It was filmed in Berlin and a German actor stars with Tom Hanks. Spielberg's latest film tells an incredible story - and it's based on true facts. For decades, Germany has been a popular backdrop for spy films.
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12 spy films set in Germany
From James Bond to Ethan Hunt, many cinematic secret agents spent time in Germany. Steven Spielberg's film "Bridge of Spies" is set in Berlin and was filmed there, too - but others just reproduced the city.
Image: 2014 Twentieth Century Fox
Tom Hanks among spies in Berlin
Many parts of Steven Spielberg's movie were shot in and around Berlin. It re-enacts the first of a series of spy swaps that took place on Glienicke Bridge, which became known as the "Bridge of Spies," hence the title of the film. Spielberg isn't the first filmmaker to portray secret agents in Germany. Here are more examples.
Image: 2014 Twentieth Century Fox
'5 Fingers'
The film "5 Fingers" (1952), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is about a famous secret agent during World War II who worked for the Nazis - widely known by his code name, Cicero. Although other spy movies were filmed on location, this one was mainly shot in the studio.
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'Spy for Germany'
This West German thriller, originally titled "Spion für Deutschland" (1956), also depicts the actions of a German secret agent during World War II. Starring Martin Held and Nadja Tiller, it was filmed both in Berlin and the US.
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'The Dirty Game'
Werner Klinger, who directed "Spy for Germany," was also among the four filmmakers who helmed this 1965 anthology spy film. It is made up of stories directed by a German, a French, an Italian, and a British filmmaker. Shot in Berlin, it starred Henry Fonda and Robert Ryan.
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'Torn Curtain'
Alfred Hitchcock filmed his spy thriller "Torn Curtain" in the studio in 1966. However, some scenes were shot on location in Berlin. Camera crews filmed in the German capital and sent their footage to Hollywood so Hitchcock could use the material in his movie. The cast included German actors Wolfgang Kieling and Hansjörg Felmy, along with US stars Julie Andrews and Paul Newman.
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James Bond in Berlin: 'Octopussy'
A large part of the 13th movie of the most popular secret agent in film history, James Bond, was shot in Berlin in 1983. Agent 007, depicted by Roger Moore, is seen at Checkpoint Charlie, in front of the Berlin Wall, and does a chase scene on the AVUS highway. Bond's love scenes were filmed in the studio, though.
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'The Innocent'
In 1993, John Schlesinger filmed on location in Berlin. "The Innocent" is based on the Cold War "Operation Gold," where CIA and MI6 agents built a tunnel under the Russian sector of Berlin. Anthony Hopkins, Isabella Rossellini and Campbell Scott star in the film.
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'Mission: Impossible III'
For the third film in the "Mission: Impossible" series, director J.J Abrams and star Tom Cruise initially planned to film in the German Reichstag. But the German government didn't allow them to shoot in the building - a council decided it should not be used in commercial films. The crew had to build sets in Babelsberg Studio, just outside Berlin.
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'The Good German'
"The Good German" (2006) by Steven Soderbergh also demonstrates how studio sets can replace actual locations. The story is set in post-war Berlin, but was filmed in Los Angeles. However, Soderbergh built in archive material of the actual war-torn city in his gloomy film shot in black-and-white.
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'Spy Game'
This 2001 spy thriller starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt is set in Berlin, but it wasn't shot in Germany either. Locations in Budapest were used to reproduce the German capital. This can actually be noticed in some scenes: Some elements in the background do not exist in Berlin.
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'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'
Currently in theaters, the secret agent comedy "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." contains many scenes set in Berlin in the 1960s. Henry Cavill depicts an American secret agent competing with a Russian spy. The film beautifully recreates the atmosphere of divided Berlin - yet everything was done by computer.
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'Homeland'
The fifth season of the popular TV series "Homeland" was shot in Berlin, too. Agent Carrie Mathison is no longer working for the CIA and is hired by a German private security firm. Filming was also done in Babelsberg Studios and in Brandenburg.
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On location: Glienicke Bridge
Steven Spielberg filmed his spy movie on location in Berlin. After all, the legendary and mysterious Glienicke Bridge also inspired the title of his film, "Bridge of Spies." Sometimes the actual location simply beats all studio sets and digital reproductions.
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The European premiere of "Bridge of Spies" will take place in Berlin, on Friday 13. Steven Spielberg came to the German capital for the occasion.
The director's interest in the country isn't new: As he revealed in a recent interview with the weekly magazine "Der Spiegel," he was already "obsessed with the Holocaust and later the Cold War" as a child.
Spielberg has already directed strong works about the Holocaust and World War II, with "Schindler's List" (1993) and "Saving Private Ryan" (1998). Now with his new movie, the film director is exploring the Cold War.
Along with Spielberg, Oscar-award winning actor Tom Hanks will also be there to celebrate the European premiere, as well as Sebastian Koch, who is currently one of the most well-known German actors in the US.
The actor, already well established in Germany through his roles in major TV dramas and films (such as "Operation Valkyrie,""Speer and Hitler: The Devil's Architect,""The Lives of Others"), was not only part of Spielberg's cast: He also starred in the fifth season of the hit series "Homeland," which just started airing in the US.
Standing ovation in New York
Spielberg's film, which premiered at the New York Film Festival, was greeted with a standing ovation and praised by critics. "The Hollywood Reporter" described it as a "feel-good Cold War melodrama;" The "New York Post" predicted the film could lead this year's Oscars race. The "Independent" praised Spielberg's "breathtaking" craftsmanship.
The film trade magazine "Variety" underlined the work of the actor Mark Rylance in the role of a Russian KGB agent in the film, as well as the sets built in the Babelsberg Studio, located just outside Berlin.
Tom Hanks portrays negotiator James B. DonovanImage: 2014 Twentieth Century Fox
Sebastian Koch is therefore not the only one to represent Germany's cinematic talents in Spielberg's latest work. The Oscar-winning director spent several weeks shooting in Berlin and Potsdam and in the Babelsberg Film Studio last year.
Spielberg, science-fiction and history fan
Throughout his long and successful career, Spielberg has created thrilling blockbusters filled with terrifying beasts, from the sharks of "Jaws" to the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park" - but he also conceived the universe's friendlest alien with "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982).
Spielberg has also demonstrated his interest for historical issues: He dealt with Auschwitz and the Holocaust with "Schindler's List," and explored the invasion of Normandy in World War II in "Saving Private Ryan."
The 60s were reproduced in detail for the filmImage: 2014 Twentieth Century Fox
Once again, the "realist" side of the filmmaker was responsible for "Bridge of Spies." Although the story told in the film may appear incredible for today's audience, it is based on true events which occurred during the Cold War.
The U-2 incident
In 1960, a U-2 spy plane was shot down while on a reconnaissance mission over the Soviet Union. The pilot Francis Gary Powers miraculously managed to survive a 20,000-meter descent. His story traveled around the world and became a suspenseful episode at the height of the Cold War.
The Americans had already reported the death of their pilot. Shortly afterwards, the Soviets announced that they had captured Powers, which was perceived as a propaganda coup that was embarrassing to the US.
The negotiations to try to release Powers initially failed.
This is the starting point of Steven Spielberg's film. The New York lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) was sent to East Berlin to contact the East German authorities and Russian agents. There, he negotiated with the East German lawyer Wolfgang Vogel (Sebastian Koch).
Hot negotiations during the Cold War: Sebastian Koch and Tom HanksImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Buitendijk
The negotiations were finally successful because the Americans had a prisoner they could offer to release in exchange: The senior Russian spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance).
A bridge becomes a symbol of the Cold War
In February 1962, Powers and Abel were exchanged on the Glienicke Bridge which connected the American sector of West Berlin and the Eastern Bloc in Potsdam. The bridge would be used throughout the Cold War to swap other captured agents, which is why it became known as the "Bridge of Spies."
Steven Spielberg sees parallels between that historical period and current world politics: It's "a movie that is relevant to our times, because the Cold War seems to be coming back," said the director at the film premiere in New York.
"Bridge of Spies" opened in the US on October 16 and will be released in Germany on November 26.
