Breaking the Code (1996) (TV)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Herbert Wise

Writers:

Andrew Hodges (book)
Hugh Whitemore (play)

Release Date:

2 February 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

A biography of the English mathematician Alan Turing, who was one of the inventors of the digital computer...

Plot Keywords:

Homosexual | Code | Computer | Compassion | Stuttering

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Derek Jacobi	...	Alan Turing
Alun Armstrong	...	Mick Ross
Blake Ritson	...	Christopher Morcom
William Mannering	...	Young Alan Turing
Prunella Scales	...	Sara Turing
Julian Kerridge	...	Ron Miller
Harold Pinter	...	John Smith
Richard Johnson	...	Dilwyn 'Dilly' Knox
Amanda Root	...	Patricia 'Pat' Green

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The New York production of "Breaking the Code" by Hugh Whitemore opened at the Neil Simon Theater in New York on November 15, 1987 and ran for 169 performances. Derek Jacobi was nominated for the 1988 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and recreated his stage role in this film production.

Quotes:

Alan Turing: It's not breaking the code that matters - it's where you go from there.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#10.5)" (1997)

Pure Mathematics as Fine Entertainment

I had never heard of Alan Turing, the mathematical genius behind the cracking of the German's `Enigma Code' during World War II, despite the fact that he was also heavily involved in the invention of the digital computer.

And I was amazed to learn from this excellent biography of Turing (who should surely be remembered as a `celebrity scientist' in the Einstein class) that the reason for his burial by the British establishment is the simple matter of his sexuality. Yes, Turing was gay in an era when homosexuality was not only unfashionable but indeed illegal!

Apart from the intrinsic interest of the subject, `Breaking the Code' is illuminated by a superb performance from Derek Jacobi (with a hint of his 'I Claudius' stammer) who brilliantly conveys not only Turing's fierce intelligence but also his enthusiasm for his discipline and his need to pass on this passion to his colleagues.

Supporting roles are well cast and played with playwright and sometime actor Harold Pinter not out of place beside veterans Richard Johnson and Prunella Scales but Jacobi's tour-de-force is the thing.

I hope I have encouraged you to see this British made-for-tv movie if you get a chance.