Spy Game (2001)

Retiring CIA agent Nathan Muir recalls his training of Tom Bishop while working against agency politics to free him from his Chinese captors.

Director:

Tony Scott

Writers:

Michael Frost Beckner (story), Michael Frost Beckner (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormack

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Redford	...	Nathan D. Muir
Brad Pitt	...	Tom Bishop
Catherine McCormack	...	Elizabeth Hadley
Stephen Dillane	...	Charles Harker
Larry Bryggman	...	Troy Folger
Marianne Jean-Baptiste	...	Gladys Jennip
Matthew Marsh	...	Dr. William Byars
Todd Boyce	...	Robert Aiken
Michael Paul Chan	...	Vincent Vy Ngo
Garrick Hagon	...	CIA Director Cy Wilson
Andrew Grainger	...	Andrew Unger
Bill Buell	...	Fred Kappler
Colin Stinton	...	Henry Pollard
Ted Maynard	...	CIA Administrator
Tom Hodgkins	...	CIA Lobby Guard

Storyline

CIA operative Nathan Muir (Redford) is on the brink of retirement when he finds out that his protege Tom Bishop (Pitt) has been arrested in China for espionage. No stranger to the machinations of the CIA's top echelon, Muir hones all his skills and irreverent manner in order to find a way to free Bishop. As he embarks on his mission to free Bishop, Muir recalls how he recruited and trained the young rookie, at that time a sergeant in Vietnam, their turbulent times together as operatives and the woman who threatened their friendship.

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Plot Keywords:

cia | china | retirement | espionage | rescue | 

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Taglines:

It's not how you play the game. It's how the game plays you.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

Germany USA Japan France

Language:

English German Arabic French Cantonese

Release Date:

21 November 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Juego de espías

Filming Locations:

Beirut, Lebanon

Box Office

Budget:

$92,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$170,187 (Brazil) (2 August 2002)

Gross:

$982,874 (Brazil) (9 August 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Beacon Communications, Kalima Productions GmbH & Co. KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min 114 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kimberly Paige, playing the part of Sandy at the embassy in Berlin, is wife of the former US ambassador to Hungary, the location where the Berlin scenes were filmed.

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Goofs

In 1985 in the Beirut café, the song heard in the background is "Noor Eshams" by the Lebanese singer Pascal Mashalani, the song was released for the first time in 2000.

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Quotes

Charles Harker: We need the press on this like we need a third tit.
Nathan Muir: You using the other two?

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, many of the credits are each preceded by a jumble of letters flickering on the screen. This may be a reference to the opening credit sequence of one of Robert Redford's earlier spy movies, Sneakers.

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Connections

References Sneakers (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Brothers in Arms"
Written by Mark Knopfler
Performed by Dire Straits
Courtesy of Mercury Records, Ltd. / Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Better the n-th time around.

I made the mistake of only watching this film once the first time around. I did end up buying it, though I was never sure why. Then, years later, I got around to watching it again... and again... and again... While Spy Game is so fast-paced that it's difficult to keep up the first time around, I think that's what makes it such a great DVD.

There are performances in this movie that defy description. You almost get a sense that if you were to meet him in the street, you'd get someone named Nathan Muir playing the part of Robert Redford - the transformation is that complete. In several scenes, but especially the scene on the Berlin rooftop, Redford gives a performance that is unlike almost anything I've ever seen in cinema. It's that perfect. Brad Pitt also does an amazing job, but Redford steals the whole movie.

I had to re-watch Spy Game three times before I felt I got a complete understanding of everything going on. There is almost nothing given away for free in this movie - none of the standard Hollywood "shove-it-in-your-face-so-you're-sure-to-get-it" fare. Every decision, most plot points, and a lot of what would normally be called "meaningful looks" are written on Muir's face for a split second, then they're gone.

This is one of the few movies that's intellectually challenging to watch. It takes patience and a quick assessment of each scene to understand and keep up. None of the acting is over the top or explicit; most everything is controlled, subtle, and delicately handled.

All in all, Spy Game is an exceptional movie, IMO, to watch and in some ways to study.