IMDb > Enigma (2001)
Enigma
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Enigma (2001) -- Home Video Preview
Enigma (2001) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
6.4/10   9,515 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 21% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Robert Harris (novel)
Tom Stoppard (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Enigma on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 September 2001 (UK) more
Tagline:
10,000,000,000,000,000+ combinations - 24 hours to get it right more
Plot:
A young genius frantically races against time to crack an enemy code and solve the mystery surrounding the woman he loves. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
3 wins & 5 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(18 articles)
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 (From EmpireOnline. 29 January 2009, 12:32 AM, PST)

Apted To Direct Next 'Narnia' Tale
 (From WENN. 21 June 2007)

User Comments:
A decent spy yarn but falls far short of the true story more (165 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Enigma - Das Geheimnis (Germany)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for a sex scene and language.
Runtime:
119 min
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Canada:14 (New Brunswick/Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario/Saskatchewan) | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 (f) | Brazil:14 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #37517)
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Hester Wallace adjusts her spectacles 16 separate times throughout the movie. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the train journey towards the end of the movie, the view from Jericho's compartment shows the train going in opposite directions before and after the stop at the station, despite the fact that the train is seen leaving the station in the same direction as it arrived. more
Quotes:
Hester Wallace: I seem to move in an endless circle, Mr. Jericho, from one patronizing male to another, always telling me what I am and am not allowed to know. Well, that ends here. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Black Bottom more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
42 out of 56 people found the following comment useful.
A decent spy yarn but falls far short of the true story, 29 October 2003
5/10
Author: mfisher452 from Oklahoma

A couple of years ago PBS aired a 2-hour episode of Nova (the American equivalent of the BBC's Horizon) called 'Decoding Nazi Secrets.' It was a fascinating documentary about the work done at Bletchley Park, as well as some material about its American counterpart, Arlington Hall. I had wished it was even longer, for I suspected that what was left out was as interesting as what was included. Among the many memorable characters in the story, none stood out more than Alan Turing, a painfully shy, socially awkward, utterly brilliant genius. I found myself wishing that someone would make a theatrical film about the Enigma code and a film of Alan Turing's life, or both.

Unfortunately, this isn't it. In March of 1943, code-breakers at Bletchley Park discover to their horror that the German navy has changed the code sets used to communicate with U-boats at sea. These were based on the famous and diabolically complex encryption machine known as the Enigma. Authorities enlist the help of a brilliant young man named Tom Jericho (played by Dougray Scott) to help them break the code again. The possibility of a spy within the British code-breakers' ranks is raised, and Tom's love interest, Claire (Saffron Burrows), has disappeared. To solve these mysteries, Tom recruits Claire's best friend, Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet). While investigating Claire's personal life, the pair discovers personal and international betrayals involving the now-infamous Katyn massacre in Poland. Of course, Tom and Hester fall in love.

Dougray Scott actually does bear some physical resemblance to Alan Turing, but there the comparison ends. Turing's sorry, shabby reward for the instrumental role he played in winning the war for Britain was to be persecuted during the Cold War because his homosexuality was viewed as a security risk, to the point that he committed suicide. While 'Enigma' looks good and plays fairly well as a decent espionage film, the viewer who knows the factual background of this piece of fiction will probably be disappointed. The best part for me was the recreation of the physical setting at wartime Bletchley Park, especially the Enigma machines themselves and the famous Bombes, which were invented by Turing (Jericho in the film). These were among the world's first computing machines; they were a stroke of brilliance by Turing: Instead of looking for what a coded message WAS, they operated according to the principle of eliminating what it was NOT. This cut the number of possibilities by better than 90% and greatly simplified the work of the human code-breakers. It is somewhat surprising that this rather wan film is the work of Tom Stoppard and Michael Apted; they have done better.

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Bad History czarnobog
I've yet to hear the inaccuracies of the movie DSg33
Wigram has magical powers, or I'm on glue.. LaserDoug
Why did the Germans keep the massacre a secret? mdhoyt
Wrong language Bill1936
Dougray Scott stevenj-9
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