- Joined
- Sep 12, 2012
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What a wonderful movie! While it seems like Tom Hanks plays the same character in all his movies, he really was the perfect person to play the role of James Donovan. I was pleased that the Coen brothers were able to write the story in a way that stayed focused on the dialog, and not the hell that Captain Powers endured under the Soviet interrogations, to include an eventual admittance of guilt and public apology.
The character of Abel was portrayed very well. Just a man doing his duty for his country, as any man in the U.S. would be doing for his. His line of "would it help?" when asked why he did not appear afraid or stressed under certain situations made me chuckle out loud and caused me to reflect how I sometimes personally respond in times of adversity.
After finishing the movie I did some online research about the whole incident. (admittedly from Wiki, but I have found for historical events, Wiki is usually pretty accurate.)
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Powers tried to limit the information he shared with the KGB to that which could be determined from the remains of his plane's wreckage. He was hampered by information appearing in the western press. A KGB major stated "there's no reason for you to withhold information. We'll find it out anyway. Your press will give it to us."
This really stuck with me. Even back in the 1960's our enemies were able to count on the U.S. media to divulge information and data that when added to other bits of intel, offered the corner pieces of otherwise unfinished puzzles.
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Ben Rich states that Kelly Johnson thought the electronic counter-measure black box installed in the U-2 tail, called Granger, may have acted as a homing device for the Russian missile. The same Granger system was used on Taiwanese U-2s flying over China. "One day three of four U-2s were shot down, and the sole survivor told CIA debriefers that he was amazed to be alive because he forgot to turn on his black box. To Kelly, that clinched the case."
Whoa! Heading to the gym now, but when I get home I am going to have to do a bit more digging on the whole Granger thing and whether it did act as a homing homing beacon for the Russian missiles. Of course the first thought that comes to mind is, "could this have really been by accident?" I have to wonder if the Russians had an agent within the U2 program that was able to compromise the device in some way?
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A fantastic movie folks, I highly recommend.
Side note: Great seeing Alan Alda still working, but he is one of those actors that I sometimes find distracting because I cannot get past the character he is most known for. In this case, Hawkeye Pierce.
The character of Abel was portrayed very well. Just a man doing his duty for his country, as any man in the U.S. would be doing for his. His line of "would it help?" when asked why he did not appear afraid or stressed under certain situations made me chuckle out loud and caused me to reflect how I sometimes personally respond in times of adversity.
After finishing the movie I did some online research about the whole incident. (admittedly from Wiki, but I have found for historical events, Wiki is usually pretty accurate.)
_________________
Powers tried to limit the information he shared with the KGB to that which could be determined from the remains of his plane's wreckage. He was hampered by information appearing in the western press. A KGB major stated "there's no reason for you to withhold information. We'll find it out anyway. Your press will give it to us."
This really stuck with me. Even back in the 1960's our enemies were able to count on the U.S. media to divulge information and data that when added to other bits of intel, offered the corner pieces of otherwise unfinished puzzles.
_________________
Ben Rich states that Kelly Johnson thought the electronic counter-measure black box installed in the U-2 tail, called Granger, may have acted as a homing device for the Russian missile. The same Granger system was used on Taiwanese U-2s flying over China. "One day three of four U-2s were shot down, and the sole survivor told CIA debriefers that he was amazed to be alive because he forgot to turn on his black box. To Kelly, that clinched the case."
Whoa! Heading to the gym now, but when I get home I am going to have to do a bit more digging on the whole Granger thing and whether it did act as a homing homing beacon for the Russian missiles. Of course the first thought that comes to mind is, "could this have really been by accident?" I have to wonder if the Russians had an agent within the U2 program that was able to compromise the device in some way?
_________________
A fantastic movie folks, I highly recommend.
Side note: Great seeing Alan Alda still working, but he is one of those actors that I sometimes find distracting because I cannot get past the character he is most known for. In this case, Hawkeye Pierce.
