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Spies of Warsaw (TV series)

Spies of Warsaw is a British television miniseries in which a Deuxième Bureau intelligence agent (spy) poses as a military attaché at the French embassy in Warsaw, and finds himself drawn into the outbreak of World War II.[1]

Spies of Warsaw
GenreHistorical fiction
Written byDick Clement
Alan Furst
Ian La Frenais
Directed by
  • Coky Giedroyc (3 episodes)
  • Weronika Migon (2 episodes)
  • Kiaran Murray-Smith (2 episodes)
Starring
ComposerRob Lane
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes4 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer
Richard Fell
Production locationsKraków, Warsaw
CinematographyWojciech Szepel
Running time180 minutes total
Production companies
Original release
NetworkBBC Four
Release9 January (2013-01-09) –
16 January 2013 (2013-01-16)

The television series takes its name from its source, The Spies of Warsaw, a 2008 spy novel by Alan Furst. The book was adapted for television in 2013 as a co-production of TVP1, BBC Four, BBC America, and ARTE and premiered in January in the United Kingdom and in April in the United States.[2] It starred David Tennant as the protagonist Colonel Jean-François Mercier and Janet Montgomery as his love interest Anna Skarbek.[3] As in other Alan Furst novels, the fictional Parisian restaurant Brasserie Heininger serves as one of the settings for dialogue.[4]

Cast

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Main

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Main cast includes:[1]

Support

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Support cast includes:[1]

Episodes

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There are four episodes, which have also aired as a two-part series.[5]

Reception

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The two-part drama received some positive reviews in the UK, especially for the script and acting,[6] although The Guardian described it as "pallid as much of the washed-out photography".[7]

The Telegraph liked the series for many features: appropriateness for "intergenerational shared viewing, never... too visually brutal, and the playing of the minor characters... was convincingly understated".[8] The Guardian complained: "It should have been the perfect spy thriller. It had everything. Except tension".[9]

The New York Times found the series an "enjoyable, straightforward espionage tale without a lot of twists or extra layers" but deemed it "true to the original in story and in spirit",[5] though slow-moving,[10] and the Boston Globe thought it "a strangely bloodless affair".[11]

Rotten Tomatoes rated the television series 64% from critics and 50% from average audience.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Spies of Warsaw". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Spies of Warsaw". BBC America. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Media Centre – David Tennant and Janet Montgomery star in The Spies of Warsaw". BBC. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Lonely Spy in a Love Triangle". New York Times. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  5. ^ a b Stanley, Alessandra (2 April 2013). "Lonely Spy in a Love Triangle". New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Spies of Warsaw, BBC Four, review". Daily Telegraph. 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  7. ^ "TV review: Spies of Warsaw; The Food Inspectors". The Guardian. 9 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  8. ^ Howse, Christopher (10 January 2013). "Spies of Warsaw, BBC Four, review". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  9. ^ Crace, John (9 January 2013). "TV review: Spies of Warsaw; The Food Inspectors". Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  10. ^ Thomas, June (3 April 2013). "Why You Should Watch 'Spies of Warsaw'". Slate. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  11. ^ Gilbert, Matthew (2 April 2013). "Spies of Warsaw: Thriller with No Thrills". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  12. ^ "Spies of Warsaw (2013–2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
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