The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)

Nominated for 2 Academy Awards:

Best Actor: Richard Burton

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

 

Three good movies in a row that I’d never seen? I can’t be that lucky, and yet it happened. Today’s spy movie was very serious, cold and somber, and I still liked it, but then it clearly got better in the last 30 minutes and that ending was spectacular. I went in knowing very little about it, or about the book, and I was pleasantly surprised by its twists and turns.

A big congrats to the director for holding it together even when the film got very wordy and it could’ve easily gone dull. Yes, the middle part could’ve been better, but the payoff was big, and a lot of the credit goes to the director. It has beautiful black & white cinematography, and very fit for the material. Burton was a big movie star by then, but it feels like he did something different here, going for a more vulnerable, flawed, realistic character. I can’t say if he deserved the win, but he gave a very fine performance. The film is a slow-burner, but worth it if you stick around until the end.

 

I give it: 8.5/10

IMDB LINK