Bridge of Spies

2015
12A
2h 22m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

335K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:44

Legal Drama Legal Thriller Period Drama Political Drama Political Thriller Spy Drama History Thriller War

During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 sp... Read allDuring the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

335K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,168

206

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Oscar
- 30 wins & 105 nominations total

Videos34

Trailer 1:44

"Standing Man" Trailer

Trailer 2:45

International Trailer

Trailer 2:45

International Trailer

Trailer 2:43

Trailer #1

Clip 0:55

Bridge Of Spies: He's A Spy (French Subtitled)

Clip 0:33

Bridge Of Spies: Would It Help?

Clip 0:50

Bridge Of Spies: The Rule Book

Photos200

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Soviet agent Rudolf Ivanovich Abel sent and received coded messages that were hidden inside such things as hollow U.S. coins, bolts, and batteries. The FBI first became aware of Abel's activities in 1953, when Abel's incompetent junior colleague Reino Hayhanen carelessly spent a hollow nickel that ended up in the hands of a paperboy. The Brooklyn newsboy who got the nickel thought it felt too light. He dropped the nickel on the sidewalk, and it popped open, revealing a piece of microfilm with a coded message inside. After Hayhanen's blunders, Abel lost confidence in him and sent him back to the U.S.S.R., which would not have gone well for Hayhanen, who defected in 1957. He showed the FBI how to crack the code and it was Hayhanen who gave up Rudolf Abel. The "Hollow Nickel Case" was also dramatized in The FBI Story (1959).

Goofs
The end titles say that the Soviets never acknowledged Abel as a spy. On the contrary, Rudolf Ivanovich Abel was frequently used as an example of a very successful spy, being able to stay undetected for 8 years in the United States and maintain his silence after being captured. Western journalists were invited to attend Abel's funeral. His gravestone is marked with the KGB crest. Abel also frequently gave public speeches about the importance of intelligence work. Finally, Abel is portrayed on a series of Soviet stamps dedicated to "Soviet Intelligence officers" together with other well known agents such as Kim Philby and K.T. Molody.

Quotes
James Donovan: I have a mandate to serve you. Nobody else does. Quite frankly, everybody else has an interest in sending you to the electric chair.
Rudolf Abel: All right...
James Donovan: You don't seem alarmed.
Rudolf Abel: Would it help?

Connections
Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Tom Hanks/Jessica Chastain/Pentatonix (2015)

Soundtracks
Please Send Me Someone to Love
Written by Percy Mayfield
Performed by Red Garland
Courtesy of Savoy Jazz

User reviews627

Featured review

9/10

A very good, very Spielberg motion picture, starring Tom Hanks.

This movie hit me really strangely.

I was expecting a political drama about the cold war, and while indeed it was that, I was not expecting to have so much fun and for Bridge of Spies to be so humorous.

The Coen brothers writing a movie Steven Spielberg would direct just sounds like a winning combination and it really was. Sealing the deal, was a great performance by Tom Hanks.

Tom Hanks does what he does best, by playing an everyday man in an average life. James Donovan was just an insurance lawyer who gets caught up in the middle of the Cold War. Bridge of Spies, starts him off so normal and then turns his life into quite an adventure.

And I do mean adventure. In the hands of Spielberg, the movie's visuals were large and epic. I was expecting this movie to feel more like his last flick, Lincoln. Instead it feels more like Indiana Jones, as James Donovan travels to Berlin at the time when the wall was being completed.

Watching Hanks play Donovan who is just swept into an overwhelming situation and just keeps his cool and his charm is just highly enjoyable.

Totally loved Bridge of Spies, It's one of the best team ups between Hanks and Spielberg and even though Lincoln was a great movie, Bridge of Spies is everything Spielberg is capable of. So entertaining.