Bridge of Spies (2015)

During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Matt Charman, Ethan Coen

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda

Won 1 Oscar. Another 24 wins & 86 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Rylance	...	Rudolf Abel
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	Agent Blasco
Victor Verhaeghe	...	Agent Gamber
Mark Fichera	...	FBI Agent
Brian Hutchison	...	FBI Agent
Tom Hanks	...	James B. Donovan
Joshua Harto	...	Bates
Henny Russell	...	Receptionist
Rebekah Brockman	...	Alison (Donovan's Secretary)
Alan Alda	...	Thomas Watters Jr.
John Rue	...	Lynn Goodnough
Billy Magnussen	...	Doug Forrester
Amy Ryan	...	Mary Donovan
Jillian Lebling	...	Peggy Donovan
Noah Schnapp	...	Roger Donovan

Storyline

In the cold war, a lawyer, James B. Donovan is recruited by the CIA and involved in an intense negotiation mission to release and exchange a CIA U-2 spy-plane pilot, Francis G. Powers. The pilot was arrested alive after his plane was shot down by the Soviet Union during a mission and stays in the company of a KGB intelligence officer, Rudolf Abel, who was arrested for espionage in the US.

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Plot Keywords:

lawyer | cold war | negotiation | spy | cia | 

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Taglines:

In the shadow of war, one man showed the world what we stand for.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Germany India

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

16 October 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

St. James Place

Filming Locations:

Glienicker Brücke, Potsdam, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$15,371,203 (USA) (16 October 2015)

Gross:

$72,306,065 (USA) (4 March 2016)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks SKG, Fox 2000 Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Steven Spielberg had been very much interested in directing a James Bond spy film in his earlier years and did have talks with then Bond franchise producer Albert R. Broccoli about directing For Your Eyes Only (1981) but Broccoli told him he only wanted British directors to helm the Bond series. Shortly afterwards, George Lucas offered Spielberg an iconic hero of his own, in the form of Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

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Goofs

When Mary is standing in her kitchen holding the refrigerator door open, she has a bunch of bananas propped up against the door in her right hand. In the first shot, the bananas are curved outward toward the camera and to the right, and are yellow. In the next camera shot, they are curved inward, to the left, and are green & yellow.

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Quotes

James Donovan: You have been charged with three counts and nineteen overt acts. Conspiracy to transmit United States defence and atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, conspiracy to gather secrets, and failing to register as a foreign agent.
Rudolf Abel: Do many foreign agents register?

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Connections

Featured in Berlin 1961: Re-Creating the Divide (2016)

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Soundtracks

Concerto N. 2 for Piano and Orchestra Op 102
Written by Dmitri Shostakovich (as Dmitrij Dmitievi Shostakovich)
Performed by Andrey Gugnin, piano with The Moscow Chamber Orchestra
Conducted by Konstantin Orbelyan (as Constantine Orbelian)
Courtesy of Delos Productions
By arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

Missing something

It was opening night, the theater was packed and I was expecting greatness. After all, this story is right in Spielberg's wheelhouse. The time period, cold war, Tom Hanks, the stars were aligned. I will start with this notion, Spielberg's movies are always well acted, always well shot and always beautifully scored. Bridge of Spies does not fail this standard. There are clearly some remarkable acting performances. It wouldn't be a surprise to see some trophies handed out for this work. The director got what he needed, superb acting. The actors did not get what they need, superb story telling. It is the only thing missing here but it's a biggie.

If you know anything about the real life story of James Donovan you could easily imagine a truly exciting movie. The opening credit sequence included this line...Based on Real Events. This disclaimer gives license to the director to "Hollywood up" the story. So basically there are no excuses. In Munich, the director pealed your sole with great story telling, tension and acting. Bridge of Spies had that potential, at least, that's what I was expecting. Tension was left out of this movie for some reason. I theorize Spielberg did this intensionally. Why? Somebody should ask him.