Product Description

In this romantic espionage thriller set against the backdrop of World War II, a secretary from Queens is transformed into a government spy. After discovering her attorney boss and lover is actually a secret agent, she convinces him to let her go undercover. With the help of a fellow operative she penetrates the Berlin home of a high-ranking enemy official, and works swiftly to accomplish her mission.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3772 in DVD
• Brand: Twentieth Century Fox
• Released on: 2005-01-11
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 132 minutes

Amazon.com
Uncomfortably close to Ben Hecht and Alfred Hitchcock's film Notorious, this World War II drama (based on a novel by Susan Isaacs) concerns a love affair between a spy (Michael Douglas) and a secretary (Melanie Griffith) that goes south when duty turns him cold and pushes her into dangerous, behind-the-lines intelligence work. Liam Neeson plays the gentleman Nazi unwittingly providing Griffith with cover as domestic help. The best parts of the film are the twists and turns in the romance (Douglas is very good at playing a character who can turn off all feeling at will) at the beginning, while the German scenes are less compelling despite such high stakes for the heroine. The climax--taking us back to Notorious whether it wants to or not--is quite gripping, largely due to Douglas's performance. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

One of my all-time favorites, at last on DVD in widescreen
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.

IMPLAUSIBLE MAYBE, BUT A GORGEOUS ROMANTIC THRILLER!
Let's first quickly get the negatives out of the way. The somewhat doozy theme of Griffith and Douglas as WWII spies may be borderline incredible. That's pretty much all one could dislike about the film (frankly, it's all about the execution, and I loved the spy undercurrent.)

Beyond that, as I was prepared to look because this is fiction, the movie enjoys top notch production qualities. The music is beautiful, the cinematography stunning, the script deliciously memorable. The screenplay is something budding artists should watch and learn from, it never lets up for a second throughout the entire movie. There're twists and turns, and you're always on the edge.

Yet, quite admirably, amidst all these gripping moments, the film somehow also manages to couch a wonderfully moving romantic story. Griffith is great, and a part of her charm relies in the look she gives, that "shy-scary" look she projects, the look of the typical defenseless woman who inside is smarter and braver than any man on the planet. Were there women in that time who could be so accurately bilingual? Why, it doesn't sound all that impossible to me.

If you enjoy watching romantic movies, don't miss this one. It's one of my favorites of all time, and it stands the true test of good cinema -- repeat viewing. Delectable!

Doesn't fit into any specific category
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.