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64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my all-time favorites, at last on DVD in widescreen, January 11, 2005
This has always been one of my favorite films. Apparently it's supposed to be a guilty pleasure. I can't imagine why though. It's not a deep or socially important work of art, but it doesn't pretend to be. It's just a glorious, old-fashioned piece of entertainment, gorgeously shot on location in Germany, with one of the best scores the late Michael Kamen ever wrote. Alright, so Melanie Griffith convinces Michael Douglas to send her as a spy into Nazi Germany because of her phenomenal streudel baking skills. It's that kind of movie. Either you let yourself be swept away by the storytelling, or it's just not for you. The big news, however, is that this great movie is finally on DVD in the US. And it's in widescreen, a vital piece of information that was left off the listing here. I was really afraid I'd walk into Tower today and see a Pan and Scan atrocity and have to leave it there unbought. Worry not, the film is presented here as it was in theaters in 1992. The makers of this DVD have also kindly left the original burned-in subtitles for the sequences in German, instead of replacing them with those ugly player generated ones you see so often. I always liked the font the filmmakers chose, so this was a pleasant surprise. It would have been nice to have a director's commentary, or some of the approximately half an hour that was removed from the version that was shot. However for under $10 what we get (two trailers) is fine. It took long enough, with the US just about the last country on earth to get "Shining Through" on DVD, but it's here at last, and looking as good as I could have possibly have hoped.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doesn't fit into any specific category, March 29, 1999
By A Customer
This film could be labeled a drama, a romance or a suspense/thriller. It is all of that and more. It's the story of a movie junkie who joins the war effort and ends up a jewish spy in Germany. Her only qualifications are that she speaks German and that she's seen a bunch of war films. I have seen this movie more times that I care to admit but it is one of my all-time favorites. The acting is great, the story is both touching and suspenseful and the plot is smooth. I'm not a big Melanie Griffith fan, but five minutes into the movie I forgot it was her and just enjoyed the film. She could have easily been docile and run to the big man to save her but her character is smart and sassy. The movie starts with Melanie's character telling the story in retrospect, yet the break in of the narrative is not obtrusive... just well done. On a side note, the love theme that runs throughout the movie is beautiful. This is an excellent film and would be enjoyed by men, women and teens alike. I definetly recommend viewing it when you have a chance.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A true revelation---highly recommended, September 9, 2005
To be honest I am surprised that I have not managed to see this movie before now, considering my weakness for espionage movies and specifically World War II spy pictures (I list WHERE EAGLES DARE and THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS among my favorite 100 movies). I did see parts of this movie before, as it played in the background of a house party I attended over a decade before. But it was perhaps the presence of Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith as the leads that led me to think that it was just some lame action adventure that Hollywood sometimes has a tendency to unload on us. Boy was I wrong! My TiVo picked up the show as a suggestion when it played on HBO and as I sat down to watch it I realized that this movie was more drama than action and more suspense than adventure. A true revelation and factors that really heightened the quality and provided compulsive viewing for the next two hours-plus. The story centers around a bilingual (English and German) secretary Linda Voss that begins to work for a rather shadowy businessman Ed Leland (played by Douglas) at the outbreak of World War II in Europe. Soon she suspects he is a spy and after taking down a particularly strange message she confronts her boss with her suspicions. Fast forward and upon America's entrance into the conflict Ed reveals himself to be an operative for OSS (the precursor to today's CIA) and an Army officer to-boot. With her knowledge of German and highly keen observation skills Linda is soon attending top secret OSS meetings and (against Ed's better judgement) sent into Germany to steal secret plans for the V-1 and V-2 rockets. What follows is a thoroughly entertaining story that shows a truly frightening and at points terrifying depiction of life in Nazi Germany that includes some top calibre acting talent in the lead roles. In addition to Douglas and Griffith we also have Liam Neeson as a German officer, Jeoly Richardson as a German civilian and John Gielgud as an old spymaster. All give tour-de-force performances and although sometimes the plot can be somewhat predictable (we suspect early on the true allegiances of one of the three supporting characters may not be what they seem to be) but it is always compelling and wonderful entertainment. The DVD is available in widescreen (always a plus) and although its rather light on special features it is available for under $10. Highly recommended.
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