Enigma

Makes a good stab at a mystery during wartime, but the set location is not Bletchley Park. For example Bletchley station is a walk away in real life, and the main house is very different.

This starts off rather slowly, but don't let that deceive you. The Mood and Atmosphere of the film are excellent; giving a very good lead and feel of what life might have been like during WW2. There are plenty of twists and dead end like clever bits in this to keep you guessing till the very end. The Script is by Tom Stoppard which speaks volumes and the score is very good; especially John Barry's lush strings treatment and interpretation of Vaughn Williams 5 Divas at the end. Highly Enjoyable.

This film of Robert Harris' superb wartime thriller set in Bletchley Park differs significantly in several respects from the book. Dougray Scott's Tom Jericho is a good deal more athletic than the character in the novel and as a big star Kate Winslet is given far greater prominent than Hester on the page. For me, the film's ending at a Scottish loch lacked conviction. On the other hand, Jeremy Northam is wonderfully menacing as the urbane secret agent Wigram and I liked the ending which has Tom and Hester married after the war and expecting their first child (presumably Winslet was pregnant at time of filming?), something that is only vaguely hinted at in the book. Overall verdict: not a bad adaptation which holds attention and encourages viewers to reread the book.

Not sure why I haven't written a review of this film before. I have viewed the DVD now 3 times since 2013, and I still find it hard going, but worth while. It does require concentration as the plot is pretty complicated ( and a bit hard to swallow in places), but the acting/casting is great and fun, except perhaps for Dougray Scott, who really looks as if he was on another planet. I must have enjoyed it to see it 3 times!! The DVD is excellent quality, with good picture, sound and subtitles. I won't describe the plot except to say the Bletcley Park sequences are really gripping, and the whole film, while it may indeed play fast and loose with the facts, is still a fascinating watch. Recomended

SAFE READING - FEW SPOILERSTake two writers, Robert Harris and Tom Stoppard; unite them with a great director like Michael Apted and add Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, Saffron Burrows and a host of others, and what do you achieve? In 2001, a superb film called "Enigma", the film of Robert Harris's book of the same name.Robert Harris understands the top levels of government and its secrets. His careful, detailed and thorough research into the wartime world of secrets ensured that this book is a page-turner peopled by eccentric geniuses, spies, hard-pressed military personnel, initially naïve individuals and amoral (in normal human terms), tough and patriotic characters. Into this rich mix of people, he throws unrequited love, Atlantic convoys, preying wolf packs and a vital and desperate need to crack a highly secret, sophisticated code to save the world from the evil of Nazism. Throughout the book, characters face challenging moral dilemmas stemming from their wartime existence and their unknown, clandestine world; some would affect only them while others would affect the western world and change the course of history.The people above, coupled with a large team of superb designers who obviously did detailed and comprehensive research, brought Bletchley Park alive again but not just as a strange and hidden world of secrets. These code-breakers become real people with all the usual frailties and the additional temptations only wartime could create.* Do not talk at meals ...* Do not talk in the transport ...* Do not talk travelling ...* Do not talk in the billet ...* Do not talk by your own fireside ...* Be careful even in your Hut ...In May 1942, this was the opening of the individual security form for personnel at Bletchley Park, the top secret WWII code-breaking establishment without which, many experts argue, the Allies would not have won the war. After signing the official secret act (established in 1939), the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) moved to Bletchley Park on 15 August 1939 where, for the rest of the war, the vital intelligence produced from decrypts at Bletchley was code-named "Ultra".The staff ranged from humble kitchen staff, secretaries, administrators and, at the top of the hierarchy, were the code-breakers, a group of (often eccentric) geniuses who lived, for the most part, inside their heads, wrestling with the secret messages being passed between the Axis powers.The film-making team have taken Harris's words off the pages and brought Bletchley Park alive again. As often happens with films, when I read the books again, Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, Saffron Burrows fill the pages with images I cannot escape. More often than not, I object but can do nothing about the imprinted images. In the case of "Enigma", not only do I not object, I am quite happy. They are the characters for me.Buy the DVD before they're all sold!

Love this film. Lost my previous copy of the dvd and had toborder another copy. That should tell you how good I think it is. One of my favourites.

Bletchley Park has been covered quite a few times. This film covers uncovering a spy at the camp. It is well done and the I felt the historical atmosphere was well constructed without any obvious bloomers. The tension was kept up well and I was hooked until the end. The two female leads were very good. I was less impressed by the central male character. He just looked as if he had been overdosing on pot for most of the film. Occasionally the dialogue was a bit groan worthy but not often.