musings about the actor and the characters he brings to life
Elliott: Do you remember The Admiral’s Glass?
Philby: The Admiral’s what?
Elliott: Glass. By Southwark Bridge.
As her husband picks up the carrots he grew in their London backyard, Lily Thomas listens and re-listens to the Beirut tapes. What happened at The Admiral’s Glass? And why on earth is Philby seriously alarmed when an ambulance with sirens on arrives at their building? Continue reading “A Spy Among Friends on MGM+, Episode 2: The Admiral’s Glass”
A Spy Among Friends has finally arrived on MGMplus today! The first episode is FREE without subscription and you can now watch it here. They are dropping Episode 1 and 2 today followed by one episode per week for the next 4 weeks. That is what I will do with my episode recaps as well.
First things first: Since I was not patient enough for the mini-series to arrive in the US, I watched it on ITVX via VPN back in December. And As someone who read Ben MacIntyre’s book twice, I find Alexander Cary’s adaptation very clever. Nick Murphy’s background in documentary is evident and Joanna Eatwell proves once again she is the master of costume design. Damian Lewis, Guy Pearce, Anna Maxwell Martin and Stephen Kunken give off-the-chart brilliant performances.
A Spy Among Friends is slow-cooking, captivating and elegant. It is cinematic to a degree that I envy the viewers who could see the first two episodes on big screen at the BFI London Film Festival. There are flashbacks and you need to pay attention – don’t text and watch 🙂 So, yes, ladies and gentlemen, A Spy Among Friends is exactly my cup of tea!
So shall we?
Continue reading “A Spy Among Friends on MGM+, Episode 1: Boom-ooh-yatatatah”
Kim Philby is arguably the most famous – or should I say infamous? – secret agent of all times. He may not be as well known as James Bond, but in contrast to 007, Philby was a real-life spy and the most successful member of the Cambridge Five, a group of spies recruited by the Russians to pass information from the UK to the Soviet Union during the Second World War through 1950s. A charming and brilliant Cambridge graduate, he quickly rose to the top of the counterintelligence unit at the MI6. He became the head of the anti-Soviet unit, served as the MI6 chief in Istanbul and ultimately became MI6’s Washington-based liaison with the CIA. Having his confidantes at MI6 and becoming close friends with James Angleton, a rising star at the CIA . While his betrayal got some of his colleagues into big trouble and took several Soviet defectors to their deaths, nobody suspected Philby for years. And when some at the MI5 flagged him, his colleagues at the MI6 and the CIA came to the rescue. When they finally had the evidence to confront him, Philby had already provided secret information to the Soviets for 30 years! Continue reading “What to Expect When We Are Expecting ‘A Spy Among Friends’”
“Jazz is a broad church. That’s why we chose a Tabernacle. Place of residence. Place of meeting. Tent of congregation. Tent of meeting.”
-Damian Lewis
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I had a 72-hour lightning trip to London for a special weekend with fan friends and a fantastic evening of music at The Tabernacle London in Notting Hill with the one and only Damian Lewis. It was such a night that, one week later, I am still the under the spell of Damian’s spectacular performance and ready to tell you all about how our Ginger Elvis has ruled on the stage and off – he has made time for everyone, VIPs and fans alike, after the gig. So please come join me in the beautiful and inspiring music hall that is The Tabernacle London, and live or re-live ( if you were lucky enough to be there) every single detail from that glorious evening.
Shall we?
Continue reading “REDUX Such a Night: Damian Lewis at the EFG London Jazz Festival 2022”
The East German authorities built the Berlin Wall to stop people from escaping to West Germany. Most of the 155 km wall was made up of 3.6m high concrete panels while the rest was barbed wire. A heavily guarded no man’s land (the title of the episode!) known as the “death strip” ran along the Eastern side of the Wall. More than 7,000 East German soldiers manned the watchtowers and the bunkers. It was the best-lit area in Berlin thanks to the lamp posts every 30 meters. In addition, there were alarms, ditches, barbed wire, guard dogs and weapons that automatically fired shots at the escapers.
A Spy Among Friends finale opens at one of the seven crossing points between East Berlin and West Berlin. As I try to understand who is in the car approaching the checkpoint to get into East Berlin…
Continue reading “A Spy Among Friends, Episode 6: No Man’s Land”