Bridge of Spies (Blu-ray) (2015)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Drama	Featurette-A Case of the Cold War: Bridge of Spies (17:45) Featurette-Berlin 1961: Recreating the Divide (11:35) Featurette-U-2 Spy Plane (8:45) Featurette-Spy Swap: Looking Back on the Final Act (5:42) More…-Digital Download
Rating
Year Of Production	2015
Running Time	141:19
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Steven Spielberg
Studio Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	Tom Hanks Mark Rylance Austin Stowell Scott Shepherd Will Rogers Amy Ryan Mikhail Gorevoy Sebastian Koch
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Thomas Newman

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1 French dts 5.1 German dts 5.1 Italian dts 5.1 Russian dts 5.1 Czech Dolby Digital 5.1 Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired French Dutch German Italian Russian Arabic Czech Estonian Croatian Bulgarian Greek Hebrew Hungarian Icelandic Korean Latvian Lithuanian Chinese Polish Portuguese Romanian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Turkish Ukranian	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Bridge of Spies is based on real events. In 1957 in New York at the height of the Cold War Russian spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) is arrested by the FBI and put on trial for treason, with the possibility of the death penalty. The establishment, the press and the public all believe Abel to be guilty, but to show the difference between the American rule of law and Soviet “justice” it is important that Abel have a credible defence attorney. Thus James Donovan (Tom Hanks), assistant prosecutor at the Nuremburg trials and respected lawyer, is approached by the New York Bar Association to represent Abel and he reluctantly agrees. During the trial Donovan faces judicial obstruction, CIA harassment, public resentment, threats and a drive by shooting at his house putting his wife Mary (Amy Ryan) in danger but he presses on regardless. Donovan comes to respect Abel’s courage and integrity, and even comes to like the man. Abel, not surprisingly, is found guilty but Donovan is able to persuade the judge to impose a prison sentence instead of the death penalty.

     Experienced pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) is recruited by the CIA to fly the U-2, a top secret high altitude spy plane, on missions over Russia. So secret is the program that the pilots are instructed that if they are shot down to destroy the aircraft and to commit suicide rather than be captured. When Power’s U-2 is shot down over Russia he does not kill himself; he is captured, paraded before the cameras, put through a public show trial and imprisoned. The CIA are anxious to get Powers back before he talks and the Russians are keen to get Abel back for the same reason, so the CIA request Donovan to go to Berlin to negotiate the prisoner exchange. The catch is that he cannot be seen to be a representative of his government so he has no official protection when he has to enter the Soviet sector of East Berlin, although he does have a CIA minder, Agent Hoffman (Scott Shepherd).

     In Berlin Donovan discovers that another American, young economics student Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers), has been arrested by the East Germans. Donovan is determined to include Pryor in the prisoner exchange as well as Powers but this is a time of great turmoil and danger in Berlin; the Berlin Wall is being constructed, those attempting to flee are being shot and there is distrust and resentment between the East German security service and their Russian occupiers. Donovan has thus to engage in a three way dialogue between himself, Ivan Schischkin (Mikhail Gorevoy) of the Russians and East German Wolfgang Vogel (Sebastian Koch), a juggling act that leads to a tense standoff on a snow clad Berlin bridge on a winter’s morning.

     Steven Spielberg is, with the possible exception of Martin Scorsese, the only one of the “brat pack” directors who revolutionised Hollywood filmmaking in the 1970s who, four decades later, continues to make impressive and well regarded films. He has been nominated for Oscars numerous times and won best director twice, for Schlinder’s List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). He is an influential and master storyteller, clearly interested in history where he has the ability to cover important themes and events from a human level. Thus Bridge of Spies, dealing with Cold War paranoia, justice and the rule of law, is the story of James Donovan, a lawyer and unassuming everyman, who despite hostility and harassment believed that everyone, even a Soviet spy, has rights. Of course, no-one in the last decade or so can do an everyman like Tom Hanks, and he is again in top form in Bridge of Spies. Mark Rylance, who won a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as Rudolf Abel, is also superb, a professional, dignified and courageous man standing up for what he believes in, and Rylance, against the odds, makes his Soviet spy a sympathetic character. Some of the exchanges between Abel and Donovan are also humorous and delightful.

     Spielberg always shows an attention to detail and Bridge of Spies is no exception. The reconstruction of New York in the late 1950s and Berlin of 1961 is meticulous; the widescreen frame of Spielberg’s usual cinematographer Janusz Kaminski is full of movement, authentic costumes, uniforms, cars and tanks. The East German location and the building of the Berlin Wall, filmed in a town in Poland as the East Berlin of 1961 does not exist in Berlin any more, looks and feels real. However, where possible, Spielberg did film in the authentic locations, such as the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin where the prisoner exchange actually occurred, adding a strong sense of verisimilitude to the film.

     Bridge of Spies is classic Spielberg, a compelling human drama within a meticulously realised and reconstructed period of history. It is great storytelling as well as good history, examining aspects of the Cold War during a period that was not all that long ago and with themes that are equally as relevant in today’s world.

Video

     Bridge of Spies is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     The detail of the sets, whether the US courts, the Soviet show trial or the snowy streets of Berlin is fabulous. Colours are natural although the US sections have a yellowish / brown tinge while the winter Berlin sequences are grey / blue. There are vibrant colours as well such as the red banners of the Soviet show trial or the deep blue of the river and sky during the exchange at the climax on the Glienicke Bridge. Blacks and shadow detail are very good, brightness and contrast consistent, skin tones natural.

     Artefacts or marks were absent.

     Subtitles include English for the Hearing Impaired plus a massive range of mainly European languages as well as Chinese, Korean and Arabic.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio choices include English DTS-HD MA 7.1, English descriptive audio (Dolby Digital 5.1) plus French, German, Italian, Russian, Czech (DTS 5.1), Hungarian, Polish, Turkish and Ukrainian (Dolby Digital 5.1).

     My system is not yet 7.1, so I listened to the film as 5.1. This is not an action film but the rears and surrounds were fully utilised throughout with ambient sounds, such as crowds, trains, weather effects and music, and they did become loud and active when the U-2 is shot down. Dialogue is always clear and easy to understand. The sub-woofer added depth when appropriate.

     This is the first Spielberg film since The Color Purple in 1985 not to be scored by John Williams who had health problems. Thomas Newman does deliver a Williamsish score, which is effective.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     The extras are interesting in parts as they include original black and white period newsreels, on set footage, concept art and interviews with an older Frederic Pryor, Francis Gary Powers, Jn and the voice of Gary Powers. They also do not overdo the film clips but the interest is reduced somewhat by the numerous sound bites from cast and crew, most of whom add little to the discussion or our understanding of the film.

A Case of the Cold War: Bridge of Spies (17:45)

     A look at the paranoia of the Cold War period, the fear of the Soviets and of a nuclear attack plus background detail on James Donovan and Gary Powers. Comments by Spielberg, Tom Hanks, 5 other cast, two producers, the screenwriter and the editor. Still, it is decent.

Berlin 1961: Recreating the Divide (11:35)

     Recreating 1961 Berlin in Poland, including the set and costumes. Comments by Spielberg, Hanks, DP Janusz Kaminski, two producers, the technical consultant, production designer and costume designer.

U-2 Spy Plane (8:45)

     Francis Gary Powers, Jn, the son of the spy plane pilot and now the founder of The Cold War Museum talks about his father. The featurette also looks at a real U-2 plane which is still flying, plus the filming of the green screen crash sequence.

Spy Swap: Looking Back on the Final Act (5:42)

     Filming the climax on the bridge where the exchange really happened, the construction of the Wall in Poland and the lies and misinformation which Powers faced when he returned to America, as people believed he had revealed secrets to the Russians. Comments by Spielberg, Hanks, Austin Stowell, the DP, a producer, the screenwriter and sound designer.

Credits (1:03)

    The credits for the featurettes.

Digital Download

     Code for a download.

    The US Region A Blu-ray of Bridge of Spies is the same technically as ours and has the same extras but many less audio and subtitle options. Our version is the same as the UK Region B. Buy local.

     History, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg is a winning combination, and Bridge of Spies does not disappoint. It is a meticulously reconstructed period piece, dramatic, visually impressive and wonderfully acted, telling the story of an event which made world headlines less than 60 years ago. Bridge of Spies does run 142 minutes but it never feels as if there are any superfluous scenes so tightly has it been scripted; the running time flies by. Fans of the director or stars will not be disappointed, neither will anyone interested in Cold War history.

     The video and audio are very good. The extras are interesting in parts.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall