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77 comments in total

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20 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Romance!!, 19 May 2004

Author: lindajordan29 from Dallas, Texas

I loved this movie. I saw it for the first time when I was 21, and I've watched it several times a year ever since. Melanie Griffith gives one of the best performances of her career, and Michael Douglas is, of course, wonderful. Although this movie is presented as a action/drama set in WWII, the romantic story is what makes this movie so powerful. Griffith and Douglas have great, believable chemistry. The set decoration and cinematography are a throwback to the old 40's movies, which is ironic because those movies are mentioned throughout the film (Griffith's character is a huge fan of war movies that were shown at that time.) If you like great romantic stories with just enough action thrown in, watch this one. You will not be disappointed.

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24 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :-
An overlooked classic!, 16 January 2004
Author: cableaddict from United States

This will be a very short review. As i write this, "Shining Through" only has 5.8 stars, and I am just flabberghasted. This is a very sad statement on the typical movie-goer, I guess.

I just watched this movie for the third or fourth time. It's clearly Melanie Griffiths finest performance, and just a perfect movie overall. It delivers the goods on many levels, is never boring, and always believable.

So, just to bump it up a hair, I give it TEN stars. (Realistically I'd give it an 8.5, but the rating badly needs to go up!)

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17 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Romance worth a second look!, 21 April 2004
Author: HealerRae from San Diego

I love this film! I know it is widely panned by critics and movie-goers alike, but I love it. Sure, it has implausible elements in the story, but the relationship between Ed Leland (played stoically by Michael Douglas) and his lady love, Linda Voss (played seductively by Melanie Griffith) is thrilling. Joely Richardson plays a complicated character who provides some interesting plot points. Melanie, who isn't known for subtlety, gives a rich and layered performance, especially in the development of the romantic storyline. Michael Douglas is a bit over the top, playing the stolid soldier and unlikely spy to the hilt. Liam Neeson is amazingly handsome and charismatic -- despite playing for the other side as a top Nazi officer. It's a fun recreation of the 1940s romance-war-spy dramas -- exciting and definitely romantic. Romance is the focus of this drama, not the spy plot. Watch the relationships unfold and it won't disappoint. It's worth a second look by many. Give it another try!

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11 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
A Beautiful Look At The '40s During WWII, 18 January 2007

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

I acquired this mainly because it is a beautifully-filmed period piece centered around World War II. There are several train station scenes that I think about when recalling this film. They are a couple of the highlights of the fine cinematography and set designs in here. Overall, the movie had nice 1940s feel to it with the cars, dress, hairstyles and colors. It also is good to see this on widescreen DVD.

The story also is interesting but not exactly plausible in one major regard: Melanie Griffith as a spy. sorry, but the bimbo-like quality of Melanie's voice, doesn't lead credence to playing this kind of character. I just can't picture her as some super-intelligent spy, but maybe she's a lot smarter than the roles she usually plays.

Otherwise, this is a well-done, involving suspense film that I enjoy from start to finish.

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8 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Entertainment, 20 July 2002
Author: claudiacasswell

Shining Through has everything one could ask for in a movie -- big stars, great acting, suspense, drama, and a fine score. But first and foremost, Shining Through is all about Melanie Griffith, the only real female mega-star of our time (sorry, Julia). This is one of Melanie's meatiest roles and she is at her absolute peak of physical beauty. I'll admit she may not be the greatest actress to grace the silver screen but she does a wonderful job here and I am certain that this performance will win over many of her detractors. Although the secretary-from-Queens-becomes-international-WWII-spy premise might strain credibility a bit, once you get into it you can sit back and enjoy the ride.

Michael Douglas is superb, as always. I was also blown away by Joely Richardson as Margrete and wish that her relationship with our Melanie could have been developed further. Would love to see more of her! Liam Neeson seemed a little too wimpy for a high-ranking German Officer but, what the hell, it's only a movie. Ludwig Haas's portrayal of Adolf Hitler marked the crowning achievement in his long and distinguished career -- a far sight better than his appearance in Zärtliche Chaoten.

Bottom line from Claudia: A real movie-lover's movie.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Don't Miss The Point, 3 July 2008
Author: dawilliams40 from United States

This will be a short review. I have seen a lot of pro and con on this movie, but almost all of the con's talk of the unbelievable plot. I will give you that the plot has some problems, and if this was a serious spy movie, then I'd be there with you, but that is not what this film is. This film is a total romance with some action thrown in. If you watch it and see how two people will risk all they have for each other because they are in love then you will enjoy this film. Sure there are holes in the plot...but not in the romance. Melanie is very likable in this movie and I think there is great chemistry! If you don't scrutinize the plot so much you may even find yourself routing for them as they cross the Swiss border.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
I want my time back, 28 December 2007

Author: l_enterprise from Italy

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This has got to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The plot was so full of holes (both under the historical and logical points of view) that you really got to wonder if the screen writer had the faintest idea of what life was like in war time Europe... Just some examples: the chances of somebody running around in a night dress in the dead of the night in Berlin without being stopped by the police would have been zero; there were no phone boots around the city in those days; the Gestapo cars sure did not have contemporary north-American type sirens; if the blond lady friend of M Griffith was indeed a Nazi, why was the old guy working for the Americans still at large until the very end; and the list could go on and on... It is sad to see that Hollywood can do such a lousy job on such an important topic; what's more, it is frightening to see that many viewers thought this was a realistic movie!

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Entertaining World War II romantic thriller, 22 May 2006

Author: roghache from Canada

Though I never read the book, personally I feel that this is an overly criticized and highly under rated movie. It's been awhile since I saw it so forget all the plot intricacies, but do recall enjoying this wartime romance at the time. As others have noted, it is definitely more a love story than a spy thriller. Also, I was sufficiently impressed with the performances by all three leads but especially Liam Leeson.

The plot revolves around an American spy master, Ed Leland, who reluctantly sends his secretary, Linda Voss, on a dangerous mission to Berlin, refusing to admit to himself that he has feelings for her personally. Voss is sent to spy on a high level German army officer named Dietrich, being deemed suitable for the task because she speaks fluent German. This secretary is half Jewish herself, and part of her motivation is actually to find some of her relatives who are in hiding. She thus goes undercover into Nazi Germany as a secretary turned spy, with little training in survival or espionage. However, she is a great fan of old spy movies and has gleaned a few tips! Perhaps the plot is not that plausible, but the same charge could be laid against any number of other movies. This is mainly a romance and a highly entertaining one.

Melanie Griffith is charming here in the role of Linda Voss. She is not a dumb blonde bimbo, nor does she even appear to be. Quite the contrary. Some have complained about her German, but I was interested in the story, and no expert on her accent. Michael Douglas competently portrays the American spy, Leland. Whether or not it is believable that someone in his position cannot speak a word of German, he has a very credible chemistry with Griffith. Liam Neeson is especially excellent, playing with dignity and charisma the complex role of the sensitive but potentially ruthless Nazi officer and devoted family man. Sir John Gielgud, the ultimate professional, is masterful as always and commands any scene in which he appears.

I confess that I'm a sucker for wartime romances, love the drama of that era as well as the 1940's styles, so would lap up just about any representative of the genre. While this one may not be a classic, it is a good love story with some gripping action, tension, and suspense. As another also noted, though it may indeed be highly improbable, it is nevertheless highly watchable.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Implausible BAD film, 26 October 2002

Author: pluto-11 from Portland, OR, USA

I'm sorry but the lack of at least a plausible plot in a drama is an almost insurmountable obstacle for me to enjoy a film: "Shining Through" is an example of this problem. In my book, it is the absolute responsibility for a screenwriter to present the audience with a believable story; otherwise one cannot lose oneself in the film - which is the whole point of the film experience, especially historical dramas. I lose patience with the argument that "this is just a movie" or "go see a documentary if you want accuracy" whenever someone defends a film with an implausible story. Drama loses its impact when one isn't presented with a situation that one cannot imagine oneself involved in. The same could be said for anachronisms in historical drama, but in this area the director is responsible and "Shining Through" actually scored pretty well in this area; I didn't see any obvious clues that the story was filmed 40 odd years after the fact.

In addition to the implausible screenplay, the acting was weak: especially Melanie Griffith. She just isn't the strongest actor in the world. In the right roles, she can be enjoyable to watch and she is certainly one of the most attractive people out there, but this role required an acting ability she just doesn't have. Michael Douglas, on the other hand, is a fine actor - just caught in a real dumb movie. (The throat gag is so ludicrous)

Anyway, this is a 3/10 if ever I saw one. The only films I score lower than this are ones with huge technical gaffes like microphone in frame or dropping the camera.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Leaden, Ludicrous World War Two Spy Saga, 4 July 1999
Author: Michael Coy (michael.coy@virgin.net) from London, England

Melanie Griffith plays Linda, a jewish American girl who volunteered to enter Nazi Germany as a spy. She tells her story in flashback, an old woman relating her adventures to a BBC documentary crew.

Griffith is improbable as the shrewd, resourceful, bilingual Linda. Her 'all-American girl' style of delivery is grating and inappropriate. Michael Douglas, as Ed Leland, makes a passable spy hero, but his character's unwillingness to learn the German language doesn't make any kind of sense, given that he spends most of his working life strutting around Berlin in a Nazi uniform. Sir John Gielgud plays 'Sunflower', 'our' agent in Berlin. Gielgud goes through the motions, as Gielgud usually does, without acting at all. Otto Dietrich, the high-ranking Nazi, is played fairly convincingly and with dignity by Liam Neeson. Joely Richardson is reasonable, even if her character (Margrete von Everstein) is a welter of ill-thought-out nonsense.

David Seltzer wrote and directed this rather lame thriller, and packed it with historical inaccuracies and implausible plot points. The teenage Linda is asked in the course of her job interview to stand and give a twirl, so that the men can get a look at her. She refuses on feminist grounds. This is simply unbelievable, and shows a complete lack of sympathy for the mores and attitudes of a historical period which doesn't happen to be the present day.

Cliche bogs this movie down and robs it of any sense of freshness or vitality that it might have had. For no very good reason, we get a sombre 'Pearl Harbor' moment, even though America's entry into the war is irrelevant to the plot. Espionage in Germany means that the German and spy-movie stereotypes have to be trotted out, so apfel strudel, schnapps and the microfilming of secret documents all find their way into the story. Nazi border guards just have to have slavering alsatian dogs.

Part of the film's problem is a clumsy script which contains some horribly clunking lines. Such mouthfuls as, "What 's a war for, if not to hold onto what we love?" grate on the ear. The German security forces are referred to in heavy-handed purple prose as "Hitler's dreaded stormtroopers".

Continuing the run of blatant improbabilities, Sunflower and Linda board a German train and immediately start discussing Drescher in English - two mind-boggling lapses in security. And would Sunflower use the polite 'ihre' form when addressing a working-class girl?

In order to give the plot some dramatic contours, events are introduced which could never have happened in real life. The film sacrifices credibility for the sake of a cheap shot.

The finale at the border crossing is too silly to merit criticism.

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