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Enigma [2001]
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Based on the novel by Robert Harris and adapted for the screen by Tom Stoppard, Enigma is unsurprisingly a literate and accomplished piece, unfussily directed by Michael Apted who keeps the various current and flashback story threads moving neatly in parallel, helped along by a languid score from veteran John Barry and a vividly realised wartime setting ("Have you heard the latest? Utility knickers--one yank and they're off!"). The contrived plot, however, distracts from the real drama, which is to be found in the desperate struggle to decipher the Enigma machine codes and the sometimes terrible ethical dilemmas involved. A little like that other Kate Winslet film, Titanic, this is another example of the factual background being far more compelling than the fiction grafted on top. On the DVD: Engima arrives on disc in an extras-free package, with only scene selection and subtitles. More than one excellent documentary has been made about Alan Turing and his team of Bletchley Park codebreakers, so it's doubly disappointing to have nothing here on the real-life events depicted in the movie. Picture is widescreen 1.78:1 and sound Dolby 5.1 surround.--Mark Walker Widescreen 1.78:1 format
RRP: £17.99
Our Price: £3.74 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Codebreaking is an inherently fascinating but not especially cinematic endeavour, which is why Enigma spices up the true story of Bletchley Park and its eclectic group of Nazi code-cracking geniuses with some fictional romance and intrigue. Dougray Scott plays gaunt mathematician Tom Jericho, haunted by the spectre of his missing girlfriend Claire (self-consciously gorgeous Saffron Burrows). Tom turns to Claire's frumpy housemate Hester Wallace (dressed-down Kate Winslet) to help him find her, but their search unexpectedly reveals the presence of a spy at Bletchley Park. Matters are further complicated by an investigating secret service agent (imperturbable Jeremy Northam) and the hostility of Jericho's superiors.
Editorial
DVD Description
DVD Features:
Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, English for the hearing impaired, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Editorial
Synopsis
Set in England during World War II, Michael Apted's ENIGMA follows bookish code-breaker Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) through a whirlwind love affair with Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows), a seductive blonde clerk, and his subsequent recovery from a mental breakdown caused by the relationship. As Tom begins to pick up the pieces of his sanity, he is reinstated by his former employers at Bletchley Park, a secret agency that intercepts transmissions from German U-boats and decodes them for use in the Allied cause. When a suave government agent (Jeremy Northam) investigates Bletchley in search of a suspected spy and the now-missing Claire, Tom takes matters into his own hands and enlists the help of Claire's roommate, the seemingly prim Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet). Together Tom and Hester begin to unravel a mystery that goes extends across continents and allegiances.
Apted's WWII thriller, based on the novel by Robert Harris and screenplay by Tom Stoppard, is a well-crafted period piece that successfully transports the audience to 1940s Britain. Scott and Winslet are compelling in their roles as intellectuals forced into action, and Northam exudes a rakish charm during his appearances. The film's secret weapon, however, is the plot, which gets more and more intriguing as the story progresses. In the end, even the most astute viewers will be surprised by ENIGMA's finale.
Editorial
From the Back Cover
In March 1943 the code breakers at Bletchley Park, Britain's top secret intelligence station, are facing their worst nightmare. Nazi U boats have unexpectedly changed the code by which they communicate with each other and German High Command. An Allied merchant shipping convoy crossing the Atlantic with 10,000 passengers and vital supplies is in danger of attack. The authorities turn for help to Tom Jericho, a brilliant young mathematician and code breaker. Unknown to his colleagues, Jericho (Dougray Scott) has another equally baffling enigma of his own to unravel. Claire, the woman with whom he has fallen in love, has disappeared from Bletchley just when the authorities suspect there may be a spy at the Park. To get tot the bottom of both mysteries he enlists the help of Hester, Claire's best friend (Kate Winslet). Together they keep one step ahead of the secret services and investigate Claire's mysterious life, reaching a conclusion that uncovers international and personal betrayals. Also starring Jeremy Northam and Saffron Burrows.
Parody
Review date: 2008-07-11 Rating: 4 out of 10
If this is the version I've seen, it must be the most coy rendering of actual events I've seen. It's well known that the most significant figure in the Bletchley/Enigma project was Alan Turing. Yet I don't remember that he was ever mentioned in this film. Instead, a sweet romance was shoehorned in. Turing, we should understand, was homosexual - and was made to suffer for it, to the point of suicide. He was never honoured in his lifetime, or even until very recently, largely for that reason. This version is truly Hamlet without the prince. Come on, directors, we're all grown up now.
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Reviews
Good film, rubbish release.
Review date: 2008-07-06 Rating: 6 out of 10
This is a very good film, and I feel that the review "An Enigmatic film experience" posted in 2002 gives a suitable resume of the movie itself.
This review is primarily a warning to mention that the writer of that review is referring to the original DVD release of the film, which had lots of special features and was in the correct cinema aspect ratio (2.35:1) and which on Amazon, at least, is currently unavailable.
The item on sale at the moment is a re-released version, which is inexplicably much poorer than the original. It appears to be a rather hashed together DVD in every respect, with the film itself shown in a shockingly bad print in a cropped aspect ratio (1.78:1), which noticably damages director Michael Apted's framing at crucial points with very distracting pan-and-scanning. The DVD also has no extras at all.
I have thus given this release three stars because despite it being an enjoyable film, the DVD is rubbish. Let's hope the studio will think again and re-release their original DVD print.
Film ****
DVD *
Possibly the dullest film I've ever seen!
Review date: 2008-01-18 Rating: 2 out of 10
Ever watched a film and kept thinking "it'll get better in a minute"?
This film has had some really good reviews on Amazon, but I'm clearly missing something, because I can't see why. Maybe it's just not my cuppa tea, but I could only bear 40 minutes of Enigma before I turned it off due to utter boredom. I found it as dull as ditchwater.
Enjoyable intelligencer
Review date: 2007-08-12 Rating: 8 out of 10
Good to see old fashioned values of plot, friction, a small love interest, and a proper climax come to the fore in this this quietly drawn thriller. Winslet confirms she is not just nice to look at, but a real actor, and British through and through. I don't know the factual validity of the material, but do know it makes for a damned fine film. Give 'em all a drop of Scotch in their tea cups.
Worth watching but don't think this is the real story
Review date: 2007-08-04 Rating: 6 out of 10
I was so looking forward to this film as I have for many years been fascinated by the story of Bletchley Park. I also love Robert Harris' novel "Enigma" on which this film is partly based.
I was disappointed because I have read something of the backgound and found the short cuts taken for the purposes of the screenplay very clumsy, for example the explanation about why the U-boat codes couldn't be read and taking an Enigma machine away, just misrepresented the technicalities and the real drama and difficulty of what people were doing.
If I hadn't known what the story of code-breaking was really about, I would have really enjoyed this film and there is a lot to like. Kate Winslet is well-cast and is good in the role of Hester. Jeremy Northam is wonderfully chilling. Dougray Scott uses a strange array of accents but is endearing. There is one scene which captures the tension, when the codebreakers spend the night trying to reconstruct their "crib" in order to break the code and that is very well done. The whole film is well made, I think.
So, in summary, this an odd adaptation of a book which itself tries to tell a true story by means of fiction. It's all a bit techie so that was always going to be difficult.
Watch it as a latter-day John Buchan story. It's a fun film.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Jeremy Northam
Saffron Burrows
Kate Winslet
Dougray Scott
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Creators:
Dougray Scott (Primary Contributor)
Kate Winslet (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
EAN: 5017188885058
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-05-01
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 114 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2002-01-24
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: German (Original Language)