This being Thursday, it's time for another edition of Thursday Movie Picks, the blogathon run by Wandering Through the Shelves. This week's theme is the Cold War, which is somewhat timely what with Pawel Pawlikowski's film of the same title having been nominated for several Oscars, even if it failed to win any. The Cold War began after the end of World War II, so I don't get to pick movies that are quite as old as the ones I would normally pick. But I didn't have much difficulty coming up with three movies:
The Prize (1963). Paul Newman plays the latest winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and in the run-up to the ceremony, he gets the distinct feeling that there's something wrong with the Physics laureate (Edward G. Robinson). It turns out that Robinson has been kidnapped and replaced by a lookalike, with the intention of taking the real one to the Communist bloc and force him to work on nuclear weapons research.
Torn Curtain (1966). Paul Newman, again, plays a nuclear scientist who announces his intention to defect to East Germany. However, it's a ruse: Newman knows an East German physicist has come up with some top secret formula, and Newman's intention is to get that formula and escape back to the West with it. Complicating things is the fact that his secretary (Julie Andrews) follows him to East Germany.
Spies Like Us (1985). Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd play a pair of civil servants who get fast-tracked through the spy program and sent on a mission against the Soviets, only to discover that they're supposed to be decoys for the Soviets to liquidate while the real mission goes ahead. However, the real mission doesn't go to plan, and our two bumbling "spies" have to save the day. The ending scene is very much a product of the 80s:
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3 comments:
I LOVE The Prize!! What a cast! Newman is exuding Movie Star panache like crazy, Elke Sommer is cool and gorgeous, Micheline Presle a droll delight and the story is well told with a definite Hitchcock feeling.
I've never been that fond of Torn Curtain. It's fine but for Hitchcock mid-tier. Spies Like Us is dumb but in a ridiculous 80's way.
I also went a bit more contemporary than I usually do.
Bridge of Spies (2015)-During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks), recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court. Excellent performances by all and strong direction by Steven Spielberg keep this involving throughout.
Good Luck, and Good Night (2005)-Senator Joseph McCarthy begins a vicious witch hunt to root out Communists in America destroying lives and careers without concern. Powerful CBS News reporter Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) dedicates himself to exposing the atrocities being committed by McCarthy's Senate "investigation." Murrow is supported by a news team that includes long-time friend and producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney). The CBS team does its best to point out the senator's lies and excesses, despite pressure from CBS' corporate sponsors to desist. Directed by Clooney in stark black and white to evoke the period this has a stacked cast, Patricia Clarkson, Robert Downey, Jr. and Jeff Daniels among others, all working at top speed but it’s Strathairn’s Oscar nominated turn that makes the film run.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)-Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers are captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon returns home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra), finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and, together with fellow soldier Allen Melvin (James Edwards), races to uncover a terrible plot leading to the top tiers of power. John Frankenheimer directs with laser point precision guiding the story without wasting a frame. Angela Lansbury is flat out amazing in a portrait of coiled evil hidden behind a placid veneer.
I think I might watch Spies like Us. It seems a lot of fun. For me, Torn Curtain was one of Hitch’s weakest films
I have not seen The Prize but it sounds excellent. I love Hitchcock but this one is just OK. I could never believe Julie Andrews as a Hitchcock heroine. I love Spies Like Us with the dumb comedy style and typical ending but it’s so fun to watch.
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