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Spy Sorge

  • 20032003
  • 3h 2m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
247
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
126,461
31,561
Spy Sorge (2003)
ActionDramaThriller
A foreign spy using the Sorge alias is assigned to Tokyo the capital of Japan just prior to the outbreak of World War II and in the midst of the Japanese imperial ambitions in Eastern Asia. ... Read allA foreign spy using the Sorge alias is assigned to Tokyo the capital of Japan just prior to the outbreak of World War II and in the midst of the Japanese imperial ambitions in Eastern Asia. The spy becomes acquainted with a sympathetic communist who like he is attached to the ide... Read allA foreign spy using the Sorge alias is assigned to Tokyo the capital of Japan just prior to the outbreak of World War II and in the midst of the Japanese imperial ambitions in Eastern Asia. The spy becomes acquainted with a sympathetic communist who like he is attached to the ideals of freedom and rule of the masses. Sorge is able to feed the Soviet Union useful infor... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
247
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
126,461
31,561
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Masahiro Shinoda
    • Writers
      • Robert Mandy
      • Masahiro Shinoda
    • Stars
      • Iain Glen
      • Masahiro Motoki
      • Kippei Shîna
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Masahiro Shinoda
    • Writers
      • Robert Mandy
      • Masahiro Shinoda
    • Stars
      • Iain Glen
      • Masahiro Motoki
      • Kippei Shîna
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 5User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 9 nominations

    Photos

    Spy Sorge (2003)
    Spy Sorge (2003)
    Spy Sorge (2003)
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    Top cast

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    Iain Glen
    Iain Glen
    • Richard Sorge
    Masahiro Motoki
    Masahiro Motoki
    • Hidemi Ozaki
    Kippei Shîna
    Kippei Shîna
    • Mitsusada Yoshikawa
    Takaya Kamikawa
    • Tokko T
    Toshiya Nagasawa
    • Miyagi
    Riona Hazuki
    • Hanako Miyake
    Koyuki
    Koyuki
    • Yoshiko Yamazaki
    Yui Natsukawa
    Yui Natsukawa
    • Hideko Ozaki
    Takaaki Enoki
    • Duke Fumimaro Konoye
    Hideji Ôtaki
    • Duke Kinmochi Sai-onji
    Shima Iwashita
    Shima Iwashita
    • Mrs. Konoe
    Ulrich Mühe
    Ulrich Mühe
    • Eugen Ott
    Karen Friesicke
    • Helma Ott
    Wolfgang S. Zechmayer
    Wolfgang S. Zechmayer
    • Max Klausen
    • (as Wolfgang Zechmayer)
    Robert Baldwin
    Ralph-Peter Borchert
      Michael Christian
      Georg O.P. Eschert
      Georg O.P. Eschert
      • Director
        • Masahiro Shinoda
      • Writers
        • Robert Mandy
        • Masahiro Shinoda
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Goofs
        The U.S. dollar bill is obviously contemporary, featuring the post-1969 design and the signatures of Mary Ellen Withrow and Lawrence H. Summers (Treasurer and Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration).
      • Soundtracks
        Koukyoukyoku dai5ban 'Simplex'
        Written by Shinichirô Ikebe

        Conducted by Koutarou Satou

        Performed by Tokyo Koukyougakudan

      User reviews5

      Review
      Top review
      Historical FIlms and their Context
      This film was financed mostly if not completely by a German TV Network and was produced to be aired in more than one showings. Because of this the film seems to be a bit too long when seen in one session. The slow and overly posed acting becomes unnatural, never mind the fastidious obsession about superfluous details to fill the lack of content in many scenes. Visually is gorgeous if you like that kind of nostalgic images of objects and fashions: every body dresses as a designer model.

      This historical film is more political in its intentions than historical. It is precisely because it is addressed to a German audience that its anti-communist message over-shadows Dr. Sorge spies exploits, his warning to Stalin that Nazi Germany would attack the Soviet Union on 20 June 1941, that Japan will not attack the Soviet Union in Manchuria but instead will attack Pearl Harbor in November 1941 seems to matter little to director Masahiro Shinoda. One wonders how a German audience may have received this film with the explicit message that the man who contributed to Hitler's military defeat in the East did so because he was a confused idealist.

      Akira Kurosawa' s "No Regrets for our Youth" (1946) addressed part of this drama from the Japanese side. Kurosawa's views on idealism are or at least were at the time very different from Shinoda's. But of course we should never forget that history has to be judged in its context and 57 years can blur history in more than one country.

      The movie should be interesting for an American audience. Even Miss Agnes Smedly appears in Shanghai and given the fact Miss Smedly is all but almost completely forgotten in America, except as feminist, the film brings a small but essential bit of American idealism to Dr. Richard Sorge's spy ring.
      helpful•15
      5
      • gogolc
      • Jan 10, 2005

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • June 14, 2003 (Japan)
      • Countries of origin
        • Japan
        • Germany
      • Official site
        • Official Site
      • Languages
        • English
        • Japanese
      • Also known as
        • Шпион Зорге
      • Filming locations
        • Berlin, Germany
      • Production companies
        • Hyogensha
        • Asmik Ace Entertainment
        • Toho Company
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

      Edit
      • Budget
        • ¥2,000,000,000 (estimated)
      • Gross worldwide
        • $5,472,593
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        3 hours 2 minutes
      • Color
        • Color
      • Sound mix
        • Dolby Digital

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