Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Synopsis
The adaptation of John Le Carre's bestseller in which a Polish defector is promised political asylum if he will go back behind the Iron Curtain.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Hungarian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Italian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Arabic ( Subtitles ), Danish ( Subtitles ), Dutch ( Subtitles ), English ( Subtitles ), Finnish ( Subtitles ), French ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ), Greek ( Subtitles ), Hindi ( Subtitles ), Hungarian ( Subtitles ), Italian ( Subtitles ), Norwegian ( Subtitles ), Polish ( Subtitles ), Portuguese ( Subtitles ), Swedish ( Subtitles ), Turkish ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: At the height of the Cold War, British Intellegence discovers evidence that suggests Soviet missiles are being positioned close to the German border. With no active agents available to investigate, Fred Leiser must be called back to the colors and sent East. Once behind the Iron Curtain, Leiser meets a sympathetic German girl who tries to help him to evade the East German secret police and to complete his assignment. ...The Looking Glass War
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The screen adaption of John Le Carre's The Looking Glass War hasn't improved with age. Frank Piersens' direction is unnecessarily slow and at times has more in common with a road movie than it does a spy movie. Wally Stott's score is underused and lacking in tension. As Polish seaman Leisser, Christopher Jones' James Dean posturings were mannered even in 1969 and too much of the film seems like an expensive show reel for Jones' undeniable screen presence and propensity for looking iconic in every given situation. As Leisser's handler, Anthony Hopkins (Avery) feels somewhat wasted but manages to convey the complexity of a man in cisis, his growing attachment and attraction to Leisser reveals how little he feels for his wife (Anna Massey)and the utter pointlessness of his job. Ralph Richardson is splendidly uncaring, aloof and bored. The romance between Leisser & the girl (Pia Degermark), whom he picks up on the road and who tries to sway Leisser from his mission, is not only confused but features some spectacuarly risable dialogue that only a sixth former could have considered profound. Whether or not the movie is an accurate representation of the novel, Piedersen's direction seems perversely to avoid the key ingredients of what constitute a good spy movie - intrigue and suspense. Look out for Susan George, Tim West, Ray Mcnally and Michael Robbins (On The Buses) as a homosexual truck driver whose German accent sounds like he spent his formative years in Cardiff.
44 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The year is 1969 and the Cold War is raging. A British spy who was investigating missiles on the East German border has just been killed. The West needs another agent fast and they hire Leiser (Christopher Jones), a handsome and clever young man from Poland. He agrees to be a spy in exchange for political asylum in the West. He sneaks into East Germany and finds not only missiles, but also an very pretty girl, while his trainers (Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Richardson) anxiously wait to hear from him.
This isn't the James Bond kind of spy movie; there's no glitz or glamour and definitely no humor. Instead, it's a grim, pitiless look at the men who pull the strings in the espionage game. There isn't a lot of action; the bleak and hopeless mood of the times pervades the story. With Hopkins and Richardson around, one has to wonder why they recruited an outsider to join British Intelligence, but if you can overlook this plot hole, it is an engrossing film. Handsome Christopher Jones, a James Dean look-alike, is appropriately petulant and charismatic. It's a shame his voice had to be dubbed; one wonders what his voice really sounds like. Young Anthony Hopkins brings his usual intensity and dignity to a rather thankless role. It's an interesting and quite cynical look at the paranoia that characterized the 60s.
This isn't the James Bond kind of spy movie; there's no glitz or glamour and definitely no humor. Instead, it's a grim, pitiless look at the men who pull the strings in the espionage game. There isn't a lot of action; the bleak and hopeless mood of the times pervades the story. With Hopkins and Richardson around, one has to wonder why they recruited an outsider to join British Intelligence, but if you can overlook this plot hole, it is an engrossing film. Handsome Christopher Jones, a James Dean look-alike, is appropriately petulant and charismatic. It's a shame his voice had to be dubbed; one wonders what his voice really sounds like. Young Anthony Hopkins brings his usual intensity and dignity to a rather thankless role. It's an interesting and quite cynical look at the paranoia that characterized the 60s.
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have seen a good clutch of negative reviews of this film, all of which, I have to say, are misconceived. The director created this film in the true Carreian vein. A brutal and unglamorous world is exposed with fine precision and the right heartbeat. Those who seek the romance and the glamour need to look for another author and cheaper spy stories. This piece of old world cinema is touching and convincing.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Old films again
Only slightly better than "The 10th Man". The ending seemed to be rushed as though the makers had run out of ideas.
Published 22 days ago by Kimon
Slow movie - don't expect too much action
As a fan of LeCaree I ordered this movie expecting a solid action spy story. Unfortunately the (little) story develops rather slow, and not too logic anyway. Read more
Published 4 months ago by DGP
Dreadful script
I was excited that it was an 'old' Anthony Hopkins' film, until I started watching a very dated British budget movie, with an appalling script and acting that would not be... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Gloria from Calpe
Review No. 1
I cannot review the movie, since after unpacking the DVD I found out that it is encoded in PAL and therefore not compatible with the North-American system. Read more
Published 9 months ago by A. F. Abraham
Obscure Old Film Based on Obscure Old LeCarre Book
"The Looking Glass War" (1969) is an obscure old movie based on an obscure, old, early John LeCarre spy thriller of the same name. Read more
Published on 27 April 2010 by Stephanie DePue
Hopkins Does His Best with a poor film!
Good story, made on a tight budget, sadly. Hopkins clearly showed his early talents in this stark, moody film. Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2007 by Pip Thomson
Disappointing
Sorry, but I found this to be a very poor adaptation of the book. Frank Pierson made this great novel into barely more than a romantic(!!) melodrama without the happy end. Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2007 by Network English
Games Behind The Wall
A good adaptation of the John le Carre novel, made in 1969, some years after the short book came out. Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2007 by Ian Millard
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
