The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (Criterion Collection)

The acclaimed, best-selling novel by John le Carri (THE TAILOR OF PANAMA), about a Cold War spy on one final dangerous mission in East Germany, is transmuted by director Martin Ritt (Hud) into a film every bit as precise and ruthless as the book. Richard Burton (Becket) is superb as Alec Leamas, whose relationship with a beautiful librarian, played by Claire Bloom (RICHARD III), puts his assignment in jeopardy. THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD is a hard-edged and tragic thriller, suffused with the political and social consciousness that defined Ritts career.