Tom hanks plays james donovan in steven spielbergs cold war thriller bridge of spies. Both the whittell book and the film are based on the same events. Donovan began his walk toward the center of the glienicke bridge, the famous bridge of spies which then linked west berlin to east. The movie bridge of spies starring tom hanks is very different than the book bridge of spies by giles whittell. If youre looking for a book that follows the movie, you will be disappointed. Donovan is recruited by the cia and involved in an. Inspired by true events, bridge of spies is the remarkable story of james donovan hanks, a brooklyn attorney who finds himself thrust into the centre of the cold war when the cia sends him on the nearimpossible mission to negotiate the release of a captured american pilot. Solid storytelling and atmospherics director steven spielberg with some help from script polishers joel and ethan coen brings echoes of. The oss morphed into the central intelligence agency cia after the war. The bridge of spies true story reveals that the ivan schischkin character, who donovan meets with when he crosses the berlin wall into east germany, is indeed based on a real person.
Tom hanks is todays everyman good guy movie star an honest, trustworthy. Both played lawyers who zealously represented unpopular clients and were subject to public scorn for doing so. Though not officially the basis for the movie bridge of spies, donovans strangers on a bridge is the closest, and is the only firsthand narrative to the dramatic events in the oscarwinning movie. Mark rylance as rudolf abel, and tom hanks as james donovan, in bridge of spies. Bridge of spies is a thrilling true story of espionage and superpower diplomacy at one of the tensest moments of the cold war, centered around a prisoner exchange in berlin in 1962. The real life story of bridge of spies lawyer james b. Willie fisher, alias rudolf abel, was a soviet spy in the finest traditions of the bolshevik illegals named in comparison to legals. Just six months after the spy swap at the center of steven spielbergs bridge of spies, james b. What james donovan did after the bridge of spies the new. Bridge of spies offers a fresh, measured take on the cold war tom hanks plays an american attorney charged with defending a captured soviet spy in. Bridge of spies 2015 there is a rule book makers lab. In the movie, the storyline centers around james donovan tom hanks. Donovan tells to the officer that what makes us american.
Expand your knowledge of the bridge of spies true story by watching the newsreels and footage listed below that features the real lawyer james b. The exchange depicted in bridge of spies and made possible by donovans work is the first and most famous one to have taken place there. Bridge of spies film while the book shares the same name as the 2015 film that stars tom hanks, the film is not based on whittells book. Donovan and abel are accompanied at the exchange point on the bridge by a 6 7 300 pound man from the federal bureau of prisons and another u2 pilot who can identify powers. Tom hanks stars as the noble lawyer james donovan, who defended the mysterious colonel up to the supreme court. Bridge of spies dvd snoisle libraries bibliocommons. Mary ellen told me that mgm obtained the rights to donovan s book, strangers on a bridge. Differences between bridge of spies book vs movie page 1. According to your description, he hit my five guys. The true story behind jim donovan s defence of a soviet spy in an american court. Strangers on a bridge book by james donovan, jason. Tis the season of serious, grownup movies, like the latest tom hanks dramafest bridge of spies. It stars tom hanks as attorney james donovan, a man who first. James donovan is a brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the cold war when the cia sends him on the nearimpossible task to negotiate the release of a captured american u2 pilot.
Tom hanks stars in bridge of spies, the new thriller from director steven spielberg. I spy dramatic licence under bridge of spies film the guardian. James donovan wrote an account of the incident in 1964 under the title strangers on a bridge. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read bridge of spies. Donovan, a lawyer involved with the prisoner exchanges and played by hanks in the film.
Donovan, the new york lawyer who negotiated that exchange in real life, sat down in havana. Some caved in to fear and others, like jim donovan, stood up to it. Even though its subject matter of the cold war is something i know very little about, i thoroughly enjoyed it and i am now more interested than ever to learn more about it. I had lived in west germany during the cold war, and it was with great interest that i read about this story long before the film came out. The russians captured powers when his u2 spy plane was shot down while flying a. Yet donovan has a quiet word with the hostile judge, encouraging him to avoid the death sentence. But the periods most important character was left on spielbergs cuttingroom floor. When you watch bridge of spies it is so easy to compare tom hanks to gregory peck in to kill a mockingbird. Youd never know from watching bridge of spies that its hero, james b. With him, walked rudolf ivanovich abel, master spy and for years the chief of soviet espionage in the united states. Before you see the new coen brothers movie bridge of spies, read the book that inspired it. Donovan observes east german guards killing people attempting to escape across the wall.
Donovan, was a commander in naval intelligence during world war ii, and as general counsel to americas wartime spy service, the office of strategic services oss, helped frame guidelines for the. In donovans book strangers on a bridge, he says that his wife. Donovan, whose role in the trial and exchange of spies is the subject of the steven spielberg film bridge of spies. The reallife donovan was hired by the us government to defend russian spy. Steven spielbergs new film bridge of spies dramatizes an incredible spy exchange that took place at the height of the cold war. Strangers on a bridge, the 1964 bestseller, tells a fascinating true story of cold war espionagean enthralling inside account.
Even though its subject matter of the cold war is something i know very little about, i thoroughly enjoyed it and i am now more interested than ever to. Whats the difference between bridge of spies the book and bridge of spies the movie. If you remembered or are interested in what happened during this time period the dawn of the cold war. Bridge of spies is a 2015 historical drama legal thriller film directed and coproduced by steven spielberg, written by matt charman, ethan and joel. There are ideals worth standing up for, director steven spielberg clearly states in bridge of spies. Bridge of spies is an americangerman coproduction based on a script written by the coen brothers and matt charman. William fisher, alias rudolf abel, a british born kgb agent arrested by the fbi in new york city and jailed as a soviet superspy for trying to steal americas most. Bridge of spies is a heartonitssleeve affirmation of american values not in the loaded contemporary sense of the term, but in the way the country was founded on values we have to work and. Bridge of spies is the true story of three extraordinary characters whose fate helped to define the conflicts and lethal undercurrents of the most dangerous years of the cold war.
Bridge of spies paints a different picture, in which donovan faces almost nothing but hostility because of his role. Bridge of spies is a historical drama film starring tom hanks, cowritten by the coen brothers, and directed by steven spielberg. In the film bridge of spies, tom hanks plays james donovan, a 1950s new york city lawyer who represented insurance companies. In bridge of spies, tom hanks plays james donovan, the attorney who defended a russian spy and then negotiated his swap for an american. Mary ellen fuller is the daughter of cold war attorney and negotiator james b. I just returned from berlin, where i walked across the glienicke bridge.
Sentenced to 10 years in prison, powers only hope is new york lawyer james donovan, recruited by a cia operative to negotiate his release. Bridge of spies ignores the most important character of. Studio babelsberg coproduced and oversaw production services for the film. His full name is ivan alexandrovich schischkin and he was the second secretary of the soviet embassy.
Donovan states matteroffactly in his book that he drafted a postwar. When i told my wife id been asked to defend a red spy, she screamed the milwaukee journal. Robert sokolowski told a class of eager philosophy students many years ago that we should read aristotles nichomachean ethics every year of our lives. The movie represents only a very small portion of the book. Bridge of spies is a thrilling novel of espionage and superpower diplomacy at one of the tensest moments of the cold war, centered around a prisoner exchange in berlin in 1962. In 1957, donovan also began to represent rudolf abel, whom the united states had arrested and charged with being a soviet spy. He shows off his books to prove he is a student, but he is subsequently arrested. Bridge of spies takes place in the past but speaks to.
But the real story is james donovan s book, strangers on a bridge. Bridge of spies tells the story of donovan s courageous defense of rudolf abel and his negotiation of the prisoner exchange of abel for u. The film is actually based in part on the book strangers on a bridge by james b. This is the foundation of the excellent 2015 movie bridge of spies by the coen brothers, which starred tom hanks as james b donovan, the softspoken, determined lawyer who managed to extricate two americans from the soviet union at the height of the cold war see a link to the trailer below. Donovan, soviet spy rudolf abel, and coverage of the u2 spy trial. In the movie donovan never personally observes this happening. Bridge of spies and the path to virtue word on fire. Willie fisher, alias rudolf abel, was a soviet spy in the finest traditions of the bolshevik illegals named in comparison to legals, who had diplomatic cover as. Bridge of spies offers a fresh, measured take on the. As a brit, what was it about james donovan s american story that captured your interest. Both bridge of spies and donovan s book tell the tale of the appeal of abels conviction, an appeal that donovan took all the way to the supreme court. In the early morning of february 10, 1962, james b.