Enigma (1982 film)
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| Enigma | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jeannot Szwarc |
| Written by | John Briley |
| Produced by | Ben Arbeid André Pergament Peter Shaw |
| Starring | Martin Sheen Sam Neill Brigitte Fossey |
| Cinematography | Jean-Louis Picavet |
| Edited by | Peter Culverwell Peter Weatherley |
| Music by | Douglas Gamley Marc Wilkinson |
| Distributed by | Columbia-EMI-Warner (UK) |
Release date | October 15, 1982 |
Running time | 122 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8 million[1] |
| Box office | $894.000[2] |
Enigma is a 1982 Anglo-American thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc[3] and starring Martin Sheen, Sam Neill, Brigitte Fossey, and Kevin McNally. Based on Michael Barak's novel Enigma Sacrifice, the film centers on a CIA agent who tries to infiltrate Soviet intelligence in order to stop a murderous plot.
Plot
Alex Holbeck (Martin Sheen) is recruited as a CIA agent. He is sent to East Berlin on a mission to steal an Enigma code scrambler. This is part of an attempt to stop the Russian assassination of five Soviet dissidents which is planned for Christmas Day. What Alex doesn't know is that the CIA already has a code scrambler. By stealing the scrambler in Berlin, they are trying to convince the Russians that they don't have it.
On arrival in Berlin, Alex finds that the KGB knows he is there. Alex must use numerous disguises and escape from a number of capture attempts. He seeks shelter with his former lover, Karen (Brigitte Fossey), before moving on, as this is too dangerous for her. Karen and a number of Alex's other old friends are arrested and tortured by the police in an attempt to gain information about Alex's whereabouts. As he gets more desperate, Alex enlists Karen's help again: she seduces Dimitri Vasilikov (Sam Neill), the KGB man in charge of the hunt for Alex, in order to obtain information. In the end Dimitri catches Alex and Karen and finds the scrambler hidden in an exhibition artifact. As he is in love with Karen, he lets them go, however, keeping the scrambler which was in fact not needed. On Christmas Day the assassination attempt is successfully thwarted.
Cast
- Martin Sheen as Alex Holbeck
- Brigitte Fossey as Karen Reinhardt
- Sam Neill as Dimitri Vasilikov
- Derek Jacobi as Kurt Limmer
- Michael Lonsdale as Bodley
- Frank Finlay as Canarsky
- Warren Clarke as Konstantin
- Michael Williams as Hirsch
- David Baxt as Melton
- Kevin McNally as Bruno, CIA
- Michel Auclair as Doctor
- Feodor Atkine as The Diplomat
- Vincent Grass as Soviet W
- Liliane Rovère
References
- ^ BRITISH PRODUCTION 1981 Moses, Antoinette. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 51, Iss. 4, (Fall 1982): 258.
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=enigma83.htm
- ^ "Enigma". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
External links
- Enigma at IMDb
- Enigma at Rotten Tomatoes
- Review of Enigma by Janet Maslin, New York Times, 28 January 1983
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