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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
I was a wee girl of 12 when this series first aired on ITV, but I remember it well for two main reasons:
1) It made me fall in love with Sam Neill.
2) It made me fall in love with Shoshtakovich.
Probably due to not owning a VHS player in 1983, I only had one shot at soaking this all in at the time it was aired.
Imagine then, my immense chuffed-ness at discovering all 13 episodes were to be released in wondrous DVD box setted glory!
From its supremely evocative music - (persons of a certain age might remember Terry Wogan announcing Shoshtakovich on his radio show as the theme from 'Reilly - Ace of Mince Pies' tsk!) - through to the calibre of the cast, everything about 'Reilly' was and is, quality drama.
The costumes are works of art in themselves, and the London locations do a marvellous job doubling for pre-Perestroika Russia.
Even before 1985's much-praised 'Edge of Darkness' Troy Kennedy Martin showed flashes of brilliance in his adaption of Robin Bruce Lokhart's book for TV.
Kennedy Martin keeps his script taut and sharp and as such, we are not bogged down with the myriad convolutions of counter espionage.
In 'Anna'(episode 3) we even get to see a little of what drives Reilly. His explanation to his half-sister of a loveless relationship with his Father, and the disappointment of discovering his illigitemacy - fleshes the bones of this most elusive character.
Sam Neill's portrayal of Sidney Reilly is pretty near perfect. (Biased? Moi..) A soft spoken, consummate con-man - even the rare flash of rage is controlled, which makes his Reilly all the more memorable for being so minimalist.
It's also a treat to see Peter Egan before his incarnation as 'Ever Decreasing Circles' perfect Paul.
If you liked 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' 'Cambridge Spies' or even 'Another Country' - do yourself a favour...
Sit back, put these DVD's on and Ace them Reilly style.
32 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Draw the curtains, dim the lights, and indulge in an atmospheric sketch of international wrangling in turn of century Europe. Emerging disappointed after an hour only because it is over already and you will have to wait a whole week for the next episode. This experience is shared by viewers of 'Reilly-Ace of Spies,' one of the classic TV series of the 1980s, now available on DVD.
'Ace of Spies' tells the story of master spy Sidney Reilly, British agent at the beginning of the last century, based on the biography of the same name by Robin Bruce Lockhart. Reilly, a cunning trickster and cold-blooded operator, is credited with changing the British secret service from a club of amateur gentleman spies into a ruthless professional espionage agency. Reilly was apparently the true-life model of James Bond. Besides a brave and clever agent also a murderer, cheat, and adulterer, he is a far more ambiguous figure than knight-in-shining armour 007. But this tension also makes the series far more appealing than Ian Fleming's ripping yarns.
The pilot episode finds Reilly (Sam Neill) on a mission in Baku, playing the great game for Central Asian oil. Arrested by the Russians, he escapes with Margaret, wife of the reverend Thomas. The death of Thomas under suspicious circumstances soon gives Reilly access to Margeret's inherited wealth. In 'Prelude to War', Reilly enriches himself by speculating on war between Russia and Japan, a conflict he helps bringing about by selling the Japanese a map of defenses of Port Arthur. In the next episode 'the visiting fireman', Reilly disguises himself as a worker in order to peruse designs for German weaponry from the Krupp arms factory. In 'Dreadnoughts and Doublecrosses', Reilly attempts to steal plan of Russian warships for the newly established British intelligence service. In 'Gambit' Reilly has to escape revolutionary Russia after being implicated in a plot to kill Lenin. From then on, Reilly's attempts to rid his native Russia of the hated Bolsheviks becomes the focus of the series. Reilly allies himself with the exiled Boris Savinkov, and both soon start to work together with the Trust, a secret organization aimed at overthrowing the communists. After the death of Savinkov, Reilly becomes wary of the Trust, suspecting it to be secretly controlled by Stalin. This prompts Reilly on his final mission, where only sacrifice can reveal the true nature of the Trust.
The opening of British and former Soviet archives has cleared up a great deal of the mystery surrounding Reilly. Books such as 'Ironmaze' by Gordon Brooke-Shepherd and 'On his Majesty's Secret Service, Sidney Reilly ST1' by Andrew Cook reveal Reilly as more of a scoundrel and less of a spy. Many of Reilly's most famous exploits turn out to be complete fabrications, invented by the man himself. Even 'Reilly's' highly recognizable theme tune is based on one of these inventions. Reilly managed to persuade his gullible audience that his early adventures formed the inspiration for the late nineteenth century novel 'the Gadfly'. The series is set to Shostakovich's tune 'Romance', taken from his score for the film of the book.
But bad history does not necessarily make bad television. Reilly was a success as an inveterate cheat precisely because he was good at spinning believable stories, most of which are far more credible than the average Hollywood espionage blockbuster. That Reilly was 'Ace of Lies' rather than 'Ace of Spies' makes him more odious, but not less intriguing. If the power of the series is such that it inspired Cook to do his research on the true Sidney Reilly, it may lead many others to do some background reading, and is certain to make good viewing.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
This very close to historical fact series must not be missed. It follows the adult life of one Sigmund Rosenbloom, probably the half-Jewish son of a Russian colonel's wife: his real father was never discovered but the child was brought up as if Russian, his notional father being a Russian colonel, so it is thought. Later taking the name Reilly, he was probably the most audacious agent of any secret service at the time or since, moving in high society as well as the docks and criminal quarters of the great cities of Europe and beyond. He also made a lot of money, not usually very honestly, by the way. Thanks to the persistence of the director and producer, the story was told on film 25 years after the idea was first mooted. It was shown on British TV around 1980.
The episodes dealing with the Russian Revolutions (the first, real, one in Spring 1917 and the Bolshevik coup d'etat or putsch in Autumn 1917) and the Russian Civil War (1919-1921/22) and thereafter are far better done than the earlier episodes, though those are also very entertaining and interesting. The later stories have that oft-shown-on-film (THe Missionary, The Hunt For Red October, etc) institution, the National Liberal Club off Whitehall standing duty for the Kremlin --- and very effectively too.
As others have noted, the haunting title music is from The Gadfly by Shostakovitch, not by one Harry Rabinovitch, as credited in the series (the incidental music seems to have been lifted from other Russian composers of the more romantic sort, including Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, if my ear listened clearly enough). Rabinovitch must have taken a leaf from the felonious damn cheek of Reilly himself! Oy veh!
The episodes dealing with the Russian Revolutions (the first, real, one in Spring 1917 and the Bolshevik coup d'etat or putsch in Autumn 1917) and the Russian Civil War (1919-1921/22) and thereafter are far better done than the earlier episodes, though those are also very entertaining and interesting. The later stories have that oft-shown-on-film (THe Missionary, The Hunt For Red October, etc) institution, the National Liberal Club off Whitehall standing duty for the Kremlin --- and very effectively too.
As others have noted, the haunting title music is from The Gadfly by Shostakovitch, not by one Harry Rabinovitch, as credited in the series (the incidental music seems to have been lifted from other Russian composers of the more romantic sort, including Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, if my ear listened clearly enough). Rabinovitch must have taken a leaf from the felonious damn cheek of Reilly himself! Oy veh!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Composer ?
In this compelling series, the sweeping music is said to be by Harry Rabinowitz. But to me it is " The Romance " from Shostakovich´s music to " The Gadfly " ! Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2006 by B. Gudgeirsson
Great series. I saw it on PBS twice
Sam Neill is in his element as Sidney Reilly (Sigmund Rosenblum) during the Russian revolution. You are never sure whom he is spying for. Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2004 by bernie
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