Shining Through

Rating:
Summary: WWII Spy Drama works on all levels
Review: 'A' grade WWII spy thriller- not many out there so this deserves a special rating. Well cast is Douglas as an American spy. Works on all levels: action , drama, romance, intrigue, war and even suspense. Griffith is good as the heroine spy who penetrates deep behind enemy lines in Nazi Germany 1942. This film is also superbly shot showing the beauty of Berlin before it was bombed. Neeson makes a good film appearance too, and is well cast, he goes on to be a Jewish sympathiser in Spielberg's Schindler's List. Douglas is once again top class, and the final scene where he is carrying Griffith is truly spectacular. This film as it should be isn't a tragedy but one of hope. Offers a look deep inside Nazi Germany in the early 1940s (and also the effects of air raids on morale). Of mention is the Nazi parade which was superbly shot, likewise the train journey from Berlin to Switzerland. There are also a few good plot twists to please suspense viewers, but this multi-genre movie will certainly please all. Romance side is well done as it does not delve into any soppiness, and is kept original.

Rating:
Summary: Shining Through
Review: A wonderful story. Michael Douglas made me fall in love with his character, and this is Melanie Griffith's finest performance, in my opinion. In fact, this is one of my favorite movies. Bah to the negative reviews and people who want to sound oh so knowledgeable. Get a grip, and just relax and enjoy the movie.

By the way, I watch classic movies a lot. Notorious is one of my favorites and I never once thought of it while watching Shining Through.

Rating:
Summary: A Return to Classic Filmmaking
Review: I am so pleased this title is finally getting a DVD release - and at only $10! Shining Through is based on the novel by Susan Issacs and is a melodrama at it's core - but a damn fine one. Lost among the hoopla over the "other" Michael Douglas film that year ("Basic Instinct") Shining Through never got the cred it deserved as a film made in the classic Hollywood style.

The plot is relatively simple, for a film about espoinage : Melanie Griffith, a Jewish secretary, is hired by Michael Douglas for normal secretarial work, and eventually learns that her boss moonlights as a ranking member of the US military. Through a series of cleverly timed events, she is drawn into the world of intelligence and becomes a Nazi Germany spy herself.

All of the actors were at their prime when making this film - Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson join the picture part way through and do an excellent job, as do the leads. Although at it's core it's really a love story, there is enough action and tension to entertain anyone who can suspend the disbelief that Melanie Griffith could become an international spy.

If I make it sound like "Alias", it's not - it's just a wonderfully crafted film that is a worthy addition to any collection, especially anyone who is a fan of classic Hollywood melodramas. Shining Through has never gotten it's due credit - I hope that a wider audience finds it on this excellently priced DVD!



Rating:
Summary: Nostalgia
Review: I enjoyed this movie quite a lot.
Having failed to remember its title, I went looking...
Really for its sound track.
My early childhood was coloured by these musical moments and they have remained fixedly programmed..
In terms of visceral response to music.

Rating:
Summary: Rips the emotional guts from the book
Review: I have a hard time liking this movie because it made such a travesty of Susan Isaacs' book. The book, as originally written, was a classic ugly duckling-to-swan story set in New York, Washington, and Germany during World War II. Linda Voss, the character played by Melanie Griffith, was a working class girl in love with and eventually married to her gorgeous cad of a boss. She had the brains; he had the social cachet. They move to Washington, she gets a job as secretary to a top intelligence agent (played by Michael Douglas), the marriage founders, and in despair she signs up as an undercover agent. The rest of the movie follows the book's plot fairly closely, although the Douglas character does NOT figure in as a romantic interest until the very end. In the book, he's Linda's unexpected reward--pure gold where her husband was only gold-plated. The movie, by simplifying the story, guts its emotional core and turns a contemporary fairy tale into your basic trite Hollywood production--glitzy but without a heart.

That said, there are some strong performances in the movie. Douglas's stiffness makes much more sense in the context of the book, but doesn't work in the movie as filmed. Griffith is Griffith--you either love her or hate her. Liam Neeson is good, as is Joely Richardson (although the "Mein Gott, you have guts" line is a bit over the top). There are some suspenseful moments in the scenes in Nazi Germany. At times the movie's enjoyable, but overall, it disappoints.

Rating:
Summary: great
Review: I love this movie even though it is kinda a take off of another movie it just makes you think that these people will risk everything for the good of the country and when they finally do get together it is the most touching thing you will ever see.

Rating:
Summary: A good comedy -- a bad war drama
Review: I think I might have enjoyed "Shining Through" more if I'd been drunk. This movie is a fantastic ensemble comedy, but I don't think they were trying to make one! The only redeeming points of the movie were Liam Neeson and Joely Richardson's performances as a pair of Nazis.

Melanie Griffith plays Linda Voss, a young woman of mixed Irish and Jewish ancestry in World War II. Because of her linguistic skills, she's hired as a translator for Ed Leland (Michael Douglas), who works for the government as a spy (he keeps denying it, but she's seen movies so she knows better!). They become lovers, until his work comes between them. But no sooner have they been reunited than a spy is needed to sneak into Germany to find some bomb-related plans.

She's accompanied into Germany by Konrad "Sunflower" Friedrichs (Sir John Gielgud, who looks like he's always thinking "What am I doing in this movie?") and his niece Margrete Von Eberstein (Joely Richardson). Her position as a chef blows up on the first night, and she quickly finds herself hired as a nanny by elite Nazi official Franz-Otto Dietrich (Liam Neeson, Richardson's now-brother-in-law). And now that she's inside his house, she has only a limited amount of time to find the plans.

I don't think the people who made this movie wanted me to like the Nazis more than the Americans, but unfortunately the Nazis are a lot more likeable. Richardson comes across as competant and multifaceted, divided in her loyalties; Neeson comes across as a loving father, a nice sensitive guy (we don't ever hear of him actually doing anything bad!) with big puppy-dog eyes. Frankly it's hard not to like him, especially compared to the insensitive clod Leland. Douglas looks unhappy and embarrassed all throughout the movie, he's as stiff and cold as a pine board, and Griffith's performance is the stuff of nightmares.

It doesn't help that the best description of Linda is "ditzy blonde." She gets all her info about spies from movies, whines when Douglas goes on missions, and thinks she's qualified to be a spy because she can make strudel. (In one scene she runs through a crowded street chanting a secret password out loud!) She also mouths off to everyone in a way that would not be tolerated in a mere secretary (prepare to cringe when she says "My other half's Irish"), and bungles everything spy-related.

I would say this is a movie best shown to young children but there's a fair amount of profanity, violence, and a detailed sex scene. The direction is pretty terrible -- you'd think WWII included only a handful of people. The Nazis have none of the casual amorality that the real people did. There are one or two creepy, freaky moments that work, like the German woman who exults that the house they took from a Jewish family had everything they wanted (even bedsheets with correct monograms), but they're few and far between. If they'd had Dietrich doing something, anything wrong, then it might have worked. There are a few moments of intentional comedy ("That pompous little (butt) ate a raw bird to prove it was edible!") but most of the comedy is totally accidental. ("What's a war for if not to hold on to what we love?" Gaaaaaggg!)

I only can recommend this to fans of Joely and Liam, because they are the only ones who actually have good roles to play. "Schindler's List" this ain't!

Rating:
Summary: Shining Through
Review: If it were possible to give this movie a six star rating, I would. Besides being a GREAT movie, the soundtrack helps push this movie to more enjoyment. Moonlight Serenade, I'll Be seeing You, Goodnight Sweetheart and the main musical score lingers pleasantly in your mind long after the movie ends. I recommend it to all who has ever been in love.

Rating:
Summary: LOVE THIS GREAT WAR STORY EVER
Review: ITS AN AMAZING WAR STORY, EVEN THOUGH IS NOTHING TO LAUGH ABOUT BUT THE REALITY IS THAT MALE AND FEMALE TOOK HIGHER RISK TO FIGHT FOR WHAT THEY BELIVE WHICH IS DEFENDING THIS COUNTRY OF OURS. THIS IS A GREAT WAR/LOVE STORY OF 2 PEOPLE THAT WENT TO ANY LENGHT TO RESCUE AND SAVE EACH OTHER FROM THE NAZIS BEFORE D-DAY WAS ABOUT TO GO THRU BETTER KNOW AS THE NORMANDIE, ANY WAY IS A GREAT STORY AND I CANNT WAIT YO GET IT IN DVD. I HAVE BOUGHT THIS MOVIE TWICE IN VHS AND I CANNT STOP WATCHING IT. I GIVE THIS MOVIE 2 WOW GREAT THUMS UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Melanie & Michael at their best!
Review: Ok 20th Century Fox! Release this @#&*! movie already! What are hell you waiting for? This movie is to good for it to sit in a vault somewhere collecting dust. For some reason Fox continues to release unknown, unwatched "B" & lower life forms of what some might refer to as.. dare I say it?... movies!.. Ughh I said it. Avid movie watchers such as myself lament for movies such as this gem to realize it's full potential by seeing it as it was intended, on DVD format in widescreen. Melanie is at her peak in this very captavating role as secretary that is transformed into a Govt spy. I haven't read the Novel that the movie is based on, and that's ok. I wont try and pretend that the movie could possibly be better than the book, but I judge this movie on it's own merits in it's translation to the screen. Captivating, Entertaining & Romantic.