Enigma | | Cast : | Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet | | Director : | Michael Apted | | Studio : | Columbia Tristar Hom | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 01, 2001 | | DVD Released Date : | September 16, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 04, 2005 | | Summary | Best movie in a long time | Content
 | After all the schlock movies coming from Hollywood lately, it was truly refreshing to watch something with a real story and some great acting. I'm glad I happened on to this film. Actor Dougray Scott did an outstanding job portraying a brilliant but very human codebreaker. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 15, 2005 | | Summary | Just Doesn't Gel | Content
| Any movie in which the star spends his penultimate scene explaining what's been happening, is in trouble. Humphrey Bogart managed it in "The Maltese Falcon," but Dougray Scott is no Bogart. As a leading man he lacks just about everything. I caught this film on TV after the opening credits had rolled and didn't recognize Kate Winslet until her name showed up at the end. The plot comes at you from every point on the compass: Britain, Russia, Germany, Poland, America; but basically it's about a German spy working inside the code-breaking team in the UK during WW2. You're left at the end with more or less a big "Huh?" |
| Rating | | | Date | January 14, 2005 | | Summary | Good flick, slightly inaccurate historically | Content
| I hate to be picky..but the Enigma system was a stream cypher, NOT a code. A code encyphers the same item "battleship" say, in a finite number of ways. Eventually they repeat. The Enigma system would NOT repeat (in less than many years). That was it's strength. The movie publicises a little known, and scarcely appreciated part of WW2. Perhaps a major reason why we are not speaking German now. In my opinion: well written, convincingly acted, somewhat unkind to the Poles (who provided invaluable help to the Allies with their cryptographic skills - and were shabbily treated as a reward), but well worth a look. More historically accurate material is available from the Bletchley Park site for those interested in persuing cryptanalysis more deeply. Cheers.. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 19, 2004 | | Summary | Good, but beware of little tweaking of truth | Content
| It is a provocative, intelligent, and well-done movie, however not strictly based on facts. In short, it's not a masterpiece, but I would still recommend this film to people interested in the history of the Second World War. However, it must be taken with a pinch of salt. The main plot of the movie is not correct. The movie unfolds around an inaccurate premise that the Germans used the Enigma machine to cipher messages related to massacre of Polish officers. It is obvious why the authors did it - it was a device to link Polish motif with the cracking of the Enigma code. It is the fact, the Poles were very helpful to the British intelligence in cracking the German Enigma code. They actually delivered the top secret German Enigma machine to the hands of the head of British intelligence, who personally met Polish courier at the London's Victoria station. It is true; the cracking the Enigma code was crucial for protecting the US-British Atlantic convoys against German U-boats. However, the movie does not do the Poles any service by portraying the Polish code-breaker as a traitor who was willing to sell the Germans top British secrets just to harm the Soviets (as a pay back for the massacre of the Polish officers). It is not clear why would he favor Germans over Russians. After all, it was the Germans who were currently clearing off the Polish lands for the German settlers following the Nazi policy of expanding 'Lebensraum' at the expense of (using their terminology) 'Slavic vermin'. On the other hand, why the Germans would be so stupid as to cipher the massages, which potentially would be so damaging for the alliance of their enemies? The reality is, the Germans openly radio broadcasted in April 1943 the facts about what they found in Katyn forest, hoping to damage Soviet-Polish and Soviet-British alliance. The fact is, they did just that, although more in the long run. In the sort run, only few people even in AK (Polish Army) leadership circle in London were willing to believe the information transmitted by the Germans. Even those few who did, the British were extremely annoyed with. But in the long run, this crime of Stalin and Beria's NKVD committed in Byelorussian (not Ukrainian, as in the movie) forest would cloud the Russian-Polish relations for many years to come. The movie is incorrect, but raises questions worth asking... |
| Rating | | | Date | October 10, 2004 | | Summary | An Excellent, Literate Movie for Adults | Content
| I think this is one of the most literate and well-crafted movies to come out in the last 15 or 20 years. It tells the story of Tom Jericho, a math genius working at Bletchley Park during WWII. He and others are trying to break the variation of the Enigma code used by the German navy as their subs attack Allied convoys. Mixed into this is betrayal, conflicted feelings, the Katyn Massacre, romance, puzzles, and an instructive look at code breaking.
The screenplay is by Tom Stoppard, one of Britain's best playwrights, who has put together a literate, serious story, a believeable romance for grownups, and clever plot lines. Dougray Scott, as Jericho, and Kate Winslet, as Hester Wallace, are excellent. Scott for most of the time he's on screen looks exhausted and sad. The changes in his characterization as he slowly developes feelings for Winslet are subtle. Winslet sheds any glamor for the role. She wears round, black-rimmed glasses, is a little dumpy, but glows with intelligence. All the secondary parts are very well acted.
There's a lot going on in the movie, but the clues are all there. If you don't stay alert you'll lose enough of the thread to wonder what's going on, and you probably won't be able to catch up.
I think this is one of the rare instances where a movie is just as good as the book it's based on.
The DVD transfer is excellent. |
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