When the Department – faded since the war and busy only with bureaucratic battles – hears rumour of a missile base near the West German border, it seems like the perfect opportunity to regain some political standing in the Intelligence market place. The Cold War is at its height and the Department is dying for a piece of the action.
Swiftly becoming carried away by fear and pride, the Department and her officers send deactivated agent Fred Leiser back into East Germany, armed only with some schoolboy training and his memories of the war.
Pierson's almost nihilistic film of the 1965 novel delivers a damning verdict on The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Most espionage operations, the film proposes, are more chaotic and absurd than they are the products of malign genius. An antidote to The Guns of Navarone or a precursor to Inglourious Basterds.
[T]he cinematography by Austin Dempster finds beauty in the East German countryside... the performances among the supporting actors are all first rate, with Hopkins particularly impressive in an early screen role ... it is an intelligent thriller ... with exotic locations and an impressive cast. .
