Product Details

• Actors: Derek Jacobi, Alun Armstrong, Blake Ritson, William Mannering, Prunella Scales
• Directors: Herbert Wise
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: October 16, 1997
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304361092
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,313 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars heartbreaking and superbly executed., October 30, 2002

By 

Peter H. Burris "Literary Vulture" (washington, dc United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breaking the Code: Masterpiece Theatre [VHS] (VHS Tape)

There are probably only a handful of actors alive as good as Derek Jacobi; this account of Alan Turing's life and disgrace in the eyes of the British secret service demonstrates why he's so good. The empathy and outrage the viewer feels on behalf of the embattled mathmetician finds its equal in the awe for his intellect that the solution of the enigma ciphers merits. Much like Prick Up Your Ears, this film shows up societal prejudice and how damaging it can be in the face of true creative genius.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Touching and Intelligent Story, February 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Breaking the Code [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I have just recently watched this video and found it to be an absolute delight! While several people fuss about the play not covering enough about Turing's theories, one needs to realize that it is a piece about the man, not his theories. The film version is somewhat different from the play version, which I was disappointed by. However, the performances are superb, all around great cast, but it is Derek Jacobi who gives such subtle depth and tremendous passion to this film. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys seeing an intelligent, meaningful piece about humanity.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Expected more out of it, September 20, 2009

By 

Mark Miller (Boulder, CO.) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Breaking the Code [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I first heard of "Breaking The Code" as a play, with the same actor, Derek Jacobi, in the PBS mini-series "The Machine That Changed The World" (from 1992). Part 1 of TMTCTW showed a couple excerpts of the play, and it gave me the impression that the story really got into Turing's theories about computing, explaining them in a way that people could understand. These ideas have validity even today. I looked forward to this same depth in the TV production, but was disappointed. The TV version was more of a "message film". It emphasized Turing's homosexuality, which no doubt is an important part of his life. No telling of it would be complete without talking about it, particularly how it caused conflict with his government, which motivated his suicide. His mastery of mathematics is used as a jumping off point to show what a brilliant man he was and what a shame it was for the British government to oppress him. A valid POV, but I wanted more. The video version of the TV production (perhaps it was just the PBS version) contained another disappointment (it was no fault of the seller). A key scene showing how Turing was inspired to come up with his first theory on computing was trimmed and spliced together such that the train of thought was entirely lost. I know because I saw the complete version of this scene in a clip on YouTube. It felt insulting. The message of the video editors was "You don't understand mathematics. So we're not going to bore you with this." It felt as though Turing's unique contributions to our world (aside from the fact that he helped the allies win WW II) were completely swept aside, and instead he was used as an archetype of the oppressed gay man. It reminded me that TV is often dumbed down. Still, it's a powerful story. The climactic, tragic ending makes it worth watching. Aside from it disappointing my expectations it's a good story from a generalist perspective.