The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

The acclaimed, best-selling novel by John le Carré, about a Cold War spy on one final dangerous mission in East Germany, is transmuted by director Martin Ritt into a film every bit as precise and ruthless as the book. Richard Burton is superb as Alec Leamas, whose relationship with the beautiful librarian Nan, played by Claire Bloom, puts his assignment in jeopardy. The Spy Who Came In from the Cold is a hard-edged and tragic thriller, suffused with the political and social consciousness that defined Ritt’s career. (Criterion)