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The concept of a spy story was first explored in 1821 with James Fenimore Cooper’s The Spy, which followed the adventures of American secret agent Harvey Birch. But it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that intelligence stories began to become popular, especially with Ian Fleming’s series of novels and short stories following the now-famous gentleman spy, James Bond, who was originally portrayed by a young Sean Connery.
No matter what flavor of spy action you like, from brooding dramas to scorching political fables and twisted romances. Despite the general popularity and attractiveness of Mr. Bond, we have selected the top 10 best spy movies that deserve no less attention!
10 Spy, get out! (2011)
Based on the classic novel of the same name, the international thriller is set at the height of the Cold War in the mid-20th century. George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a disgraced British spy, is secretly re-hired by his government, which fears that the British Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, has been compromised by a double agent working for the Soviets.
Spy, get out! is a complex puzzle of anxiety, paranoia and espionage that director Thomas Alfredson combines with the utmost skill.
9. Scouts (1968)
Scouts is a 1968 Ukrainian Soviet feature film directed by Alexei Shvachko and Igor Samborsky.
Great Patriotic War, 1945. Before a group of Soviet spies, the leadership set the task of finding a map at any cost, which marked the mined territory of the Danube.
At one time, the film was the leader of the box office (1969, 1557 copies) – the picture was watched by 35 million viewers.
8. Agent Carter (2015-2016)
The first season of this foreign adventure series follows Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) as she returns to work with the Strategic Science Reserve (SSR) after World War II. Upon her return, the SSR begins investigating the invention of billionaire inventor Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) for selling weapons to enemies of the United States. However, Stark secretly seeks out Carter and asks her to help clear his name. Carter, in direct conflict with the SSR, goes undercover to help Stark.
7. In August 44th (2001)
About a year remains before the victory in the Great Patriotic War. The Federal Republic of Belarus is already free, but a team of spies goes on the air from the territory of the country on a regular basis, reporting to the enemy side extremely important information about the troops of the Soviet Union. A group of scouts will have to expose the scouts.
Interesting fact: Filmmakers from different countries have repeatedly tried to film the book, but all failed already at the stage of negotiations with Vladimir Bogomolov. He was strongly opposed to the film version. Even the brilliant actor Vladimir Gostyukhin, who also dreamed of making a film based on this story, could not convince the writer.
6. Two steps away from “Paradise” (1984)
A stone’s throw from “Paradise” – Ukrainian Soviet adventure war film by Teimuraz Zoloev. The premiere took place in May 1985. This is a tape that was created in 1984 based on the book by Sergei Naumov with the same name, but it almost does not look like a book. If Sergei Naumov tells about the events in Serbia in the book, then in the film our Carpathians appear before the audience, and a “local” Czech is used as the head of the territory.
1944 Spies of the Soviet Union will have to find in the Carpathians and eliminate an important strategic point of the enemy – a warehouse of uranium ore, which bears the encrypted name “Paradise”. The object is closely monitored by German special forces soldiers and Alpine riflemen.
5. SMERSH (2019–…)
“SMERSH” is a Russian TV series, produced by the author of the film “Crimea” Alexey Pimanov, along with Ryashin. The series was filmed with the support of Star Media, which is a Russian-Ukrainian company, and among its projects, for example, the series “According to the laws of war” is also about SMERSH.
1945 A group of officers of the special forces “Death to spies” goes to rest in Moscow. Along the way, they stop in Grodno, a Belarusian city, where they meet an old friend. The man talks about a ruthless gang and its leader who are oppressing the inhabitants of the city. In an attempt to help a comrade, the Smershevites fall into a whirlpool of tense and tragic events, where emotions contradict duty, and rivals play a dishonest game.
4. Red Sea Diving Resort (2019)
Hollywood has a long history of turning heroic real stories into cinematic thrillers. The best of them take horror stories of danger and make them resonate with audiences who are comfortably seated in movie theaters or increasingly on their couches. They take us there through time and geography and often ask us what we will do in the same situation, will we fit the occasion and be heroes ourselves?
Inspired by mesmerizing real-life life-saving missions, Red Sea Diving Resort is the gripping story of a team of international agents and brave Ethiopians who, in the early 80s, used an abandoned resort in Sudan as a front to transport thousands of refugees to Israel.
3. Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973)
12 Soviet 1973-part television series directed by Tatyana Lioznova and based on the novel of the same name by Yulian Semyonov. The series follows the exploits of Maxim Isaev, a Soviet spy operating in Nazi Germany under the name Max Otto von Stirlitz.
Stirlitz is instructed to disrupt the negotiations between Karl Wolf and Allen Dulles, taking place in Switzerland, aimed at establishing a separate peace between Germany and the Western Allies. The series is considered the most successful Soviet spy thriller ever made and is one of the most popular television series in Russian history.
2. The Spy Went North (2018)
In 1993, in Korea, the only country where the Cold War continues, tensions escalated over the development of nuclear weapons. A young man, South Korea’s top military intelligence officer, codenamed Black Venus, is tasked with infiltrating a North Korean nuclear facility.
The intelligence officer disguises himself as a South Korean businessman working on a joint project with North Korea and approaches Myung-Woon Lee, a high-ranking North Korean official based in Beijing.
After years spent on this assignment, the spy finally manages to win the trust of the North Korean ruling class and get a contract to work together. However, Black Venus soon discovers that North and South Korea are making secret deals for their own benefit in the 1998 South Korean presidential election.
1. Star (2002)
A 2002 film directed by Nikolai Lebedev, a large modern Mosfilm project. It is based on a short story of the same name by Emmanuil Kazakevich about a group of Soviet intelligence agents working behind enemy lines during Operation Bagration in World War II. The story had previously been made into a 1953 film of the same name. Alexey Kravchenko received a government award for his role in this film.
A team of Soviet reconnaissance saboteurs is sent behind enemy lines to find the location of German armored vehicles. The Soviets wait until night and open an artillery bombardment. As soon as the first shots are heard, the team advances. The picture is replete with dramatic scenes: in one of them a German soldier is captured and interrogated, in another case, the team launches an air strike on German positions, inflicting heavy damage and killing opponents. Ultimately, the Soviet soldiers are driven into the barn and the Germans attack from all sides.