Enigma (1982 film)

Enigma is a 1982 Cold War spy film directed by Jeannot Szwarc, from a screenplay by John Briley, starring Martin Sheen, Sam Neill, Brigitte Fossey, Derek Jacobi, Michael Lonsdale, Frank Finlay and Kevin McNally.<ref name="Enigma">"Overview: 'Enigma'". Turner Classic Movies, 2019. Retrieved: August 17, 2019.</ref> Based on Michael Barak's 1978 novel Enigma Sacrifice, the film centers on a CIA agent who tries to infiltrate Soviet intelligence in order to stop a murderous plot.<ref>Floyd 2004, p. 357.</ref>

The film was a British and French co-production. It was released in the United Kingdom on October 15, 1982. Enigma received mixed reviews from critics, and was a commercial disappointment. Template:TOC limit

Plot

American-born East German dissident Alex Holbeck, living in Paris, hosts a samizdat radio program aimed at Iron Curtain countries. Bodley, a CIA agent, recruits Alex to take on a dangerous assignment. Alex is sent to East Berlin on a mission to steal an Enigma code scrambler. This is part of an attempt to stop the Soviet assassination of five Soviet dissidents planned for Christmas Day. What Alex does not know is that the CIA already has a code scrambler. By stealing the scrambler in Berlin, they are trying to convince the Soviets that they do not have a copy.

On arrival in Berlin, Alex finds that the East German police and KGB knows that he is there. Alex must use numerous disguises and escape from a number of capture attempts. He seeks shelter with his former lover, Karen Reinhardt, before moving on, as it 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, the KGB man in charge of the hunt for Alex, 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, but keeps 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
• Michel Auclair as Doctor
• Féodor Atkine as The Diplomat
• Vernon Dobtcheff as Minister
• Don Fellows
• Liliane Rovère
• Billy KearnsTemplate:Div col end

Production

Goldcrest Films put up $58,000 in development costs and invested £985,000 in the budget of $8.1 million. The company received £355,000, losing £630,000.<ref name="jake">Eberts and Illott 1990, pp. 98, 655.</ref>

Enigma was shot partly, in 1982, at Paris–Le Bourget Airport. A scene was shot in the terminal, in the hall of eight columns, disused at the time, others on the terrace or in front of the entrance.<ref name="Aeromovies"/>

The aircraft in Enigma are:

• Dassault Super Mystère B.2
• Dassault Mystère IVA, F-TENN
• Dassault MD.450 Ouragan, F-TEUU
• Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle, F-BJTR
• Lockheed L-749 Constellation, F-ZVMV<ref name="Aeromovies">Santoir, Christian. "Review: 'Enigma'". Aeromovies, January 6, 2018. Retrieved: August 17. 2019.</ref><ref group="N">Since 1975, Le Bourget Airport has hosted the Musée de l'air et de l'espace, France's main state-owned aviation museum, and aircraft from the museum were seen in Enigma.<ref name="Aeromovies"/></ref>

Brigitte Fossey was a last-minute replacement for Lisa Eichhorn, after she had to drop out.

Michael Lonsdale's dialogue was redubbed by American voice actor Marc Smith, as the director was dissatisfied by his American accent. Lonsdale dubbed his own dialogue for the French version.

Reception

Janet Maslin in her review for The New York Times, decried the "wise-guy" attitude in Enigma, writing: "There are plenty of mysteries about Enigma but they aren't necessarily the ones the film makers intended. As directed by Jeannot Szwarc, best known for Jaws 2 and Somewhere in Time, this is the spy film at its most absurdly hard-boiled and at its most icily perfunctory. It is punctuated by crisp titles (indicating the date of each scene), played very close to the vest and riddled with false alarms ..."<ref>Maslin, Janet. "Review: 'Enigma'". The New York Times, January 28, 1983.</ref>

Film historian and critic Leonard Maltin in Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2013 (2012) noted a "fine cast does its best with so-so material".<ref>Maltin 2012, p. 416.</ref>

References

Bibliography

• Eberts, Jake and Terry Illott. My Indecision is Final. London: Faber and Faber, 1990. Template:ISBN.
• Floyd, Nigel. "Review: 'Enigma'" in Pym, John, ed. Time Out Film Guide. London: Time Out Guides Limited, 2004. Template:ISBN.
• Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2013. New York: New American Library, 2012 (originally published as TV Movies, then Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide), First edition 1969, published annually since 1988. Template:ISBN.

External links

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