Enigma (2001)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers (WGA):

Robert Harris (novel)
Tom Stoppard (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 September 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller | War

Tagline:

10,000,000,000,000,000+ combinations - 24 hours to get it right

Plot:

A young genius frantically races against time to crack an enemy code and solve the mystery surrounding the woman he loves.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | U Boat | Code Breaking | Nazi | Corpse

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Dougray Scott	...	Thomas Jericho
Kate Winslet	...	Hester Wallace
Saffron Burrows	...	Claire
Jeremy Northam	...	Wigram
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau	...	Puck (as Nikolaj Coster Waldau)
Tom Hollander	...	Logie
Donald Sumpter	...	Leveret
Matthew Macfadyen	...	Cave
Richard Leaf	...	Baxter
Ian Felce	...	Proudfoot
Bohdan Poraj	...	Pinker
Paul Rattray	...	Kingcome
Richard Katz	...	De Brooke
Tom Fisher	...	Upjohn
Robert Pugh	...	Skynner

Also Known As:

Enigma - Das Geheimnis (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for a sex scene and language.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

UK | USA | Germany | Netherlands

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

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)

Filming Locations:

Adelphi Building, John Adam Street, Strand, London, England, UK

Company:

Broadway Video

Trivia:

Thomas Jericho is loosely based on real-life mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing (1912-1954).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the opening scene we see concrete sleepers on the railway line which were not introduced until early 1980s.

Quotes:

Wigram: Were you surprised when you heard that Admiral Donitz had changed the weather code?
Tom Jericho: Well, the Germans were always nervous about Enigma. That was the reason Shark came on in the first place...
Wigram: But the Germans believe Enigma's supposed to be infallible, because it would take people a thousand years to figure out the settings for one day, and they are changed every day. But we don't use people for that, do we, Mr. Jericho?
Tom Jericho: No.
Wigram: No. And that is the secret inside the secret: your thinking machines. Day and night, clackety-clack, programmed with a menu provided by your amazing brain, narrowing down the infinite possibilities to just a few million. And if anyone tells the Germans about that... there goes the war.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Tiggerty Boo

Not a war movie for the masses

'Enigma' is the kind of war movie that may not be loved by many people, mostly because there isn't much of action to be seen in it. At least, not the kind of action they would like to see: no heroically fighting soldiers, no breathtaking dogfights between the RAF and the Luftwaffe... But people like me, who are deeply interested in every aspect of the Second World War and who can appreciate a good story, certainly will love it.

It's March 1943 and the crypto-analysts at Britain's code-breaking center have discovered that the German U-boats have changed their Enigma Code. At first the English were able to read all their messages, but now they are back where they first started ... nowhere. Their only hope is the brilliant young man named Tom Jericho, who was able to crack the first code and who'll now have to do the same with the new one. In the meantime Tom's girlfriend Claire has disappeared and at the same time it is believed that there is a spy in the ranks of the code-breakers. When looking for his lost girlfriend and investigating her personal life, he uncovers some personal and international betrayals...

However it is clear that the main story of this movie is fictional, the entire movie is certainly interesting to watch. I mean, I have never had the chance to see how this enigma machines really worked, so I really appreciated the fact that it was shown so well in this movie. What I also liked in this movie was the love story that certainly wasn't too corny or overwhelming. It was an interesting part of the story that never bothered me, it just made the movie even better.

As I already said, this may not be the kind of war movie for the masses, but I liked it and that's why I give it at least a 7.5/10, perhaps even an 8/10.