I Spy a Spy: A Tribute to John le Carré
Having worked for both MI5 and MI6, John le Carré was uniquely qualified to write espionage novels, many of which were made into movies, which went on to influence the genre as a whole. This week we offer a tribute to the spymaster himself.
Atomic Blonde
Talents can be overrated.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Sweden, United States • 2017
- Director David Leitch
- Cast Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, John Goodman
- Genre Action, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Bridge of Spies
An American lawyer is charged with defending a Soviet spy and negotiating his exchange for an American hostage in the USSR.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, India, United States • 2015
- Director Steven Spielberg
- Cast Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Sebastian Koch, Austin Stowell
- Genre Thriller, Drama
- Available on MGM Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
A Most Wanted Man
A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg and becomes a person of interest for a covert government team
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States, Germany • 2014
- Director Anton Corbijn
- Cast Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright, Daniel Brühl, Willem Dafoe, Grigoriy Dobrygin
- Genre Thriller
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Kingsman: The Secret Service
A suave spy takes a scrappy teenager under his wing. The kid's got talent, but manners maketh man.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2014
- Director Matthew Vaughn
- Cast Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Samuel L. Jackson, Sophie Cookson, Sofia Boutella
- Genre Crime, Comedy, Action, Adventure
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
MI6 calls espionage veteran agent George Smiley out of his forced retirement to uncover a Soviet mole during the Cold War.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United Kingdom, Germany • 2011
- Director Tomas Alfredson
- Cast Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, Benedict Cumberbatch
- Genre Drama, Thriller, Mystery
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Flame & Citron
(Flammen & Citronen)
During World War II, two assassins in the Danish resistance must navigate doubt and betrayal in order to survive and identify a double agent.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark, Germany, Norway • 2008
- Director Ole Christian Madsen
- Cast Thure Lindhardt, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Stengade, Peter Mygind, Mille Lehfeldt, Christian Berkel
- Genre Drama, History, Thriller, Adventure
- Available on AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Amazon Video, Kanopy
Black Book
(Zwartboek)
To fight the enemy, she must become one of them.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom • 2006
- Director Paul Verhoeven
- Cast Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn, Waldemar Kobus, Matthias Schoenaerts
- Genre Drama, Thriller, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Casino Royale
Everyone has a past. Every legend has a beginning.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Czech Republic, United States • 2006
- Director Martin Campbell
- Cast Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini
- Genre Adventure, Action, Thriller
- Available on Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Pluto TV
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
(OSS 117 : Le Caire, nid d'espions)
The Pride of French Intelligence.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2006
- Director Michel Hazanavicius
- Cast Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, Aure Atika, Philippe Lefebvre, Constantin Alexandrov, Saïd Amadis
- Genre Crime, Action, Adventure, Comedy
- Available on Fandor Amazon Channel, fuboTV, OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Crackle, Tubi TV, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
The Lives of Others
(Das Leben der Anderen)
Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's secret police listened to your secrets.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2006
- Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- Cast Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme, Hans-Uwe Bauer
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Constant Gardener
After a British diplomat's wife is murdered, he discovers those with the most reason to silence her are closer to home than he ever imagined.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Germany, United States • 2005
- Director Fernando Meirelles
- Cast Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, Bill Nighy, Donald Sumpter, Pete Postlethwaite
- Genre Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Enter the Dragon
A skilled martial artist is recruited to go undercover in a crime lord's tournament.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong, United States • 1973
- Director Robert Clouse
- Cast Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Sek Kin, Ahna Capri, Robert Wall
- Genre Action
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Army of Shadows
(L'Armée des ombres)
Betrayal. Loyalty. Collaboration. Resistance.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1969
- Director Jean-Pierre Melville
- Cast Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Simone Signoret, Paul Crauchet, Christian Barbier
- Genre War, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
A spy's last mission proves to be his most deadly.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1965
- Director Martin Ritt
- Cast Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner, Sam Wanamaker, George Voskovec, Rupert Davies
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on MGM Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Pluto TV, Kanopy
From Russia with Love
The world's masters of murder pull out all the stops to destroy Agent 007!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 1963
- Director Terence Young
- Cast Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Lotte Lenya, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell
- Genre Action, Adventure, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Plex
Le Petit Soldat
(Le petit soldat)
Split between love and his country, a French deserter during the Algerian war is forced to prove his loyalty.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1963
- Director Jean-Luc Godard
- Cast Michel Subor, Anna Karina, Henri-Jacques Huet, Paul Beauvais, László Szabó, Georges de Beauregard
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Criterion Channel