PROFILPELAJAR.COM

*Spies of Warsaw*
Spies of Warsaw
Genre	Historical fiction
Written by	Dick Clement ; Alan Furst ; Ian La Frenais
Directed by	Coky Giedroyc (3 episodes); Weronika Migon (2 episodes); Kiaran Murray-Smith (2 episodes);
Starring	David Tennant; Janet Montgomery; Marcin Dorociński; Mirosław Zbrojewicz; Ellie Haddington; Burn Gorman; Radosław Kaim; Linda Bassett; Allan Corduner; Anton Lesser;
Composer	Rob Lane
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	4 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Richard Fell
Production locations	Kraków, Warsaw
Cinematography	Wojciech Szepel
Running time	180 minutes total
Production companies	Apple Film Productions; Arte France; Fresh Pictures; TVP1;
Original release
Network	BBC Four
Release	9 January –; 16 January 2013

Spies of Warsaw is a British television miniseries in which a Deuxième Bureau intelligence agent (spy) poses as a military attaché at the French embassy in Warsaw, and finds himself drawn into the outbreak of World War II.^[1]

The television series takes its name from its source, The Spies of Warsaw, a 2008 spy novel by Alan Furst. The book was adapted for television in 2013 as a co-production of TVP1, BBC Four, BBC America, and ARTE and premiered in January in the United Kingdom and in April in the United States.^[2] It starred David Tennant as the protagonist Colonel Jean-François Mercier and Janet Montgomery as his love interest Anna Skarbek.^[3] As in other Alan Furst novels, the fictional Parisian restaurant Brasserie Heininger serves as one of the settings for dialogue.^[4]

Cast

Main

Main cast includes:^[1]

David Tennant - Jean-François Mercier
Janet Montgomery - Anna Skarbek
Marcin Dorociński - Antoni Pakulski

Support

Support cast includes:^[1]

Mirosław Zbrojewicz - Marek
Ellie Haddington - Madame Dupin
Burn Gorman - Jourdain
Radosław Kaim - August Voss
Linda Bassett - Malka Rosen
Allan Corduner - Viktor Rosen
Anton Lesser - Doctor Lapp
Piotr Baumann - Maxim Mostov
Jan Pohl - Zoller
Richard Lintern - Colonel Lessard
Julian Glover - General Beauvilliers
Fenella Woolgar - Lady Angela Hope
Richard Teverson - Roddy Fitzware
Tuppence Middleton - Gabrielle
Tusse Silberg - Helena Skarbek
Gregg Lowe - Young German Soldier
Grazyna Zielinska - Wladzia
Grzegorz Emanuel - Weasel
Nicholas Blane - Papa Heiniger
Dan Fredenburgh - Armand
Julian Harries - Duff Cooper
Ziggy Heath - Kazimir
Bogdan Koca - Leszek
Adam Godley - Julius Halbach
Nicholas Murchie - Johannes Elter

Episodes

There are four episodes, which have also aired as a two-part series.^[5]

Reception

The two-part drama received some positive reviews in the UK, especially for the script and acting,^[6] although The Guardian described it as "pallid as much of the washed-out photography".^[7]

The Telegraph liked the series for many features: appropriateness for "intergenerational shared viewing, never... too visually brutal, and the playing of the minor characters... was convincingly understated".^[8] The Guardian complained: "It should have been the perfect spy thriller. It had everything. Except tension".^[9]

The New York Times found the series an "enjoyable, straightforward espionage tale without a lot of twists or extra layers" but deemed it "true to the original in story and in spirit",^[5] though slow-moving,^[10] and the Boston Globe thought it "a strangely bloodless affair".^[11]

Rotten Tomatoes rated the television series 64% from critics and 50% from average audience.^[12]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Spies of Warsaw". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
^ "Spies of Warsaw". BBC America. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013.
^ "Media Centre – David Tennant and Janet Montgomery star in The Spies of Warsaw". BBC. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
^ "Lonely Spy in a Love Triangle". New York Times. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
^ ^a ^b Stanley, Alessandra (2 April 2013). "Lonely Spy in a Love Triangle". New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
^ "Spies of Warsaw, BBC Four, review". Daily Telegraph. 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
^ "TV review: Spies of Warsaw; The Food Inspectors". The Guardian. 9 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
^ Howse, Christopher (10 January 2013). "Spies of Warsaw, BBC Four, review". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
^ Crace, John (9 January 2013). "TV review: Spies of Warsaw; The Food Inspectors". Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
^ Thomas, June (3 April 2013). "Why You Should Watch 'Spies of Warsaw'". Slate. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
^ Gilbert, Matthew (2 April 2013). "Spies of Warsaw: Thriller with No Thrills". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
^ "Spies of Warsaw (2013–2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.