User Reviews

A couple of years ago PBS aired a 2-hour episode of Nova (the American equivalent of the BBC's Horizon) called 'Decoding Nazi Secrets.' It was a fascinating documentary about the work done at Bletchley Park, as well as some material about its American counterpart, Arlington Hall. I had wished it was even longer, for I suspected that what was left out was as interesting as what was included. Among the many memorable characters in the story, none stood out more than Alan Turing, a painfully shy, socially awkward, utterly brilliant genius. I found myself wishing that someone would make a theatrical film about the Enigma code and a film of Alan Turing's life, or both.

Unfortunately, this isn't it. In March of 1943, code-breakers at Bletchley Park discover to their horror that the German navy has changed the code sets used to communicate with U-boats at sea. These were based on the famous and diabolically complex encryption machine known as the Enigma. Authorities enlist the help of a brilliant young man named Tom Jericho (played by Dougray Scott) to help them break the code again. The possibility of a spy within the British code-breakers' ranks is raised, and Tom's love interest, Claire (Saffron Burrows), has disappeared. To solve these mysteries, Tom recruits Claire's best friend, Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet). While investigating Claire's personal life, the pair discovers personal and international betrayals involving the now-infamous Katyn massacre in Poland. Of course, Tom and Hester fall in love.

Dougray Scott actually does bear some physical resemblance to Alan Turing, but there the comparison ends. Turing's sorry, shabby reward for the instrumental role he played in winning the war for Britain was to be persecuted during the Cold War because his homosexuality was viewed as a security risk, to the point that he committed suicide. While 'Enigma' looks good and plays fairly well as a decent espionage film, the viewer who knows the factual background of this piece of fiction will probably be disappointed. The best part for me was the recreation of the physical setting at wartime Bletchley Park, especially the Enigma machines themselves and the famous Bombes, which were invented by Turing (Jericho in the film). These were among the world's first computing machines; they were a stroke of brilliance by Turing: Instead of looking for what a coded message WAS, they operated according to the principle of eliminating what it was NOT. This cut the number of possibilities by better than 90% and greatly simplified the work of the human code-breakers. It is somewhat surprising that this rather wan film is the work of Tom Stoppard and Michael Apted; they have done better.

Purely as a film I give ENIGMA 6 out of 10; as an historical document – zero. Generally I do not necessarily expect a film with an historical content to be a piece of cinematic non-fiction but merely a source of entertainment, so I score it on this basis. If the distributors claim it as a true historical record then that is another matter. Enigma has a fairly good plot but suffers from poor direction and frequently indistinct dialogue. It centres around a young man and a young girl working at the Government's code deciphering establishment at Bletchley Park and their involvement in the breaking of the German U-boat cipher SHARK (or TRITON to give it its original German name). As the mechanics of the breaking of SHARK has little story value a sub-plot involving a femme-fatale as German spy is introduced.

During 1941 our Atlantic convoy losses were becoming unsustainable so the ability to read SHARK was imperative. The film has a section in which the code breakers are shown helping a naval lieutenant to pinpoint the position of U-boats in the Atlantic based on wireless direction finding information. This was not the work of Bletchley Park so is historically wrong. In fact,convoys and U boats were tracked by the Admiralty in London.

The film also purports that breaking SHARK was the sole factor in helping to bring down convoy losses. The truth is somewhat more ironic. Whilst we could not read TRITON/SHARK the Germans could read the Royal Navy Cipher No. 3! However it took us a year to find out. It was this cipher which was used to transmit the rendez-vous points for departing convoys to RN escort vessels in the North Atlantic. The Germans picked this up at their listening stations and promptly re-transmitted it to their U-boat wolf packs who were then able to proceed to the rendez-vous ready to pick off their prey. This information was sent in SHARK so once it was broken we knew that RN Cipher No.3 was being compromised and had to be changed. As a result convoy losses decreased.

The reason for the weakness in Cipher No.3 was that when WWII started the Royal Navy was essentially still using code book methods from the Great War and were very slow to adopt mechanical encipherment, similar to Enigma. On the other hand the RAF introduced it in the 1930s for use on the Defence Teleprinter Network run by the GPO. For this the Type-X machine was developed and was featured in the film for reading German enigma code. The German Enigma machine itself features prominently in the opening sequences of the film with several close-ups and supporting dialogue explaining how it worked.

Did the Germans know that we could read their enigma messages? This is a moot point as officially they did not but both Rommel and Doenitz, the U-boat commander, were highly suspicious; Rommel because convoys from Italy to North Africa were frequently sunk and Doenitz because U-boat code changes only gave him a short term advantage against convoys. In both cases the leakage was blamed on spies, although it has been suggested that Doenitz's staff were very possibly convinced but dare not tell Hitler that Enigma was compromised, so they just contented themselves with improving the system. Unlike the British centralised Intelligence centre at Bletchley Park the Germans had separate intelligence staffs for each of the three services with the inevitable rivalry between them. This weakened their counter intelligence operations which, coupled with the extreme secrecy surrounding Ultra, meant that our success against Enigma went undetected.

The film is well worth seeing for its entertainment value and just a wee peek at the work of Bletchley Park but for anyone interested in learning the truth about this fascinating story I suggest that they read the official history entitled "British Intelligence in WWII" by Professor Sir F. H. (Harry) Hinsley (himself an alumnus of BP), or just Google "Bletchley Park".

The movie concerns upon an investigation team in the Bletchley Park mansion with the aim to decipher communication keys of German submarines during second world war.

In the squad there are a wise nut-head (Dougray Scott) , an ugly and outcast girl (Kate Winslet) and another rush and beautiful (Saffron Burrows), and yet a clever investigator (Jeremy Norton).

The movie mingles mystery , action , a love story , thriller and it's quite amusing.

The flick is paced to nick of time , as they ought to figure out the clues by means of the Enigma , a mechanical device before that an Allied fleet was found by German subs .

One of the motivations behind shooting this picture was the indignation of many British World War 2 veterans over the movie U-571 , in which the capture of the Enigma was shown to be done by American navy soldiers .

Michael Apted direction is nice , he creates enough suspense , we're very interested in the events , besides being based on real deeds.

Final feature film with a full music score composed by John Barry , his music is fascinating likeness to "Dancing with wolves" and a lot of hits during his long career thirty years ago .

It was such a thrilling movie that had a great success in box office.

The film will appeal to emotions enthusiasts and suspense fans.

Rating: 7/10 above average .

Code breaking is hard work. Though picks and shovels aren't required, the hours are long and the frustrations constant. The code breaking process is complex, relying heavily on logic, mathematics, and the assistance of computers. Code breakers themselves often are very weird people who make the common nerd seem comparatively normal. Given all this, it's understandable that hardly any films, aside from documentaries, have been made about the lives and loves of code breakers.

Until "Enigma", the one exception was "Breaking the Code", the story of Alan Turing, the mathematician perhaps most responsible for cracking the Enigma. But Turing's story, though psychologically fascinating, has its limitations for conventional film makers, the most obvious being the difficulty in creating dramatic tension and the absence of any female love interest.

Michael Apted's `Enigma' is the first real attempt to tell the story of the Bletchley Park code breakers within the framework of both a thriller and a heterosexual romance. As might be expected given the historical circumstances, the thriller aspects come off as rather subdued and the romance, such as it is, as rather restrained.

Set in the dreary England of 1943, where stiff upper lips were bearing the weight of four years of war, `Enigma' centers on mathematician Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott). His day and night job is code cracking, but Jericho spends much of the film attempting to solve the mystery of the disappearance of his former lover, Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows). Jericho is assisted by the suitably frumpy Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet), but harassed by an elegant MI-5 officer named Wigram (Jermey Northam), who suspects him of both murder and treason.

The disheveled Mr. Jericho and the dowdy Miss Wallace spend much of the film on a last-name basis as they poke through files and try to decode intercepts Claire had in her possession. This leads them off into what seems a blind alley but eventually turns out to be the key to much of the mystery. In the midst of all this, Tom manages to tear himself away long enough to return to work, make a breakthrough, and help his mates recover the keys to a code the Germans had altered, thus changing the course of a critical convoy battle in the North Atlantic.

Slow paced and sometimes dense, `Enigma' is enlivened by Northam's portrayal of Wigram, who has a habit of turning up at inopportune moments and making matters difficult for Jericho. Northam has a lot of fun with this role and he looks great in his suits, providing a sharp sartorial contrast to the drab Jericho-Wallace line of wartime apparel.

Although some critics have compared `Enigma' favorably to works of Hitchcock, Hitch's touch was always lighter and his pacing livelier. And Dougray Scott is not Cary Grant any more than Kate Winslett is Grace Kelly, which is all well and good as this dark, serious film clearly benefits from the use of less glamorous performers.

Historically `Enigma' is reasonably accurate, though only so far as it goes. Alan Turing isn't even given a cameo and the original Polish contribution to the code breaking is barely acknowledged. Unfortunately, the film was not shot at Bletchley Park, some of which still survives, but at various other sites in England and Holland.

Recommended to those interested in code breaking and in World War Two. Others probably will find "Enigma" just that.

March, 1943. The Shark code is the way Nazi submarines communicate with each other. British cryptoanalysts have broken it. Unfortunately... it was just changed. Mere days are left before a massive, and sorely needed, shipment of resources for allied forces, go into dangerous waters. It's up to a team of eccentric geniuses to crack the new configuration. Among them is Tom(Scott, determined, brilliant), whose ex Claire(Burrows, seductive while dignified) has recently disappeared. He and her friend Hester(Winslet, smart and tired of being overlooked) must try to find her, and uncover the truth behind both events.

I haven't read the novel, but based on this, I might. My exposure to the director and screenwriter has been hit-and-miss. This is a quite compelling spy mystery. While it starts out as a slow burn, the last half increases in tension and suspense until it almost causes physical pain. Granted, the end has a *lot* of big revelations, and there certainly are some exposition dumps along the way. This does play fair; nothing is truly hidden from the viewer, everything falls into place once you know everything, and there are hints dropped - disguised well as things that don't seem like they'll be important.

The structure is notable; I understand some dislike it, and it does take getting used to. Right from the start, this starts a habit of, every so often, cutting from our protagonists to a different situation, or showing flashbacks(that's where we see the earlier-mentioned missing girl). if you're put off by it early, be warned that it does keep going. Speaking only for myself, it is a choice that makes sense, and everything does eventually pay off. Acting is great for all concerned. Characterization(no "bad guys" here), dialog(with the inimitable dry wit), filming, all solid.

This is tremendously detailed and authentic. Cars, clothes, social norms, etc. Of course the personal story told here is fiction, still, it's weaved almost exclusively from the fabric of history. This is the rare blockbuster that treats our knowledge of the past not as something to manipulate into something mainstream, or, *ugh*, a source for conspiracy theories. No, instead, it treats it as what it is... genuinely engaging, and satisfying to come to understand. It's also entirely credible; with today's thrillers, you find yourself missing the plausible, complex-not-convoluted(and not requiring the planner to be omniscient) plot.

There is some strong language(one of the only gratuitous and, as far as the terms used goes, anachronistic, aspects), disturbing and/or violent content, and a little nudity and sexuality in this. I recommend this to any fan of drama, puzzle-solving, and fact-based films. 7/10

Not being familiar with the source novel but obviously aware of the involvement of industry heavy-weights like Tom Stoppard and Michael Apted, it was reasonable to expect that the satisfaction from this particular movie would be more cerebral rather than visceral. And what's wrong with that, to paraphrase Mr McCartney? That said, the movie has a density at its core which is hard to penetrate and is promulgated by a too-complicated plot and probably just too much dialogue.

There's much to admire though, particularly in the cinematography and acting stakes. For the former, period is convincingly recreated, not least with some wonderful old cars running around country roads and especially with the massive code-breaking construct inside Bletchley, a juggernaut of dozens of clicking dials. I liked the acting too and even if Dougray Scott's accent sometimes drifts north from its supposed Yorkshire moorings, he displays no little range in depicting the damaged "genius" of the piece, this in the movie immediately following his pumped up appearance as a super-criminal in "MI2". Kate Winslet is also good, no air-brushing or Titanic ball-gowns here as she frumps up effectively as the "don't fancy yours much" friend of the captivatingly pretty Saffron Burrows' Clare who ensnares Scott's Tom Jericho in her machinations. Jeremy Northam is also fine as the smooth, double-talking investigator at Scott and Winslet's heels.

On the debit side, the plot really is quite impenetrable with more convolutions than a convolution machine and which had my head spinning pretty well as much as the dials on the tracking equipment at Bletchley, but then it's well known that Mr Stoppard likes a puzzle or two. I'm all for keeping the audience hanging on every word but there are so many of them here that it's difficult to properly weigh up their significance in the context of the narrative. The few action set-pieces on board seem too detached from their surroundings to really engage and often seem like drop-ins, while the Scott/Winslet relationship seems to blossom unconvincingly from nowhere at all.

However, it's fair to say, in conclusion, that this period thriller, while successfully recalling the depth and feel of British war-movies of the 50's, doesn't quite transcend that achievement and seems to lack fulfilment as a cinematic entertainment. That said, just how do you successfully dramatise as mundane and unglamorous a profession as code-breaking, so that overall, I'm bound to say this was a noble attempt and more than likely a film that will repay repeat viewings, to more satisfyingly uncover the myriad layers at its centre.

I went to see "Enigma" because the History Channel is on a lot in my house, so I've heard all about about Ultra and the Enigma code-breaking machine and the brains who secretly won WWII for the good guys so by osmosis I know quite a bit about it. But I'm sure history buffs will not appreciate the inaccuracies in a fictional story overlaid on the true background let alone objections to intellectual hothouse Bletchley Park being portrayed as a lot hotter for other things than first generation computers.

So while I assume the stuttering mathematician tertiary character is supposed to be Alan Turing, there's no mention of what he really contributed to the effort let alone how he was hounded out of the intelligence service for being homosexual.

Rather here it's the opposite, with a twisty spy suspense story (Tom Stoppard's screenplay from a novel) about a broken-hearted, broken-down straight mathematician trying to break code while breaking secrets about the woman he's obsessed with (and either I missed something or I didn't quite get his moral outrage against secret agent Jeremy Northram or he was representing a less cynical age with less exposure to agents being out in the cold).

Dougray Scott is haggardly good, looking so much like Tom Courtenay (while playing a character named Tom) that it helped me place him in the period; he should have played Tom's son in "Last Orders") and Kate Winslet makes good use of her then pregnancy towards being almost dumpy looking.

(originally written 4/28/2002)

'Enigma' is the kind of war movie that may not be loved by many people, mostly because there isn't much of action to be seen in it. At least, not the kind of action they would like to see: no heroically fighting soldiers, no breathtaking dogfights between the RAF and the Luftwaffe... But people like me, who are deeply interested in every aspect of the Second World War and who can appreciate a good story, certainly will love it.

It's March 1943 and the crypto-analysts at Britain's code-breaking center have discovered that the German U-boats have changed their Enigma Code. At first the English were able to read all their messages, but now they are back where they first started ... nowhere. Their only hope is the brilliant young man named Tom Jericho, who was able to crack the first code and who'll now have to do the same with the new one. In the meantime Tom's girlfriend Claire has disappeared and at the same time it is believed that there is a spy in the ranks of the code-breakers. When looking for his lost girlfriend and investigating her personal life, he uncovers some personal and international betrayals...

However it is clear that the main story of this movie is fictional, the entire movie is certainly interesting to watch. I mean, I have never had the chance to see how this enigma machines really worked, so I really appreciated the fact that it was shown so well in this movie. What I also liked in this movie was the love story that certainly wasn't too corny or overwhelming. It was an interesting part of the story that never bothered me, it just made the movie even better.

As I already said, this may not be the kind of war movie for the masses, but I liked it and that's why I give it at least a 7.5/10, perhaps even an 8/10.

If only we knew how to crack Germany's wartime communication codes - we could knock years off the war! Well, we did it once (the bloody Brits at Bletchley Park that is!!!) so, despite the Jerries changing their code unexpectedly just when we were sussing them out, let's jolly well see if we can't do it again. What ho! Mathematician, Tom Jericho (Scott) is our Ace card, but then - they're are bloody geniuses up at Bletchley! And this is a true story. And it's a rivetingly fascinating one. God forbid it should be sullied and muddied with an errant sexy-spy sub-plot... DOH!

Michael Apted capably directs two films here. The drama about code-breaking at Bletchley Park replete with it's cast of absurd British eccentrics (within which Scott provides a surprisingly underplayed and likeable genius) is both exciting and of huge historical interest. Sadly, it also has to share screen-time with a second, less satisfactory film: Namely a lame spy-thriller trying to be a 39 Steps (without investing either the necessary story time, character development or taut, intelligent dialogue) in which Jeremy Northam (surely the real successor to Donat and Moore) slides his way through each scene as the bad guy confusing underplaying for doing bugger all!!

Still. There's enough here of interest; and just enough about Bletchley to lift this above average. Winslett is as competent as ever and the photography and production design hit a satisfactory wartime note. However, despite being based on Harris's novel, the denoument of the 'spy at Bletchley' story is facile at worst - uninvolving at best.

German military messages enciphered on the Enigma machine were first broken by the Polish Cipher Bureau, beginning in December 1932. This success was a result of efforts by three Polish cryptologist's, Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Różycki and Henryk Zygalski, working for Polish military intelligence. Rejewski reverse-engineered the device, using theoretical mathematics and material supplied by French military intelligence. Subsequently the three mathematicians designed mechanical devices for breaking Enigma ciphers, including the cryptologic bomb. From 1938 onwards, additional complexity was repeatedly added to the Enigma machines, making decryption more difficult and requiring further equipment and personnel—more than the Poles could readily produce.

On 26 and 27 July 1939,[3] in Pyry near Warsaw, the Poles initiated French and British military intelligence representatives into their Enigma-decryption techniques and equipment, including Zygalski sheets and the cryptologic bomb, and promised each delegation a Polish-reconstructed Enigma. The demonstration represented a vital basis for the later British continuation and effort.[4] During the war, British cryptologists decrypted a vast number of messages enciphered on Enigma. The intelligence gleaned from this source, codenamed "Ultra" by the British, was a substantial aid to the Allied war effort.

Marian Rejewski was responsible for the initial analysis that enabled exploitation of the German ENIGMA cryptographic machine. Without his breakthroughs, which he provided to the French and British in 1939, the U.K. and U.S. may have never been able to exploit ENIGMA. Mr. Rejewski's genius was that he recognized traditional attacks as useless against ENIGMA. He became the first to employ a higher-algebraic attack against any cryptographic system. His insight produced a solution that had evaded his French and British peers for a decade, and thanks to his contributions, ENIGMA-derived intelligence enabled U.S. and British efforts to defeat Germany.

"Enigma" blends fact with fiction as it tells a carefully crafted story about the unseen and unsung heros of British WWII code-cracking who decrypted the infamous "Enigma" code which Germany used to command it's U-boat armada in the North Atlantic putting allied convoys in peril. With plenty of history and super-secret code cracking to feed the left brain and a dramatic tale of a top code-cracker and his surreptitious affairs of heart and mind for the right brain, "Enigma" has something to offer everyone. The film manages it's intricate plot well, offers solid performances, blends intrigues with lots of WWII crypto-speak, and moves along swiftly while staying real and avoiding the usual excesses of filmdom. A smart flick for smart minds. (B+)

Once again, the history of cracking the Enigma's code is falsified. Not so long ago we had "U-591" and now there's this movie. Let's then make this thing clear once and for all: the people responsible for cracking the Enigma's code were the group of Polish mathematicians, among them M. Rejewski, J. Rozycki and H. Zygalski. They made a replica of Enigma in 1933 and in August, 1939, Poland presented France and Great Britain with cracked Enigma specimens, which helped the allies to know the orders and plans of Third Reich. Too bad that the nations who had received such an important gift forgot about it so easily.

This is a rare pleasure of a film - one that is prepared to treat its viewers intelligently and tell a war-time story without explosives and histrionics and without falsifying history to glorify the Americans. It is based on the best-selling novel by Robert Harris whose previous work `Fatherland' suffered so badly when translated to the screen. Here he has a decent screenplay from Tom Stoppard, assured direction from Michael Apsted, and three fine performances by British actors.

Dougray Scott, in a very different role from his `Mission Impossible 2' outing, has lost weight to portray brilliant, but tortured, code-breaker Tom Jericho at Britain's war-time Bletchley Park; Kate Winslet put on weight (she was pregnant at the time) for a performance far removed from `Titantic' as the frumpy, but clever, Hester; and Jeremy Northam is excellent as the sardonic secret service agent Wigram who knows far more than he is prepared to reveal.

You realise how little known Alan Turing was only twenty years ago when you eventually discover he's been transformed into dashing Tom Jericho romantically involved with Saffron Burrows (as Daphne to Kate Winslet's Velma) and not to take this too seriously as history.

As a slick drama with a John Barry score it's enjoyable enough though, although it does rather ramble until the final plot development that serves to remind us that it's based on a novel by the same author as 'Fatherland'.

During the Second World War, a team of genius is put together near to London to study means of breaking the German code used in the communication. Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) broke this code in the past and had a break-down. Now his passion Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows) is missing and the British counter-espionage system believes she was a German spy. Tom becomes closer the Claire's best girl-friend Hester Wallace (the fantastic Kate Winslet) and together they will try to resolve the mystery of the disappearance of Claire in an war environment surrounded by suspicion and stress.

The plot of "Enigma" is not easy to be followed and understood and the viewer must pay attention in all the details. It is a great story, with thriller, action and romance. There are many characters and you must recall their names and what they have done. But it a good movie and watching it is worthwhile. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Enigma"

When I read the book I found it rather disappointing also. The story of the Enigma machine and the people of Bletchley Park who worked to crack the German codes is one full of suspense and interesting, eccentric characters drawn from a wide spectrum of society to work on the riddle. The book and the film , I feel, rather trivialises their efforts by turning it into a rather second rate detective story with the Enigma machine as a bit player. To be fair the film is well made, capturing the period well. The actors give good performances although the intelligence officer's is rather melodramatic.

It was on TV and you can't really pick your time to watch it. So as it was I was rather tired and had some problem to concentrate or want to concentrate enough to stay with the plot. All the same I enjoyed the acting and the pace of the story. I think I'll give it another go ! MM Oh no, I have to write another 6 lines to be acceptable! So here we go. I had some more problems with the flash back but again this could be related to my previous explanation. I also guess who was the spy on the actor's first appearance which may say something for the casting (once a bad "guy" always a bad "guy" unless of course I'm gifted with ESP! Finally I also enjoyed a trip down memory line although I would have barely been born when this happened - but in 2001 it must be hard work to recreate what was on 3/4 of a century ego, still it is special for those who somehow recognize familiar sights of their early life. MB

I first viewed this film the way its makers would want me to - on the big screen, and with friends. It commanded my attention and concentration, which, I believe, is the way good movies should. The post-viewing dinner and analysis made me want to go back and see it again, in spite of the fact I thought my absorption was total. In the event I waited until I was able to rent, then purchase, the DVD. So my opinion is based on multiple viewings, which says much about the complexity and detail ENIGMA provides.

I am not surprised to read comments from others who believe it was too complex after just one viewing. But I am surprised by the diversity of opinion of its direction, acting, scripting, design and cinematography - all of which I found to be of the highest standard.

This is one of those rare films that does not require an audience to suspend dis-belief. It is primarily fact-based, and while, like most fact-based movies, some events are concatenated, characters combined or dramatized, the presentation oozes credibility. Is it entertaining? Absolutely. Do the romantic plots and themes detract? Not at all. Is the code-breaking boring? No, but, like most who viewed it with some knowledge of the German encryption machine from which the movie takes its title, it may have left stuff out that would be nice to know about. Other reviewers have referenced web sites and publications that contain the detail and I have sourced material that has satisfied my curiosity.

It is not a documentary, in spite of the fact that director, Apted, is an eminent documentary maker. It is a human drama set amongst the surreal environment of the code-breaking complex of Bletchley Park. I can't comment on how faithful Stoppard's screenplay is to Harris' book, not having read it. And it is specious for anyone to make comparisons in any case.

Does the film downplay the Polish contribution to the Ultra activities? I don't think so. They captured an early 3-rotor Enigma machine and copied it and successfully cracked the codes then in use. What the English operatives captured was the later 3-rotor machine with the front patch panel, which was a quantum leap ahead of the pre-war machines. Turing and his associates then created the 'bombes' - reproduced in exquisite detail for the movie with assistance of the curator of the Bletchley Park Museum. Incidentally, Britain built a number of these bombes for US intelligence, which the US still have. But that's the sort of detail that is not essential to the execution of the plot or the enjoyment of its portrayal.

I have now enjoyed viewing ENIGMA so often I have lost count. And it has done nothing but whet my appetite for further, while less frequent viewings. I can add nothing to the erudite comments of the more discerning reviewers regarding the performances of Scott, Winslett, Northam, Burrows and their superb supporting cast members. They have crafted one of the finest wartime movies I have had the pleasure to experience. An absorbing and fascinating movie. I rate it 10 out of 10.

Postscript - added 30/07/2011.

Incidentally, at my first viewing of the movie, I was impressed by the performance of a rather portly, bespectacled young actress. It was not until the post-viewing dinner my curiosity was sated, somewhat ashamedly (but in Ms Winslett's favour), for failing to recognise this talented lady. I later discovered - and it is obvious in the final scene of the film - Kate was, in fact, pregnant at the time. Carefully disguised during shooting, her condition simply made her character all the more believable.

'Enigma' is based on Robert Harris' novel of the same title and is a competent if unadventurous reworking of the book. The story revolves around the top-secret British code-breaking operation at Bletchley Park. One of the great secrets of World War II, it only became known to the World in the late 1970s and it has taken until now for a film to be made of the story.

This is a fictional account and whilst the details are correct, the characters and plot were created for the story. Tom Jericho is a mathematician who broke into the German Naval 'Shark' cipher. With the ciphers broken, the British had been able to route convoys away from U-boats and continue the war. On a personal note, he became involved (on a very creaky bed) with the beautiful Claire and suffered a nervous breakdown from overwork. Jericho returns to Bletchley Park to find that Shark has changed. The British convoys cannot be protected from the U-Boats and the future of the War is at stake unless the codes can be broken. On a personal note, Claire is missing and the suspicion of murder points at Tom... then he discovers some mysterious ciphers from Eastern Europe.

With a gently plodding pace, quiet score and long lingering shots of the English countryside 'Enigma' looks and feels like an ITV drama on a Sunday evening. Only the smell of greasy popcorn and rancid hotdogs told me I wasn't in the comfort of my own living room and I should behave with some decorum.

A film that doesn't feel like a film isn't a bad thing, but at certain times 'Enigma' really did need to pick up the pace and run with the plot. Even the chases feel slow!

The movie does fumble its two main climaxes by revealing them too early and one straight after the other. The scenes in which the Shark cipher is broken and the mysterious codes cracked *should* have been exciting, but they were nothing more than interesting. A shame because the preceding scenes of the gathering U-boats were filled with tension.

And after these revelations the last 15 minutes feels a little superfluous, even though it should be leading to a point of high drama.

Script wise Tom Stoppard does a good job of condensing the book into a movie and manages to avoid the common problem of movies requiring detailed knowledge that needs to be explained to the audience. All too often these movies drop into neutral, you get an information dump, and then the movie picks up again. Here most of the knowledge is imparted in the dialogue, with one exception - unless you know how codes were broken, the cracking of Shark is going to make no sense whatsoever.

The dialogue feels right for the period and Stoppard has great fun with the reptilian Wigram (played with oily menace by Jeremy Northam), giving him most of the choice dialogue.

Acting, its a mixed bunch. Three great central perfomances by Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet and Northam are almost wiped out by the sheer badness of Saffron Burrows. If it hadn't been for Estella Warren's non-performance in 'Planet of the Apes', Ms. Burrows would walk away with the award for 'Most annoying female character in a motion picture'. A one note performance that will grate on your nerves and raise the question 'does she honestly think she can act?'

The film feels right, (although I doubt if Britain had fields of oil seed rape in the 1940s) and the drabness of the country comes across well. The coarse fabric, the terrible food and the backwardness of the country in comparison to America of the same period are all well produced and it is a big contrast to the gloss of U571 (which is not *that* bad a movie).

Plus points for a film that has Germans speaking German and not in zee very heavily aczented English. Ja?

A couple of minor problems that could have been resolved with some thought. It is hard to believe that security was quite so lax at Bletchley Park, if the movie is to be believed it is possible to borrow Britain's only Enigma machine from a secure room and no one will comment on it, likewise you can go to secure listening stations no one asks for authorisation? And in a country stricken with fuel rationing, where did they get all the petrol from? Still, compared to the plot holes in many movies these are small problems.

'Enigma' is a perfectly competent movie and should be on your list of films to watch. It's good to see a British film telling the story of Enigma (sorry America, but we did do it), but 'Enigma' isn't as good as it could have been. Still a British film that doesn't feature East End gangsters and/or Vinnie Jones? Definitely a plus.

I can't say how accurate this film is, after all its based on a novel and not history, but this tale of undoing the German Enigma code during the Second World War is a good way to spend a couple of hours.

I had read mixed reviews of this film, but its recently showed up on cable and having run across it a couple of times I've found that I'm stopping to watch it each time I do so. Its much better than the poor reviews I read made it out to be.

The cast is great without a bad performance in the bunch.

I recommend this film. Its not something that you need search out, but should you stumble upon it, as I have been doing so, I do suggest that you stop and watch.

I think this movie is a disservice to Alan Turing. He was the undisputed leader of the team that took the initial Polish work to break the Enigma Code, broke subsequent variations (such as for the naval Enigma machines) and automated the whole thing by creating one of the world's first computers called BOMBE. His work thus directly brought World War II to an early end and saving hundreds of thousands of lives in the process. He was also the founder of modern day computers and artificial intelligence (just Google 'Turing Test'). Why create a fictional story? In telling the story truthfully, they would have to touch on the fact that Alan Turing was gay. In 1952 he was arrested for being gay, was chemically castrated, and had all security clearance stripped. He committed suicide in 1954. Was it so unpalatable to tell the truth that the main character in this story was gay (as were thousands of soldiers who fought in WWII)? I think that story is more compelling. Are we so sanitized that he had to be replaced with a team of straight matinée idols? Alan Turing was one of the most important figures of the 20th century, and one of the most slighted. I wish someone would make a decent movie telling his story. You can sign a petition asking the British Government to apologize for the prosecution and castration of this war hero here: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/turing/