Plot: Based on the New York Times best-selling book written by Ben Macintyre, this six-episode limited series dramatizes the true story of two British spies and lifelong friends, Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby. The latter became the most notorious British defector and Soviet double agent in history. Philby’s deeply personal betrayal, uncovered at the height of the Cold War, resulted in the gutting of British and American intelligence.
Review: The story of Kim Philby, one of the most notorious spies discovered during the Cold War, has been told many times over in both books and documentaries. While speculative stories and alternate histories abound, Philby’s tale has inspired John Le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the Matt Damon film The Good Shepherd. While these stories and adaptations have been interesting, the true story is fascinating in its own right. The new limited series A Spy Among Friends...
Review: The story of Kim Philby, one of the most notorious spies discovered during the Cold War, has been told many times over in both books and documentaries. While speculative stories and alternate histories abound, Philby’s tale has inspired John Le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the Matt Damon film The Good Shepherd. While these stories and adaptations have been interesting, the true story is fascinating in its own right. The new limited series A Spy Among Friends...
- 3/9/2023
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
On 9 November 1955, the world’s media crowded into a fourth-floor flat in South Kensington in London, their cameras trained on a self-assured man in his forties, speaking with the clipped accent and unshakeable confidence that is drilled into a certain class of British male through years of expensive schooling. He answers the questions posed by his American interviewer with few words, sometimes accompanied by the flicker of a smile, a slight air of ennui, as if he is bored with the whole charade.
His name is Harold Adrian Russell Philby, known to his friends, and now the world, as Kim. The interviewer asks whether Philby is satisfied with his newly clean reputation, now that he has been ruled out as “the so-called third man” – the mole thought to have tipped off British agents-turned-Soviet spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, allowing the pair to defect to the Ussr in 1951. After Philby gives a brief assent,...
His name is Harold Adrian Russell Philby, known to his friends, and now the world, as Kim. The interviewer asks whether Philby is satisfied with his newly clean reputation, now that he has been ruled out as “the so-called third man” – the mole thought to have tipped off British agents-turned-Soviet spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, allowing the pair to defect to the Ussr in 1951. After Philby gives a brief assent,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Katie Rosseinsky
- The Independent - TV
On 9 November 1955, the world’s media crowded into a fourth-floor flat in South Kensington in London, their cameras trained on a self-assured man in his forties, speaking with the clipped accent and unshakeable confidence that is drilled into a certain class of British male through years of expensive schooling. He answers the questions posed by his American interviewer with few words, sometimes accompanied by the flicker of a smile, a slight air of ennui, as if he is bored with the whole charade.
His name is Harold Adrian Russell Philby, known to his friends, and now the world, as Kim. The interviewer asks whether Philby is satisfied with his newly clean reputation, now that he has been ruled out as “the so-called third man” – the mole thought to have tipped off British agents-turned-Soviet spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, allowing the pair to defect to the Ussr in 1951. After Philby gives a brief assent,...
His name is Harold Adrian Russell Philby, known to his friends, and now the world, as Kim. The interviewer asks whether Philby is satisfied with his newly clean reputation, now that he has been ruled out as “the so-called third man” – the mole thought to have tipped off British agents-turned-Soviet spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, allowing the pair to defect to the Ussr in 1951. After Philby gives a brief assent,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Katie Rosseinsky
- The Independent - TV
As the fifth season of “The Crown” is about to make its debut on Netflix, here’s a summary and all the things fans can expect.
So far, viewers have seen Claire Foy star as the Queen in seasons 1 and 2, before Olivia Colman replaced her in seasons 3 and 4, and now Imelda Staunton is set to do the honours in the final two seasons.
Check out what has happened so far in the season recaps below:
Season 1
Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II in season 1 of “The Crown” — Netflix
Season 1 follows Queen Elizabeth II’s life from her wedding to Prince Philip (played by Matt Smith) back in 1947, depicting events leading up to 1955 after her accession to the throne in 1952.
Elizabeth becomes Queen after the death of her father King George VI, with her and Philip having to take on some of his roles as his health worsens in the leadup to his passing.
So far, viewers have seen Claire Foy star as the Queen in seasons 1 and 2, before Olivia Colman replaced her in seasons 3 and 4, and now Imelda Staunton is set to do the honours in the final two seasons.
Check out what has happened so far in the season recaps below:
Season 1
Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II in season 1 of “The Crown” — Netflix
Season 1 follows Queen Elizabeth II’s life from her wedding to Prince Philip (played by Matt Smith) back in 1947, depicting events leading up to 1955 after her accession to the throne in 1952.
Elizabeth becomes Queen after the death of her father King George VI, with her and Philip having to take on some of his roles as his health worsens in the leadup to his passing.
- 10/31/2022
- by Becca Longmire
- ET Canada
The actor on his pandemic poetry jukebox, life lessons of the Moomins, the pros and cons of Twitter, and how to reboot regional theatre
Samuel West, 54, one of the best verse speakers of his generation, has played Hamlet, Anthony Blunt (twice) and recently become Siegfried Farnon in Channel 5’s All Creatures Great and Small; he is currently working on the second series. The son of Prunella Scales and Timothy West, he lives with his partner, the playwright Laura Wade, and their two daughters, aged six and three. West’s production of Wade’s The Watsons was due to open in the West End when the first lockdown struck.
What has been the best bit of home schooling?
Teaching my daughters chess. The three-year-old doesn’t really play yet but she knows how the pieces move. It teaches them pattern recognition, which helps with music and maths – and how to lose well and fight peacefully.
Samuel West, 54, one of the best verse speakers of his generation, has played Hamlet, Anthony Blunt (twice) and recently become Siegfried Farnon in Channel 5’s All Creatures Great and Small; he is currently working on the second series. The son of Prunella Scales and Timothy West, he lives with his partner, the playwright Laura Wade, and their two daughters, aged six and three. West’s production of Wade’s The Watsons was due to open in the West End when the first lockdown struck.
What has been the best bit of home schooling?
Teaching my daughters chess. The three-year-old doesn’t really play yet but she knows how the pieces move. It teaches them pattern recognition, which helps with music and maths – and how to lose well and fight peacefully.
- 3/7/2021
- by Susannah Clapp
- The Guardian - Film News
Throughout her career, Helena Bonham Carter received seven prior Golden Globe nominations, but has yet to win one. As she now just received her eighth nomination this year for the third season of the acclaimed Netflix series “The Crown” (taking over for Vanessa Kirby from the first two seasons as Princess Margaret), will Carter finally win a Globe herself this year?
“The Crown” traces the life of Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) from her wedding in 1947 through to the present day. Season 3 covers the time period between 1964 and 1977, beginning with Harold Wilson‘ (Jason Watkins) election as Prime Minister and ending with the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Events depicted include the unmasking of the Queen’s art adviser Sir Anthony Blunt (Samuel West) as a Soviet spy, Wilson’s time as Prime Minister, the Aberfan disaster, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the 1969 Investiture of Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor), the decolonization of Africa and the Caribbean,...
“The Crown” traces the life of Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) from her wedding in 1947 through to the present day. Season 3 covers the time period between 1964 and 1977, beginning with Harold Wilson‘ (Jason Watkins) election as Prime Minister and ending with the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Events depicted include the unmasking of the Queen’s art adviser Sir Anthony Blunt (Samuel West) as a Soviet spy, Wilson’s time as Prime Minister, the Aberfan disaster, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the 1969 Investiture of Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor), the decolonization of Africa and the Caribbean,...
- 12/12/2019
- by Jeffrey Kare
- Gold Derby
The third season of “The Crown” premiered Nov. 17, jumping forward a few years into Queen Elizabeth II’s (now played by Olivia Colman) reign. Now following the royal family into the 1960s and ’70s, the Netflix drama sees their rule plagued by a Russian spy in Buckingham Palace, a massive amount of debt that can only be settled by the United States, political turmoil at home with the changing prime ministers and multiple problems related to the mining industry. All of these things actually happened, although Peter Morgan and his team of writers dive deeper into the emotional toll of these events than history has reported.
Here’s what the show’s writers got right — and what they fictionalized — in Season 3 of “The Crown.”
The third season of “The Crown” opens with Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s (Jason Watkins) introduction — and a tough meeting at that. He’s not only...
Here’s what the show’s writers got right — and what they fictionalized — in Season 3 of “The Crown.”
The third season of “The Crown” opens with Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s (Jason Watkins) introduction — and a tough meeting at that. He’s not only...
- 11/28/2019
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
(Some spoilers ahead for “Olding,” the first episode of season 3 of “The Crown” on Netflix)
In the first new episode of “The Crown” with its revamped cast, the series takes on an amusing and strangely topical storyline — that of the 1964 Parliamentary election that brought the leftist Harold Wilson (Jason Watkins) to power.
As the episode starts, the residents of Buckingham Palace are at least mildly upset that the Labour Party looks poised to take enough seats in the election to hoist Wilson to the Prime Ministership. Ahead of the election, Prince Philip (Tobias Menzies) mentions to the queen over dinner that he heard that Wilson has been turned by the Soviets when he had visited Russia on a trade mission. The queen is at first skeptical of this idea, saying that if he was really a spy then MI5 probably would have dealt with it by now.
Also Read: '...
In the first new episode of “The Crown” with its revamped cast, the series takes on an amusing and strangely topical storyline — that of the 1964 Parliamentary election that brought the leftist Harold Wilson (Jason Watkins) to power.
As the episode starts, the residents of Buckingham Palace are at least mildly upset that the Labour Party looks poised to take enough seats in the election to hoist Wilson to the Prime Ministership. Ahead of the election, Prince Philip (Tobias Menzies) mentions to the queen over dinner that he heard that Wilson has been turned by the Soviets when he had visited Russia on a trade mission. The queen is at first skeptical of this idea, saying that if he was really a spy then MI5 probably would have dealt with it by now.
Also Read: '...
- 11/20/2019
- by Phil Owen
- The Wrap
Season three of "The Crown" could well be the trickiest of all that we have seen so far, many had apprehended. This is where the story takes a leap, necessitating a radical overhaul in the cast.
The characters of the first two seasons have aged and, unlike what we are used to seeing on 'desi' soaps, the same set of young actors haven't returned in bad wigs and worse prosthetics. With the protagonists moving onto a new time frame, a new set of (older) actors has taken over the roles.
The big point of interest for 'Crownheads', in this context, is Olivia Colman stepping in to portray a middle-aged Queen Elizabeth II. She takes over the royal duties from Claire Foy, who portrayed the younger Queen over the first two seasons. And, never mind the fact that the Queen's eyes have suddenly changed colour, you realise Colman's Oscar-winning talent is...
The characters of the first two seasons have aged and, unlike what we are used to seeing on 'desi' soaps, the same set of young actors haven't returned in bad wigs and worse prosthetics. With the protagonists moving onto a new time frame, a new set of (older) actors has taken over the roles.
The big point of interest for 'Crownheads', in this context, is Olivia Colman stepping in to portray a middle-aged Queen Elizabeth II. She takes over the royal duties from Claire Foy, who portrayed the younger Queen over the first two seasons. And, never mind the fact that the Queen's eyes have suddenly changed colour, you realise Colman's Oscar-winning talent is...
- 11/19/2019
- GlamSham
NetflixLike the infamous London fog, the unhappiness and repression of England’s most famous family creep up on you slowly.Saraswati Datar'Uneasy is the head that wears the crown' is a terribly overused line. But in season 3 of The Crown, all 10 episodes now streaming on Netflix, the head is not just uneasy but unhappy, worried, bored and often unsure. The Crown, a historical period drama on the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, is created by Peter Morgan who is also the principal writer. Season 1 covered the period from 1947-55 and saw the marriage and coronation of the new Queen, Churchill’s re-election as Prime Minister, and her sister Margret’s engagement with Peter Townsend being called off. Season 2 began in 1956 with the Suez crises and covered the period to the birth of Prince Edward in 1964. Season 3 sees a new set of actors taking up the principal and supporting roles, with...
- 11/19/2019
- by Sowmya
- The News Minute
It’s hard to think of another working director who encompasses the range and moods of Olivier Assayas, from beautifully crafted minor-key notes covering major issues like “Non-Fiction,” to films of mysterious, introspective ambiguity like “Personal Shopper,” to the sweeping symphonic feast of “Carlos.” That latter epic will be the most common reference point when people discuss “Wasp Network,” a meaty true-story group portrait of a bunch of Cuban spies who infiltrated anti-Castro networks in Florida in the 1990s. Yet , engaging with major characters and events that are dropped in or out with an unsatisfying degree of regularity.
One suspects the original conception was closer to the length of “Carlos,” and though “Wasp Network” will be easier to distribute, with the potential for reaching audiences not usually attuned to the director’s work, it leaves viewers gratified by the filmmaking bravura and the sheer pleasure of watching this superb cast in top form,...
One suspects the original conception was closer to the length of “Carlos,” and though “Wasp Network” will be easier to distribute, with the potential for reaching audiences not usually attuned to the director’s work, it leaves viewers gratified by the filmmaking bravura and the sheer pleasure of watching this superb cast in top form,...
- 9/1/2019
- by Jay Weissberg
- Variety Film + TV
Writer Julian Mitchell and actor Kenneth Branagh remember the struggle to mount a risky anti-establishment play, and how Rupert Everett did his best to spice it up
Julian Mitchell, writer
In 1979, when Mrs Thatcher stood up in the Commons and announced that the third man in the Burgess and Maclean spy case was Anthony Blunt, lots of people wrote articles and books saying how easy it must have been for these men to go over to Russia. But their reasoning didn't explain it to me. There's a great difference between betraying your country and wanting to change the world.
What wasn't really mentioned was that almost all the men involved were gay – though I'm not sure we said "gay" back then – and had all been to the same kind of public school. I'd been at Winchester myself. Though I hadn't been rebellious, I knew the oppressive way boarding school can work on people,...
Julian Mitchell, writer
In 1979, when Mrs Thatcher stood up in the Commons and announced that the third man in the Burgess and Maclean spy case was Anthony Blunt, lots of people wrote articles and books saying how easy it must have been for these men to go over to Russia. But their reasoning didn't explain it to me. There's a great difference between betraying your country and wanting to change the world.
What wasn't really mentioned was that almost all the men involved were gay – though I'm not sure we said "gay" back then – and had all been to the same kind of public school. I'd been at Winchester myself. Though I hadn't been rebellious, I knew the oppressive way boarding school can work on people,...
- 3/25/2014
- by Nancy Groves
- The Guardian - Film News
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