The Company (miniseries)
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The Company | |
---|---|
Created by | Robert Littell |
Developed by | Ken Nolan |
Directed by | Mikael Salomon |
Starring | Chris O'Donnell Alfred Molina Michael Keaton Alessandro Nivola Rory Cochrane Tom Hollander Alexandra Maria Lara Natascha McElhone Raoul Bova Erika Marozsán Mišel Matičević |
Composer | Jeff Beal |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 3 |
Production | |
Executive producers | John Calley Ridley Scott Tony Scott |
Producer | Robert Bernacchi |
Cinematography | Ben Nott |
Running time | 286 Mins |
Production companies | Scott Free Productions John Calley Productions Sony Pictures Television |
Original release | |
Network | TNT |
Release | August 5 August 19, 2007 | –
The Company is a three-part serial about the activities of the CIA during the Cold War. It was based on the best-selling 2002 novel of the same name by Robert Littell. The teleplay adaptation was written by Ken Nolan, who received a Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted.
Synopsis
In 1950, the best friends Jack McAuliffe, Leo Kritzky, and Yevgeny Tsipin graduate from
In 1955, Jack has been assigned to
Angleton believes the fault lies with Berlin and infuriates Torriti, who aims to expose the mole by feeding him a barium meal: Torriti gives privileged information to a trusted contact in MI6, forcing the mole to protect himself by attempting to kill Torriti. Meanwhile, Jack is falling in love with his first asset, Lili, who provides information from an important scientist. When the barium meal sees Jack and Torriti ambushed at a meeting, Torriti prepares another.
In Washington, Leo has become Wisner's apprentice despite Angleton's misgivings. Leo has fallen in love with Adele Sweet, whose father is friends with
In Berlin, discrepancies are found in Lili's information. When confronted by Jack, she admits she was turned by the KGB but assures Jack that she loves him. Shortly thereafter, the KGB murders the scientist, and Lili commits suicide. In Washington, Yevgeny tells Philby to run before he is caught and assures him that another mole, Sasha, has already taken his place. Jack is unsure if Torriti used Lili for his final barium meal, and Angleton is devastated that his best friend was a mole.
In 1956, Jack is sent to Budapest on the eve of the Hungarian Revolution, but he is abducted and tortured at an AVH prison. Torriti threatens his KGB counterpart in Berlin and demands that the AVH release Jack, but Jack is rescued by the revolutionaries, who execute an AVH commandant as he tries to reveal Sasha's identity. Jack asks the CIA to back the freedom fighters, but Eisenhower refuses and the revolution is crushed. Jack escapes and reconnects with Torriti, Wisner has a breakdown over his complicity in the CIA's actions, and Starik tells Nikita Khrushchev of "Kholstomer", his long-term masterstroke to cripple the US economy. Yevgeny continues his work and tries to call Azalia, but his handlers are unable to find her.
In 1960, Jack joins
In 1975, Leo is on vacation with his family, Yevgeny visits his dying father along with a disillusioned Philby in Russia, and Jack is working to exfiltrate Kukushkin, who promises information on Sasha. Angleton feels that Kukushkin may be legitimate, but his obsession with Sasha and Soviet infiltration into the CIA has begun to cripple the Company. Using information gathered over decades, including Kukushkin's new data and clues from the liquor store where Yevgeny was nearly caught, Angleton divines a system of masterful rhetoric to reveal the mole: Leo.
Angleton has Leo kidnapped, interred, and systematically interrogated about his socialist father. Jack cannot believe his best friend may be responsible for Lili, Hungary, and the Bay of Pigs. When Jack visits him, Leo proclaims his innocence and suggests that Kukushkin must be a
In 1987, Torriti has retired, and Adele has committed suicide. Analysts present Jack with an old lead linking a 1950s
In 1991, Jack offers Yevgeny an early release from prison if he reveals Leo's location by telling him that Starik sent Azalia to the gulag, but he still has time to find her since the Soviet Union is collapsing. Yevgeny tracks down Leo and warns him before passing his whereabouts to Jack. Yevgeny visits with a ruined and senile Starik and finally reconnects with Azalia. Jack travels to Moscow to kill Leo but stops himself moments before Leo recognizes him. Back in DC, Torriti and Jack reminisce over their work in the Cold War, with Jack expressing misgivings over which side was good or bad. Torriti insists the CIA were the good guys, concluding with the phrase "we won, didn't we?"
Cast
- Chris O'Donnell as Jack McAuliffe
- Michael Keaton as James Jesus Angleton / "Mother"
- Alfred Molina as Harvey Torriti / "The Sorcerer"
- Kim Philby
- Rory Cochrane as Yevgeny Tsipin
- Alessandro Nivola as Leo Kritzky
- Ulrich Thomsen as Starik Zhilov
- Natascha McElhone as Elizabet Nemeth
- Alexandra Maria Lara as Lili / Helga
- Ted Atherton as Frank Wisner / "The Wizard"
- Cedric Smith as DCI Allen Dulles
- Rick Roberts as DCI William Colby
- Simon Callow as MI6 liaison officer Elihu
- Antony Sher as Ezra ben Ezra, the Mossad-CIA liaison / "The Rabbi"
- Mišel Matičević as Arpad Zelk, the Hungarian poet
Similarities to real life
The Soviet spy Tsipin uses the code word "
The DVD set came with two disks. The second disk had a "Covert Mission," to be completed by placing the disk in a computer's DVD drive "to receive instructions to complete your mission." After searching the different directories, the player could find a folder "PC_Clickme," which linked to a website, www.thecompanyspygame.com. The domain was abandoned in 2011.
Filming
- Summer-Fall 2006: filming in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[1]
- Fall-Winter 2006: filming in central Budapest, District VIII.
- Spring 2007: filming in Añasco, Puerto Rico.
Home media
The Company was released on 23 October 2007 on both high-definition
References
- ^ "Internet Movie Database – List of Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
External links
- The Company at IMDb
- The Company on TNT