Bridge of Spies (2015)
91%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
30 wins & 103 nominations total
Bridge of Spies finds new life in Hollywood’s classic Cold War espionage thriller formula, thanks to reliably outstanding work from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
Bridge of Spies is like a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night – comforting, familiar, and just what you need. Spielberg’s direction is masterful, creating a tense atmosphere that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Tom Hanks is his usual charming self, but it’s Mark Rylance who steals the show with his understated yet powerful performance. The film may not be an Oscar contender, but it’s damn good cinema that will leave you feeling satisfied. Plus, who doesn’t love middle-aged men stumbling around in snow banks?
Production Company(ies)
Zentropa Entertainments, Film i Väst Zentropa International, Sweden
Distributor
Walt Disney
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some violence and brief strong language
Year of Release
2015
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Surround 7.1
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 21m
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Language(s):English, German, Russian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 16, 2015 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 2, 2016
Genre(s)
History/Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
Bridge of Spies, PG-13, History, Mystery, Thriller, Drama, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda, Amy Ryan, Eve Hewson, Peter McRobbie, Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Walt Disney, Dolby Digital, $72.3M, 2h 21m, reviewed by Claudia Puig, Jason Bailey, Perri Nemiroff, Kent Jones, Ryan Gilbey, Kevin Maher, Brian Eggert, Hosea Rupprecht, Kip Mooney, Michael J Casey, Jason Adams, PG-13 rating, Cold War, espionage, U.S pilot, Soviet Union, prisoner exchange, CIA operative, New York lawyer, Rudolf Abel, convicted spy, Francis Gary Powers, U-2 spy plane, Berlin, Allen Dulles, Mary Donovan, Jan Donovan, Thomas Watters, James Donovan
Worldwide gross: $165,478,348
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $206,561,385
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 677
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 22,525,778
US/Canada gross: $72,313,754
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $90,266,971
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 802
US/Canada opening weekend: $15,371,203
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $19,187,386
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 678
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $40,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $49,930,734
Production budget ranking: 799
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $26,887,700
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $129,742,951
ROI to date (est.): 169%
ROI ranking: 715
Mark Rylance – Rudolf Abel
Alan Alda – Thomas Watters
Amy Ryan – Mary Donovan
Eve Hewson – Jan Donovan
Peter McRobbie – Allen Dulles
Director(s)
Steven Spielberg
Writer(s)
Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Producer(s)
Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger
Film Festivals
Berlin
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
30 wins & 103 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (313) | Top Critics (76) | Fresh (284) | Rotten (29)
Director Steven Spielberg gives audiences a meticulously composed espionage thriller, which establishes a tense atmosphere from the start and keeps the viewer engaged throughout. [Full review in Japanese]
December 19, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/4
Claudia Puig
The Asahi Shimbun GLOBE (Japan)
TOP CRITIC
This is a filmmaker with a lifetime of skill and experience, crafting his vintage pictures with style and grace, and we’re all better off for it.
May 3, 2016
Jason Bailey
Flavorwire
TOP CRITIC
Bridge of Spies is a quality film featuring loads of commendable work, but Spielberg’s glossy and exceedingly upbeat take on the material might make it more of a crowdpleaser than an Oscar contender.
February 23, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/5
Perri Nemiroff
Collider
TOP CRITIC
Bridge of Spies is a warm portrait of a friendship, an excitingly intricate story of realistically scaled suspense, and a visually ravishing and lovingly crafted rendering of mid-century America, where how you look matters much less than what you do.
December 21, 2015
Kent Jones
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The genius of the casting is in the contrast: Hanks, the richly sympathetic screen actor, and Rylance, no less colossal a talent but one comparatively untried in cinema.
December 1, 2015
Ryan Gilbey
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
[A] solidly entertaining Cold War thriller.
December 1, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
From start to finish, Bridge of Spies is an engrossing, expertly made picture from Spielberg, and its historical merits, paired with its contemporary political relevancies, make it a supremely important American film for today.
May 12, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Bridge of Spies truly celebrates the dignity of each human person and the respect due each one, whether or not that person is our closest friend, an in-need stranger, or our worst enemy.
September 13, 2021
Hosea Rupprecht
Pauline Center for Media Studies
Has a lot of talk about spy craft, but an espionage thriller it is not.
August 29, 2021 | Rating: B
Kip Mooney
College Movie Review
It may not be a masterpiece, but it is a damn strong piece of cinema.
August 18, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Michael J. Casey
Michael J. Cinema
Just a pretty basic, solid, old-fashioned thing – it’s middle-aged men stumbling around in snow banks. But compelling ones!
July 2, 2021
Jason Adams
My New Plaid Pants
Tom Hanks is pleasant and convincing as a war hero of the non-combatant kind, humanized through plenty of humor.
December 4, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins…
Plot
In the cold war, a lawyer, James B. Donovan is recruited by the CIA and involved in an intense negotiation mission to release and exchange a CIA U-2 spy-plane pilot, Francis G. Powers. The pilot was arrested alive after his plane was shot down by the Soviet Union during a mission and stays in the company of a KGB intelligence officer, Rudolf Abel, who was arrested for espionage in the US.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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