The Company

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!

Overall, it is a fair, balanced movie. A couple of things. The man who attempted to poison Fidel Castro Ruz was NOT made to drink the poisoned concoction. In fact the packet which held the poison FROZE to the refrigeration pipes at the Hotel Habana Libre (formerly Havana Hilton-they only say "Libre" in the movie) before the hotel's restaurant worker had a chance to put it into Castro's 'milk shake' (batido). The G2 already new of the plan before hand. The restaurant worker's name was Santos de la Caridad Perez, and he was sentenced to a very long prison term, which he completed, and he was able to come to Miami, Florida,and there join his wife and 2 grown sons, who had been waiting for him in Caracas, Venezuela. Santos de la Caridad Perez was left to his own devices and wound up working minimum wage jobs in Miami, Florida, into his 80s. No compensation for his compromised mission, and his 14 years spent in Castro's prisons was ever paid. Thanks, 'Campanela' you a-hole!.

Next, it was not prop-driven 'Sea Furies' which shot down the CIA contract pilots' B26s, but T33 JETS. To the best of my recollection, NO CIA Officers came ashore with Brigade 2506. It's a travesty that only a passing mention was made of the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Alabama Air National Guard pilots, who were contract employees, and disobeyed direct orders to lend air support to our Cuban allies. The names of these brave men were: Leo Baker, Wade Gray, Riley Shamburger, and Thomas "Pet" Ray. The B26s they flew had no tail guns so they could accommodate more fuel. They were easy prey for Castro's jets. Some of us will remember their sacrifice with eternal gratitude, respect, admiration, and will mourn them as long as we live. G_d rest them and comfort their surviving loved ones.

Other than this, it was a pretty balanced movie, but I defer to those who may have first hand knowledge of what actually went down in the Hungarian uprising. G_d bless that nation's fallen martyrs and their survivors as well.

This is a wonderful performance piece, for Cold-War, Tom Clancy/John Le Carré lovers alike. Spying was a dangerous, heart-breaking and lonely game, and the principle characters on both sides gave up much in the way of personal life - this slowly tumbles out as the story unfolds over 4 decades.

I credit the Director with NOT revealing too much the first time you view it - I found myself wondering at certain points if the Script contained gaps -- not so. An example is the involvement of the notorious Kim Philby, a clever KGB double-agent. Everyone who has read 'Man Called Intrepid' knows who Philby is - if he breezed into this story as KIM PHILBY, we'd know what to expect. Cleverly, the character is not identified until the story is well-under way. By that time, you are as fooled as was his friend, the famous CIA counterespionage guru, James Angleton, played here with craft by Michael Keaton.

Other performers shine, and the action scenes for Hungary, and the Bay of Pigs are startling. Part 3 packed a real punch as, again, we get treated to what the counterintelligence fellas had to go through to nail suspected double-agents.

The second time through, I connected all the dots--so, the mini-series DVD has been well worth the investment. (Glad I missed it on TV with commercials).

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.

This is no James bond.This has nothing to do with superheroes and supervillans(except the part with GOOD USA vs. EVIL SOVIET UNION).Its a gripping spy drama for the masses and the same time for the history buffs.The performances are very good on the behalf of Alfred Molina,Chris ODonnel and Rory Cochrane.Alessandro Nivola seems a bit out of pace.The real treat comes from Michael Keaton who goes stainless in his role.The action sequences and special effects are some of the best quality and i rate it just after band of brothers in the series branch.The show has a plus for the moments where the language of certain nationals is respected(the Russians speak Russian ,the Hungarians speak the Hungarian and the mobsters are so Sicilians).The big budget of the series is put to good use and the places you see in the movies are the ones where the things actually happened.There are little flaws for an epic of such proportions.I sense no TV feel in the image,sets,performances etc. so i must give this show a 10!job well done!