The Secret Agent [Region 2] | ![The Secret Agent [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71QYDQR291L._SL500_.gif) | Director: Christopher Hampton
Actors: Bob Hoskins, Patricia Arquette, Gérard Depardieu, Robin Williams, Jim Broadbent
Category: DVD
Buy New: $24.99
as of 2/10/2010 01:57 EST details
New (1) Used (2) from $23.79
Seller: daaveedee
Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 257997
Format: PAL
Languages: German (Original Language), English (Original Language), English (Unknown), German (Subtitled), German (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 4020974134712
ASIN: B00004RYN2
Theatrical Release Date: November 8, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Germany released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), German ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN, SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: London of the late 19th century is a haven for political exiles of all sorts - refugees, partisans, anarchists. Verloc has made his living spying for the Russian goverment, an agent provacateur of sorts, while simultaneously providing information to the London police, specifically Chief Inspector Heat. When the new Russian ambassador demands he prove his worth or lose his salary, Verloc sets off a tragic chain of events that involves his pretty young wife Winnie, her retarded brother Stevie, and a figure called the Professor, whose fascination with explosives and destruction makes him the person to call on when Verloc needs a bomb.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
 Spoiler Alert... January 31, 2010
Big Brothel (CA, OB-2)
I loooooooooooooooooooooooove CHRISTIAN BALE's intense acting here and that thing on the tree it was HOLY CRISIS!!!!!!!!!!!!
 The Boredom Agent. January 15, 2010
Robert P. Beveridge (Cleveland, OH)
The Secret Agent (Christopher Hampton, 1996)
Ponderous adaptation of the Joseph Conrad novel that never really gets off the ground as the thriller it wants to be. Hampton is a serviceable screenwriter (along these same lines, he was responsible for the script for Phillip Noyce's adaptation of The Quiet American six years later), but his directorial career has been infrequent, with long gaps between projects; this may be an indication of why.
Verloc (Bob Hoskins) is a double agent, working both as a spy for Russia and an informant for the British police force in nineteenth-century London. He's doing well raking in cash from both sides of the dangerous game he's playing until Russia changes its ambassador to England. The new chap wants to see some actual results from Verloc's attempts to undermine the British government, so Verloc hatches a plan that involves his wife Winnie (Patricia Arquette)'s mentally challenged brother Stevie (Christian Bale) and a bomb provided for the operation by a shady anarchist known only as The Professor (Robin Williams in an uncredited role). Murphy's Law strikes, however, and Verloc's life is irreparably shaken up as a result.
Hampton assembled a phenomenal cast for this (aside from those mentioned above, one will find Gerard Depardieu, Jim Broadbent, and Eddie Izzard on display) and then didn't give any of them a great deal to do. While this approach did work well in Wayne Wang's Smoke, The Secret Agent is an entirely different beast altogether; things actually are supposed to go on here, but they rarely do. Of all Conrad's novels, The Secret Agent seems as if it would actually be the easiest to film; no one, however, has yet succeeded in filming an adaptation of it worth watching. You can tune into this one for the cast, but don't expect much. **
 The Secret Agent. October 24, 2009
Mr. L. Graham (Australia)
I bought this DVD for three reasons.
1. I knew everyone in the cast and all were excellent.
2. I love the music of Philip Glass.
3. I like this movie very much.
 not true to the heart of novel April 20, 2009
grumpy teacher (West Chicago, Illinois)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased this video because I am teaching the novel and hoped to show the movie to my students. The reviews I read stated that the movie was true to the book. AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHH! The plot action was nearly identical and some dialogue was right out of the book, but the movie greatly distorted relationships among the characters, distorting the major focus of the book. The way the movie was filmed makes it impossible to fully understand the themes of the novel. I have warned my students against viewing the film.
Alright September 22, 2008
ND Marchbank (Johannesburg,South Africa)
A nostalgic sleepy and literate period piece spy drama that periodically captures your attention when least expected. Not as stimulating as one could imagine but nevertheless credible.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
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