During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel, the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court.
Directed by Steven Spielberg
central intelligence agency (cia)
spy
cold war
soviet union
pilot
based on true story
lawyer
american
courtroom
russian spy
legal drama
Rank
#92 in 2015·#4371 overall
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
3.6 / 5
Where to Watch
Cast
Tom Hanks
James B. Donovan
Mark Rylance
Rudolf Abel
Amy Ryan
Mary Donovan
Alan Alda
Thomas Watters Jr.
Sebastian Koch
Wolfgang Vogel
Austin Stowell
Francis Gary Powers
Billy Magnussen
Doug Forrester
Michael Simon Hall
Reporter
Edward James Hyland
Chief Justice Earl Warren
Stephen Kunken
William Tompkins
Mike Houston
Man in Courtroom
James Lorinz
Gentleman on Subway #2
Crew
Steven Spielberg
Director
Joel Coen
Writer
Ethan Coen
Writer
Matt Charman
Writer
Thomas Newman
Original Music Composer
Michael Kahn
Editor
Janusz Kamiński
Director of Photography
Kristie Macosko Krieger
Producer
Marc Platt
Producer
Adam Somner
Executive Producer
Steven Spielberg
Producer
Jonathan King
Executive Producer
Popular Reviews
650 reviews
EnzaPRO
10.0★ · 05/28/26
Great movie! 5 stars! Next to Rocky Balboa, Tom Hanks (James Donovan) was second in imrtance to winning the Cold War for America. Enza’s Teacher Mr. Yanko
Great movie! 5 stars! Next to Rocky Balboa, Tom Hanks (James Donovan) was second in imrtance to winning the Cold War for America. Enza’s Teacher Mr. Yanko
Zachary Setzkorn
5.0★ · 04/30/26
i would not have survived the red scare
i would not have survived the red scare
Reki
8.0★ · 04/29/26
Shi got me seated STILL for these two hours
Shi got me seated STILL for these two hours
milez
4.0★ · 04/16/26
least obvious anti communist propaganda
least obvious anti communist propaganda
Shayne
6.0★ · 03/31/26
Tom Hanks negotiating prisoner exchanges while I am negotiating my bedtime because I needed to see how the movie ended tonight.
Tom Hanks negotiating prisoner exchanges while I am negotiating my bedtime because I needed to see how the movie ended tonight.
