Bridge of Spies [DVD] [2015]

Take your self back to a time when people actually interacted with each other. No "E-mail", No "Tweet's", No "Cell Phones". Back when you had to look someone in the eye and lie to them. When negotiation's were done with adversaries, who had the same goals on either side (to win). The art of thought, of speaking "with" not speaking "at" someone. Oh yeah, there is all of that clandestine stuff too. Popcorn, a drink, and you can get lost in this much simpler time. Enjoy.

The plot-line is superbly written as is the film’s 7.1 sound-track and 7.1 sound-effects which are specifically tailored to each scene – both-of-which draws the audience-into a very immersive viewing experience. It is very evident that the director of the film went to great lengths to replicate the 1961-62 East Berlin experience – clothing, uniforms, automobiles, military equipment, the building of the Berlin Wall, the East Berlin’s neighborhoods down-trodden experience both exterior as-well-as-interior, and the peoples persona – both Russian and East German. The film exudes the periods memories and emotional sentiments toward the Cold War period - both at home and abroad. This film will emotionally draw the audience-in more than just several times and bring out your pride in America as-well-as your thanks to James Donovan – the quiet hero of the film and his family. Additional Info: The Glienickle Bridge [the “exchange” bridge], 14109 Berlin Street [the Bridge of Spies] crosses the Havel River and connects the Wannsee district of Berlin with the Brandenburg capital Potsdam – the view of the bridge remains the same (2018) as it was during the period of the film except Guard Posts and Obstacles have been removed and traffic flows over it freely.

I love a true story and this wont disappoint! Must see!

As has been in many of his more recent starring roles (The Post, Sully, Captain Phillips, etc.) Tom Hanks is very believable as a lawyer chosen by the U.S. government to negotiate a solution to a diplomatic crisis in post-WWII East Germany. Steven Spielberg crafted a taut screenplay about a man who must make the best of a situation that he did not create.

“Bridge of Spies” is an excellent film directed by Steven Spielberg starring Tom Hanks telling the (not so well known) story of authentic American-hero James B. Donovan whose expert negotiating skills and unshakable-ethics were not only effective in bringing-home (from behind the Iron-curtain) downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers and American student studying in East-Germany Fredric Pryor. In the process James Donovan also demonstrated to the World our hallowed ideals of fairness, integrity & rule-of-Law = ideals that Western democracies still strived to maintain during those ambiguous (and precarious) dark-Days associated with the bitter/frigid 'Cold-War' Spielberg’s film masterfully evokes that particular atmosphere of tension-mistrust-misunderstanding (and sometimes even deliberate-deception of course) that was commonplace during much of the Cold-War period (but especially so in the 1950’s and 60’s – when the free-flow of unfiltered information was a very rare commodity indeed) And principled individuals like James B. Donovan (who had the ability to ethically navigate thru the dense shadows & fog) were true godsends (and perhaps ultimately contributed to even staving-off thermo-nuclear conflagration) Tom Hanks portrays Donovan in a brilliantly ‘down-to-Earth’ manner = i.e. honest, unpretentious, tough-minded but compassionate.

I love Spielberg. Well I'll say I love old or vintage Spielberg and have been meh about his new films. Bridge of Spies is a good mix of his old movies and his new. He crafts a great thriller and with Tom Hanks in the lead this incredible true story is in good hands. Mark Rylance was amazing as well and sort of steals the picture from Hanks. Highly recommended.

Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies is another spectacular collaboration between one of the greatest filmmakers and actors of our time. This is his fourth collaboration with Tom Hanks, after Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002) and the underrated The Terminal (2004), and together they’re keeping classical, adult Hollywood entertainment alive. Spielberg makes it all look easy - it’s entirely possible that the skill and artistry behind a movie like this might go unnoticed by some audiences, because the filmmaking is not flashy. Everything is in the service of storytelling. And Hanks’s performance is something only the world’s best movie star could give us. I couldn’t be happier that Spielberg is concentrating his efforts toward making big budget, challenging historical dramas like this and Lincoln that nobody else can get made nowadays.

I'm sure you've read the same reviews for this over and over so I'll just drop a little interesting information about how this film got made. The screenwriter was a play write who used to work at a car wash and think stories as he worked. He would read history books for fun and came across this specific story as a footnote. Having never heard of James Donovan he looked more into the history of the spy transfer. He wrote the screenplay and shopped it around Hollywood only to find Spielberg's production company showed interest. After pitching the story to a Spielberg underling the writer (Matt Charman) received a phone call from the man himself. Spielberg said he has an actor friend named Tom he wouldn't mind sharing the script with. Tom Hanks signed on and Spielberg, who was about to start another project, put the other project on hold and made Bridge of Spies instead. Pretty neat, huh.