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

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.

Starring: Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner, Sam Wanamaker, George Voskovec, Katherine Keeton, Michael Ritterman, Peter Van Eyck, Rupert Davies, Cyril Cusack, Michael Hordern, Robert Hardy, Bernard Lee, Beatrix Lehmann, Esmond Knight, Walter Gotell, Tom Stern, Niall MacGinnis, George Mikell, Scot Finch, Richard Caldicot, Marianne Deeming, Michael Ripper, Richard Marner, David Bauer, Steve Plytas, Anne Blake, Edward Harvey, Nancy Nevinson, Warren Mitchell

Director: Martin Ritt