“BRIDGE OF SPIES” is Out Today! @BridgeofSpies @DW_Studios #BridgeofSpies

DreamWorks Pictures’/Fox 2000 Pictures’ upcoming dramatic thriller directed by three-time Academy Award®-winning director Steven Spielberg (“Saving Private Ryan,” “Schindler’s List”) and starring two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump,” “Philadelphia”), has been titled “Bridge of Spies.” In addition, 12-time Oscar® nominee Thomas Newman (“The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “Saving Mr. Banks”) has been signed to score the film, as John Williams’ schedule was interrupted and he was unavailable to score the film due to a minor health issue, now corrected.

A dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, “Bridge of Spies” tells the story of James Donovan (Hanks), a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot. Screenwriters Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen have woven this remarkable experience in Donovan’s life into a story inspired by true events that captures the essence of a man who risked everything and vividly brings his personal journey to life. The film will be released in theaters nationwide on October 16, 2015, today!

I previewed this movie and immediately though how wonderful it would be for history students to see. The depiction of the Berlin Wall being built and then completed, may have been slightly dramatized, but not in the same way a  lot of fiction movies portray this piece of history. In Bridge of Spies, the scenes seemed quite realistic and closer to fact. It was chilling to see this re-enactment unfold on the big screen.

“Bridge of Spies” also stars three-time Tony Award® winner Mark Rylance (“Twelfth Night,” “Jerusalem,” “Boeing Boeing”) as Rudolf Abel, a KGB agent defended by Donovan; Scott Shepherd (“Side Effects”) as CIA operative Hoffman; Academy Award® nominee Amy Ryan (“Birdman,” “Gone Baby Gone”) as James’ wife, Mary; Sebastian Koch (“A Good Day to Die Hard”) as East German lawyer Vogel; and Academy Award nominee Alan Alda (“M*A*S*H,” “The Aviator”) as Thomas Watters, a partner at Donovan’s law firm.

The movie was riveting. It is the story of one of the Nuremberg trial lawyers, James Donovan, who is called upon to defend a Russian spy. The government wants the case prosecuted in a believable manner. As long as the defendant is found guilty, that is the subtext.

And he is found guilty. So the lawyer takes the case all the way to the Supreme Court, and then when he loses there, pleads for his client’s life. What if we need him for a future prisoner exchange is the argument Tom Hank’s character uses, and it works. That is when Tom Hanks character becomes the unofficial U.S. emissary trying to arrange the prisoner exchange. Officially, neither government wanted to be seen as part of this.

The scenery is amazing, Steven Spielberg’s attention to detail is remarkable, whether it is the early 1960’s in Brooklyn, or the German airport from the same time period.

We are told in the beginning of the movie that this is fiction based on real events. There are several books available about this case, so the small amount of dramatization is the individual conversations between characters that no one was there to record. Thankfully at the end we did find out what became of all the central characters in the movie.

This movie is an incredible story that captures a real piece of American history.  I had no idea such an “unsung” American hero existed. A man who went from being a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials after World War 2, to being an insurance lawyer. A man who assisted his government in a legal case that brought out such strong emotions that people shot at his house while his family was inside. He still continued along this path by acting as an unofficial emissary in a prisoner exchange with his original defendant. That is when the events of this movie end, but this same real life American citizen continued to work for our government and negotiated the release of American citizens in Cuba after the Bay of Pigs incident. I am grateful to have seen this movie so that I could have the opportunity to learn about James Donovan, an American hero, who’s story has never been publicized to this extent. The depiction of the prisoner exchange, from early conversations to treks into East Berlin, was riveting.

This movie was riveting and the acting was superb. I can’t wait to share this with my son when he learns about this time period! I interviewed the cast and Steven Spielberg, please read that piece here!

Like BRIDGE OF SPIES on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BridgeOfSpies
Follow BRIDGE OF SPIES on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BridgeofSpies
Visit the official BRIDGE OF SPIES website: https://www.bridgeofspies.com/

As a fellow New Yorker, I looked into James Donovan’s life after the movie and the Cuban negotiations: in 1962, he was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in New York, but lost to Republican incumbent Jacob K. Javits. Mr. Donovan also served as the President of the New York Board of Education at the height of the civil rights era. In his final years, Donovan was President of Pratt Institute in NYC. (info courtesy of Wikipedia). I researched this because I needed closure!

Disclosure: I attended a preview of the movie and a press day for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own and honest.

I was thrilled to meet Alan Alda beforehand, I have been a fan of his for decades!