for the war are in jeopardy. Not to mention the lives of the crews on those ships. Complicating matters is the disappearance of his ex-lover,Claire (Saffron Burrows), which has cast the shadow of suspicion over Tom as the possible traitor. Teaming with Claire's doudy roommate Hester (Kate Winslet), the two race to crack the code and unmask the traitor before hundreds of lives are lost. All the while, the mysterious Wigram (Jeremy Northam) seems to always be following them. . .

My summary of the plot simply doesn't do it justice. This film must be seen to be truly appreciated. Scott is great as the haggard, brilliant mathematician whose heart has been been broken, and Winslet is wonderful as the witty and underappreciated Hester. But the real standout is Jeremy Northam who steals every scene he is in, as the very dapper, and very suspicious Wigram.

The dialogue in the film crackles thanks to a great screenplay by Tom Stoppard which was based on the bestselling novel by Robert Harris. Do yourself a favor and check out this example of smart adult cinema.

Four enigmas for the price of one
ENIGMA is an uncommonly intelligent suspense thriller that should please anyone interested in Britain's WWII code breaking efforts at Bletchley Park.

Dougray Scott plays Tom Jericho, a mathematician returning to duty after recovering from a mental breakdown suffered in an earlier stint at The Park while breaking the German military's Enigma code and, probably more to the point, falling for, and being dumped by, the local Tramp. Saffron Burrows is eye-popping as Claire, the blond and willowy femme fatale of the script. Anyway, the Nazis have since changed Enigma, and Tom is asked to help solve the cipher riddle once again before the U-boats decimate the Atlantic convoys. In one of the parallel plots, it's suspected that the Germans planted a spy at Bletchley Park. From evidence found under a floor board, Tom rightly or wrongly suspects Claire may be involved, but she's mysteriously disappeared. And who's buried in the mass grave the German Army is busy uncovering in Eastern Europe, and why has someone high up in the British command structure ordered that all radio intercepts from that enemy unit be ignored?

Scott is quite good in the role of the edgy, scruffy, emotionally tormented Jericho, as is Kate Winslet as Claire's frumpy roommate, Hester, recruited for the code-breaking unit because she won a crossword puzzle contest. I was particularly impressed with Jeremy Northam's Wigram, the intelligence investigator on hand to uncover the postulated enemy agent. In his dapper, glib persona, Wigram is vaguely reminiscent of Cary Grant, though the latter was never quite so oily. I never decided if I liked Wigram or not, but he was endlessly fascinating to watch operate.

It's historical fact that the war effort against Hitler was greatly facilitated by the Brit's ability to decode German military encryptions. ENIGMA is a richly photographed and costumed period piece - an intriguing glimpse inside the congregation of geniuses, misfits and eccentrics gathered together by the War Office to win the war in their own unique way. This film is unlikely to go into wide release, but the extra effort taken to search it out will be amply rewarded.

An uncommonly fine film
In retrospect, seeing in films such as this most recent superb ENIGMA all the sophistication of intelligence devices, communication scramblers, and networking of spies and counterspies used by the Germans in WWII, it is rather amazing that they lost the war. But then as this fine story reveals, the English were equally adept at decoding and undermining the German efforts. War is ugly and futile, but the mechinations that oil the brutal machine are morbidly fascinating. ENIGMA, in a fine script by Tom Stoppard and sensitively made visual by director Michael Apted, explains these complex phenomena adroitly. The movie is visually stunning, moving from the intricacies of the Intelligence machinery behind closed doors to the misty, wistful English countryside. It would be difficult to imagine a finer cast for these roles than Dougray Scott, Jeremy Northam, Kate Winslet, and Saffron Burrows. For an 'old-fashioned thriller' based on an intelligent, literate script rather than on the usual fire and explosions, treat yourself to this little gem.