Enigma (Special Edition): Amazon.ca: Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, Saffron Burrows, Jeremy Northam, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tom Hollander, Donald Sumpter, Matthew Macfadyen, Richard Leaf, Ian Felce, Bohdan Poraj, Paul Rattray, Michael Apted, Robert Harris, Tom Stoppard: DVD

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Customer Reviews

36 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (36 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Flawed but very intelligent WWII thriller, May 14 2011

By

K. Gordon - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Enigma (DVD)

Enjoyable, smart WWII thriller about code breaking, based on a true story, and notable for being a war film
more about human intelligence then daring action. The script by Tom Stoppard is strong.

While it's a very good film, some irritating flaws keep it from being great. With the exception of Kate Winslet, a
lot of the acting is over the top. Worse, the film wimps out on the true story, and misses some fascinating
complexity, since in real life the lead character was gay, at a time where that alone was enough to win everyone's
distrust and indeed he faced persecution in the post-war years rather than being hailed as a hero.
Further, the whole style of the film feels old-fashioned in a way that goes back and forth between charming and
feeling forced. Last, this is a really weak DVD transfer. Lots of soft spots, etc.

And yet, all that said I'd still urge people to see it, for daring to be a wartime thriller with smarts.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Good intentions gone awry, Aug 13 2003

By

Girl Friday APL (In the heart of the USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Enigma (DVD)

During WWII, a motley crew of men were recruited in Great Britain to intercept and translate the Nazi Enigma code. Scott plays Tom Jericho, one of the decoders who falls hard for an over-lipsticked Burrows and breaks down when she rejects him. Having returned to his decoding job after a mental-health hiatus, Jericho has only four days to translate a new Enigma code, thus saving a fleet of Allied convoy ships and presumably winning the war. Winslet dons a pair of Harry Potter specs to play plain-Jane Hester Wallace, who helps Jericho decode the new Enigma.

That the Enigma decoders came from all walks of life is reiterated throughout the movie. In fact, Enigma devotes much of its time to telling instead of showing; Scott had to memorize what must have been pages of script in order to narrate the development of Enigma and its decoding process. Northam, squinting his way through his role as a classist, sexist Intelligence dandy, also snidely lectures on the democratic demographics of the decoding staff. Similarly, Winslet frequently reminds us how women got the short shrift for their work in the war effort-a message with good intentions, but delivered rather obviously. This word-heavy tendency is accompanied by conventional plot devices and a series of twists and turns that require still further explanation from the characters.

Interestingly, the one subtle message in Enigma deserves more attention; specifically, the Faustian repercussions of the Allies' collaboration with Joseph Stalin. That the British kept these repercussions hushed up for fear of the Americans' reaction speaks volumes about who, ultimately, was calling the shots during the war.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Ignore Enigma..., July 3 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Enigma (DVD)

This is one of those films that seems to have so much going for it. Great actors, an intriguing story on the video jacket, and that hint of mystery that threatens to suck us in. Be warned. Enigma fails to deliver at any level. With the exception of Jeremy Northam, the acting is mediocre at best. Jeremy at least manages to appear somewhat interested in the story. Kate Winslet's performance is weak, her character weird and immensely unsympathetic. Rent this first. See if you can make it through the entire tired plot, stereotypical "bad guys," and random acts of sex, before you commit to making it your own.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Enigma
Received videocassette in a very timely manner. Cassette was in excellent condition and the movie was most appealing.

Published 15 months ago by Woodrow Sinclair

2.0 out of 5 stars i found the book riveting,the movie--not so much
after watching this movie,i was a bit disappointed.i mean,the movie was
OK,but it doesn't compare to the book,which i found riveting. Read more

Published on April 11 2008 by falcon