The Imitation Game (2014)

[Brian G Turner]

I've long wanted to see a film about Alan Turing, but this one starring Benedict Cumberbatch looks even more interesting than I could have imagined:

 

[TØny Hine]

From watching that clip I would agree with you. Cumberbatch is a brilliant actor. I didn't take to the Sherlock Holmes series but I think that was more to do with some of the episodes. The one with the bomb on the train just wasn't believable for me.

 

[Tower75]

Really looking forward to it. Apparently a country other than the US fought in the War. Who knew?

 

[williamjm]

I saw it last weekend, I thought it was pretty good film. I thought Cumberbatch was good as Turing, there was a risk given the superficial similarity in characters that his Turing might end up feeling a bit like his Sherlock but I think he managed to make him distinctive. In terms of historical accuracy it didn't seem too bad although they did simplify some things a bit, cracking Enigma wasn't the only thing Turing worked on during the war but it's the main focus here which I guess is understandable since along with his tragic end it's one of the two things he's best known for.

 

[Allegra]

What a brilliant film! The best I've watched since - can't remember when. It deserves the major Oscars. Everything is superb especially B.C's performance (and his voice!). I definitely have to see it again when DVD is out. For now I'm going to have to get his biography by Andrew Hodges. I went on reading more historical facts afterwards, it's hard to believe that only recent years under the pressure of people's petitions the British government apologised and pardoned Turing. How petty, how ungrateful, what a shame!

Something interesting from wiki:
The logo of Apple Computer is often erroneously referred to as a tribute to Alan Turing, with the bite mark a reference to his death.[132] Both the designer of the logo[133] and the company deny that there is any homage to Turing in the design of the logo.[134] Stephen Fry has recounted asking Steve Jobs whether the design was intentional, saying that Jobs' response was, "God, we wish it were."

 

[Allegra]

Forgot to mention, I loved the soundtrack done by the French composer Alexandre Desplat and played by LSO - my most watched orchestra. Desplat also did the music for The Golden Compass, the last Harry Potter film, Godzilla, and The Grand Budapest Hotel (loved the film and the music!).

 

[Allegra]

 

[AsmaMohd]

The Imitation Game is at its best when it focuses on the collision between cryptography and proto-programming. (No individual can truly be said to have invented the computer, but Turing comes close.)

 

[F.J. Hansen]

I finally saw this a few days ago. I really loved it, especially Cumberbatch's performance. Before this, the only movies I've seen him in were War Horse, don't remember him much in that film, and Star Trek: Into Darkness, where I thought he was awfully cast as Khan. Here, he proves to me that with the right role, he can be amazing.

 

[Droflet]

Yes, Cumberbatch shines in the role. His stellar performance was, for me, the icing on the cake. A very good movies indeed.

 

[Allegra]

Forgot to mention, I loved the soundtrack done by the French composer Alexandre Desplat and played by LSO - my most watched orchestra. Desplat also did the music for The Golden Compass, the last Harry Potter film, Godzilla, and The Grand Budapest Hotel (loved the film and the music!).

Very glad Desplat got the Best Original Score for The Grand Budapest Hotel and a nomination for his The Imitation Game. Well deserved! He certainly is a very talented composer. I am disappointed The Imitation Game received only Best Adapted Screenplay. Well, no matter how good the film is, it'd be embarrassing for the British government if let it win.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I did enjoy the film - but not as much as I'd hoped.

The supporting cast appeared mostly redundant - the other cryptographers didn't seem to do anything of significance, especially Kiera Knightly's character.

It took too long to crack the Enigma code, and the moral difficulties seemed a little contrived - one of the crackers had a brother in a convoy, about to be attacked, and Kiera Knightly's character glances out of a cafe window to see wounded soldiers. Where was the mention of Coventry, perhaps one of the most defining moments of the problem with dealing with the cracked code?

I also didn't get much sense from the film of Turing having been a hero for his country, only to be abandoned by his government after the war - instead, we were reduced to a couple of scenes at the end of Cumberbatch and Knightly talking.

Gripes aside, Cumberbatch played the part superbly, and easily distinguished the troubled Turing from his cold portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.