It was 1965. The Cold War was raging. Espionage was in its heyday. That year not only saw another James Bond movie ("Thunderball"), but also the first Harry Palmer movie ("The Ipcress File"), the first Derek Flynt movie (I can never remember which came first), and the debut of "Get Smart" (an add for that one even called Maxwell Smart "the spy who forgot to come in from the cold"). So it's no surprise that "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" got released that year.
I will say that this movie overall is a little confusing, with Richard Burton as a British agent taking on a dangerous mission in East Germany. But there were some things that I noticed in the movie that may back up everyone's stereotypes about the west. Someone tells Burton about the notion that the west is never the aggressor. The people in various colonized countries know that to be entirely untrue. Also, Burton says that it is our right to be ignorant; we've unfortunately overused that right.
But I digress. I liked the movie, even if it was often hard to follow. Far from the idealized, sex-centric world of James Bond, "TSWCIFTC" shows the ugly side of espionage. And it does a very intense job of it. Also starring Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner and Bernard Lee (I believe that he's the same Bernard Lee who played M in the James Bond movies).
I will say that this movie overall is a little confusing, with Richard Burton as a British agent taking on a dangerous mission in East Germany. But there were some things that I noticed in the movie that may back up everyone's stereotypes about the west. Someone tells Burton about the notion that the west is never the aggressor. The people in various colonized countries know that to be entirely untrue. Also, Burton says that it is our right to be ignorant; we've unfortunately overused that right.
But I digress. I liked the movie, even if it was often hard to follow. Far from the idealized, sex-centric world of James Bond, "TSWCIFTC" shows the ugly side of espionage. And it does a very intense job of it. Also starring Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner and Bernard Lee (I believe that he's the same Bernard Lee who played M in the James Bond movies).