The Company - Im Auftrag der CIA

The miniseries went out of fashion when the networks started economizing, so it's nice to see this one from TNT. "The Company," which refers to the CIA, stars Chris O'Donnell, Alfred Molina, Michael Keaton, Rory Cochrane, Alessandro Nivola, and Natascha McElhone, along with a huge international cast.

The series purports to tell of some of the big events in which the CIA was involved throughout its history, woven in with the search for an elusive double agent, an American version of Kim Philby (who is also a character in the film, portrayed by Tom Hollander). The period covered is 40 years, from the start of the Cold War to the fall of the Soviet Union and focuses on the experiences of three fictional Yale grads, class of '54: Jack McCauliffe (O'Donnell), Leo Kritzky (Alessandro Nivola), and Yevgeny Tsipin (Rory Cochrane).

This is a very absorbing miniseries with some great, good, and blah acting, in my opinion. Though it's understood that Alfred Molina is an excellent actor, for me, his portrayal of Harvey, Jack's boss, was a little too stagy. Chris O'Donnell was okay, coming off as a lesser Leonardo di Caprio or Matt Damon. For me the two great portrayals were those of Michael Keaton as James Angleton, the real-life chief of the CIA's counterintelligence unit, and Alessandro Nivola, who is an accomplished stage actor and gives a strong performance.

Not surprisingly, this film came on the heels of the feature "The Good Shepherd," also about the CIA and starring Matt Damon. Because it has the luxury of being a miniseries, it's more detailed. Recommended.

There is a book by the name of "The Sword and The Shield," which details all the historical gaps that this movie may leave out. I haven't read the book titled "The Company," which this film is based on. However, this book (The Company) and the likewise named mini-series will probably be the best telling of the historical account in video format. For any Cold War buff and espionage fanatic who is familiar with the true workings of the NKVD to the KGB, they will be pleased.

This film is no James Bond type cold war thriller. After all, could you really detail the exploits of 50 some years of history in a 2 hour spy film? The main plot and character's names of this mini-series are on par with the facts that history reveals to us. To anyone who is intimately familiar with the Cold War and the espionage struggles between the Soviet Union and the USA, you will find this mini-series extremely accurate. But more so, you will find this mini-series entertaining.

The bottom line is that, this is an entertaining production that holds true to a majority of the facts. If the Cold War and real spy stories are entertaining to you, then it's suggested that you view this mini-series. Not only will the "uninformed" viewer enjoy this mini-series, but the historian will also enjoy how this mini-series doesn't vary far from the truth. This is definitely a recommended mini-series on the real spy games of the Cold War!

Where to begin. The performances in the show are quite good the action is established and the historical aspect of the show is right on in most respects. The cast includes a few veteran actors and a few younger actors. Rory Cochrane from CSI Miami, and Chris O'Donnell from the Batman* movies and the Bachelor are cast in very good roles. Followed by Alfred Molina and Michael Keaton taking on the leading roles, who I might add fit there roles perfectly. Having only seen the first of the three episodes and watching the preview for the next two I see that the show will go on only to get better with the addition of even more actors and cameo's from some of my personal favorites the outlook is good. In my opinion espionage has never looked so good.

This is a compelling watch, one of the best I have ever seen on this subject, and I have seen many. The performances are wonderful, especially the three Yale friends who take divergent paths. Alfred Molina is great, as ever. I especially liked Ted Atherton as Frank Wizner.

But did anyone ever call Kim Philby "Adrian"? Maybe James Jesus Angleton: he was just weird enough. (Weird, also, to see him portrayed by Tom Hollander, who played Burgess in Cambridge Spies). And while Angleton suspected Philby, he did not send him tearing off to Moscow -- Philby returned to London, where he was interrogated by effectively cleared (by Harold MacMillan, among others) and on later to Beirut, as a journalist, which allowed him to return to working for MI6 and, presumably, the KGB. It was his MI6 friend Nicholas Elliott who finally broke him, prompting Philby to flee to Moscow in 1962. From Beirut.

But the fictional elements work well enough to make this a very watchable mini-series. And they have an artistic truth that factual manipulations do not spoil.

I dispute the comments that find the series to be anti-American. Some Americans apparently still believe that their country is without fault. There is no reasoning with such people. Having Chris O'Donnell's Jack query how "good" the "good guys" were is just realism, honesty and moral principle: it only takes two words to show that the USA is not always interested in right: Salvador Allende.

As the Hungarian revolutionary Arpad tells Jack in Budapest in 1956, revolutions are fought for three reasons: honour, fear and self-interest. He claims the first two for himself and his comrades. He shrewdly assesses the third as the principal rationale of the US. And who can honestly say otherwise? This programme, as well as Jack, endorses that view.

Having read the book, I feel that the screenwriter did a magnificent job in conveying the story & characters. Almost 900 pages of a very complex novel were captured in a clear, understandable way. Michael Keaton's performance in particular, was as my husband said, "Awesome". This is no surprise to us because he has always been so versatile. I noticed that although some of the scenes in the book could have been shown as they were written, very graphic & difficult to watch, they instead played to our imagination, which for me, is enough, & pointed out the Class of this presentation. Too many stories on TV are played for sensationalism, without regard for the viewers' sensibilities. I can see Emmys in this series' future.