I love spy films. I’m low on movie ideas so I need more film recommendations.
I figure spy films would be a good way to fill the void.
I’ll get the ball rolling:
Three Days of the Condor
The Conversation
Nikita
The Borne Films
Munich
The Good Shepard
True Lies
Spy Game
Army of Shadows
The Lives of Others
Some of these films tilt more toward the assassin or hitman genre. Lets try to stick with movies where most of the plot is centered on espionage.
I really liked “No Way Out” but I don’t know if many others shared my taste on that one…
I was about 15 when I saw it, and Sean Young was pretty hot back then.
For a silly one, Bill Murray’s “The Man Who Knew Too Little” was mindless fun.
I become increasingly convinced that there is no category of movie for which Undercover Blues is not a valid example.
An old one: “Hopscotch”, with Walter Mathau and Glenda Jackson
and the miniseries: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Also, there’s some about a fictional member of MI6 with a license to kill. If you like those, there’s a bunch of them available … of varying quality.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
Whoops, Frank got there first.
On the classic side:
North By Northwest (1959)
And thinking of Walter Mathau, I will include Charade (1963).
Both movies had Cary Grant BTW.
For more recent fare I will have to add:
The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
and
*
Hunt for Red October* (1990)
Another one that I doubt anyone will mention is Jumpin’ Jack Flash, but it was pretty entertaining for what it was…
(It’s also the only Whoopi Goldberg movie I ever saw besides Ghost)
Also, The Mask of Dimitrios, while probably not among the best spy films, is certainly the best adaptation of any of Ambler’s novels, and is entertaining.
You should see The Big Clock - not a spy film, but Noir, but No Way Out is almost a full knock-off of an amazing chase of the protagonist.
The 39 Steps
House on 92nd Street
Pickup on South Street
The Manchurian Candidate
The Ipcress File
Our Man Flint
The Day of the Jackal
Eye of the Needle
Enemy of the State
Spartan
Trying to name ones that haven’t been named yet…
**Breach **- one of the best spy films I’ve seen in a while, and it has the disturbing reality of being true.
**Sneakers **- an average film, but entertaining enough.
Mission:Impossible (the first one) was good, harmless fun.
another vote for:
The Good Shepard
The Falcon and the Snowman
For TV series, there is one clear best: The Sandbaggers.
Tailor of Panama. Great film that makes you feel like all the other spy films are just fiction. Of course, *it *is fiction, too, but it is cynical enough to make you feel like you have achieved one more level of truthfulness.
Several of Hitch’s films especially in the 30’s and 40’s though they were usually in the lighter vein of the espionage genre.
In addition to the ones mentioned there were:
Notorious
The Lady Vanishes
Foreign Corresspondent
The Secret Agent
The Man who knew too much
Of these I think only Notorious holds up really well but the others are enjoyable enough.
Lots of good suggestions, but of recent films:
Roman Polanski’s GHOST WRITER was excellent.
It just came out, so you should be able to find it on DVD, and most likely, premium cable channels in the next few months.
The sequel to Ipcress - Funeral in Berlin - is also quite good.
I’d suggest Ronin. It may not fit precisely within the “spy” genre, but it’s about a bunch of former intelligence types doing mercenary work. And it has a terrific cast.
I’d also second “Sneakers.” It’s not one of my favorite movies, but it’s a rare example of a “family” movie that I actually enjoy (no sex or serious violence, but still some decent grown-up fun).
Ronin has a terrific everything. “Vienna.”