This is the Glienicke Bridge, the border crossing point 'Bridge of Spies', over the Havel connecting Wannsee in West Berlin with Potsdam. This was a Cold War border between West and East Germany until 1990. In this scene they were holding out for that second delivery to Checkpoint Charlie. You could see this bridge from Berlin Wannsee and it looks like they used the real one in the movie.
The guard shack used in the movie is not the original check point Charlie shack, but a similar (but definitely different design) one currently on display at the original site. It fills the need, but is not designed for the intended use. More like a storage shed with a door.
@@BigfistJP I was an MP in Berlin from 1974 to 1977 and I worked at Checkpoint Charlie many times. I also worked on a MP patrol boat on Wannsee and I've passed UNDER that bridge while we were patrolling! Summer of 76!!
Ever since I saw this movie, there’s a line that changed my life forever. Tom Hanks’s character asks the Russian spy as they walking in the bridge of he’s worried he’ll get killed for getting caught. The Russian spy simply responds with “will it help?”. And just like that…I never got nervous on decisions that were beyond my control. I applied for a higher ranking job, went through the interview and during the decision process, was not nervous one bit. I mean what the hell will that change? It’s not like being a nervous wreck was gonna influence anything. When I bid for a house same thing, when I was waiting for test results for a medical exam, ALL of those events I was cool as a cucumber. Because stressing over the outcomes was not going to change the outcome in by itself.
It helped me through a month and a half hospital stay last year for a heart issue. When I finally got out the nurses where both happy and sad to see me go, a chill patient is a luxury.
I like how Abel looks at Powers's friend. Like KGB had this intricate question to make sure it was 'their guy" while Americans literally used "Hey bro".
This film is incredibly underrated. It should have definitely best picture. Such memorable scenes such a memorable message.... that no matter which sides we may remain loyal to a man being faithful to his commutment is no different from another doing the same even if their commitments may clash with each other. No matter which side we were born into or even even chose we all love, laugh and bleed the same. The respect Abel gave Donovan when he decided to stay back till Donovans goals were concrete says a lot about his respect for a man being professional even if they were on enemy sides and that gift he gave just sealed the deal. A masterpiece of a film that only a mature and accomplished director like Spielberg could deliver! Truly underrated.
Thomas Newman's music...that crescendo to which it builds from 6:07...when the almighty horns take over with rapturous drums, and strings still majestic in the background...6:41 onwards...goosebumps!
This took place just a few years before I was born. I've been to Checkpoint Charlie and I patrolled the Inter-German Border... you call it The Iron Curtain, we called it 'the Trace'... as a young tank crewman with the 11th ACR in the 80's. Don't let the history books fool you...we came VERY close to nuclear war in that era and I had a front-tank view of it. After this movie was released, I did some reading on Powers, Donovan, Abel, and the exchange. While taking some liberties with the timeline and for dramatic effect, this film does depict the personalities honestly. It appears that Jim Donovan was every single bit the principled honest broker of the deal that Hanks and Spielberg portray him as. It's one of the few times that art and actual find that balance we all look for in a historical film. Postscripts: James Donovan was a USN Commander detailled to the OSS during War Two and was an assistant to Justice Jackson at the Nuremberg Trials, but was never a CIA asset. He interceded for the United States in events surrounding the release of prisoners after the Bay of Pigs. Sadly, he passed away of influenza at the age of 53 in 1970. For his efforts on behalf of the US Intelligence Community, he was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal [roughly equivalent to the Silver Star for military personnel], though I have no information on the date of the citation. Francis Gary Powers went on to work for KNBC in Los Angeles as a news helicopter pilot. He tragically died on the job in a helicopter crash in 1977 at the age of 47. I remember the nationwide coverage of his death as a kid. Rudolf Abel was a lifelong heavy smoker and passed away of lung cancer in 1971 at the age of 68. He was hailed by the KGB and the Soviet government as 'the spy that never broke'.
Fascinating 🤔 thanks for sharing and for your service. But may I ask though why you guys called it the trace? I mean in a sense it really was an iron curtain wasn't it? So what am I missing here?
@@carlhicksjr8401Every road that crosses the former DDR/BRD border is now marked by a brown memorial board indicating the former partition line. Half the former DDR/Soviet border station at Marienborn is preserved as a memorial. The rest is now a truck stop. Still a few random DDR watchtower along the inner German border too. The one that was up against the border fence and overlooked Checkpoint Alpha still stands. Assuming it hasn't fallen down since a few years back. It looked somewhat poor condition at the time.
@@RebelRebelious That's actually good to know, not so much for my sake or any of us who patrolled the border, but rather for the sake of younger Germans for whom the DDR is just a couple of weeks in their National History classes.
@@carlhicksjr8401 I see. Must have been nerve wrecking. That area was probably one of the most volatile places on Earth at the time. Reminds me of the DMZ between the two Koreas, highly fortified and having snipers and whatnot on both sides... Any wrong move or accidental trigger pulling could cause world war three...
It really gives the impression that they're going to execute Abel. I was glad that the end of the movie said he wasn't killed. The real Abel died of natural causes.
@@jon00769 No. One thing. We're doing one thing. Three people. One thing. You could trade him simply so that the Americans didn't have him. You might not know what he knows entirely or what he divulged until you have him and debrief him.
When I first saw this movie, it pissed me off that U.S. government officials were willing to leave a citizen of this country in the detention of the Russian government because he wasn't important enough. And before you scoffingly retort with the derisive "Do some research!!", there actually was a Frederic L. Pryor, and yes Donovan **insisted** that he be included in the swap (they wanted to try to trade for him later)
Верно! Абель родился в Великобритании в 1903 году. А в 1901 году его семью выслали из России за революционную деятельность. В 1968 году у нас сняли фильм о полковнике Абеле, он даже сам там снялся. И сцена обмена на мосту там тоже есть.
I had to rewatch the end 3 or 4 times. Shouldn’t there be 2 guys from the Russian side crossing? I only saw the one, but maybe the other guy was going back to Germany?
I don't know why Tom's so worried. It's not like Russians ever perform vicious, cruel, arbitrary acts of totalitarian terror on helpless...oh wait, I'm thinking of the Swiss.
The Soviet official asks Abel to take off his hat and glasses. He then asks him if his wife has a birthmark. Abel says yes. The official then asks where it is on her body. Abel says it's on her right breast.
This is such a BS scene. Americans are happy and greeting each other. Smiles and hugs. Russians act like hes gonna be behaded right there. LoL. Guy was awarded Hero of USSR award, full pension and and an effin Cottage in a Moscow upstate. Give me a break.
Haven't you seen the movie? Powers is shown as reviled in the very next scene. He wants to thank someone while flying back home, and they're disgusted by him and assume he broke and betrayed USA. Meanwhile, most of what you say about Abel is mentioned right before the credit roll.
Yeah, he was a longtime spy for them, and got busted because the KGB gave him drunk ass for an assistant. William Fisher (real name) had been active for a while. The reality was that he was very well liked even by the prison staff in Atlanta. There were other spies in Atlanta. Fisher taught classes in espionage for the KGB. US movie industry had to make him more ambiguous and the Russians and East German's nastier. However, when the KGB got Gordon Lonsdale/Konon Molody back, he complained to George Blake about the economic system in Russia (Molody's cover business was very successful and he was honored by the Queen, apparently. Blake was a committed Marxist and Molody died under suspicious circumstances of a stroke.
The exchange was happening at two locations, The Glienicke Bridge and Checkpoint Charlie. The East Germans had Pryor, the Russians had Powers, and the Americans had Abel. The East Germans had agreed to release Frederic Pryor at Checkpoint Charlie as the Russians and Americans would exchange Rudolph Abel for Gary powers at the Glienicke Bridge.
Checkpoint Charlie was in Central Berlin in the Mitte District. The West Berlin side was in the American sector and the east was controlled by the DDR Grenzetruppen. (border guards)The Glienicke Bridge is on the south western edge of the city on the Berlin - Brandenburg boundary. The east side was controlled by Russian Troops and the west by two West Berlin Police Officers. The allies didn't formally recognise the DDR Berlin border so controls were minimal. Over 40 prisoners were exchanged on three separate occasions over the years at the bridge. The exchange depicted in the movie did happen with Pryor being released at Checkpoint Charlie. At the time Glienicke Bridge was for military and diplomatic access only. No civilians were permitted to cross there.
One of my favorite movies..makes me glad that i live in a generation where this film was released..
I feel the same
why? theres nothing preventing your from watching movies from other generations...
This is the Glienicke Bridge, the border crossing point 'Bridge of Spies', over the Havel connecting Wannsee in West Berlin with Potsdam. This was a Cold War border between West and East Germany until 1990. In this scene they were holding out for that second delivery to Checkpoint Charlie. You could see this bridge from Berlin Wannsee and it looks like they used the real one in the movie.
They did. I actually went over this bridge in 2018, precisely because of this movie.
Went over that bridge two weeks ago. It still has the two shades of green paint, corresponding to the respective sides.
The guard shack used in the movie is not the original check point Charlie shack, but a similar (but definitely different design) one currently on display at the original site. It fills the need, but is not designed for the intended use. More like a storage shed with a door.
@@BigfistJP I was an MP in Berlin from 1974 to 1977 and I worked at Checkpoint Charlie many times. I also worked on a MP patrol boat on Wannsee and I've passed UNDER that bridge while we were patrolling! Summer of 76!!
@@davidturk6170 the real checkpoint charlie shack is in the Allierten (airlift ) museum outside of Berlin.
Ever since I saw this movie, there’s a line that changed my life forever. Tom Hanks’s character asks the Russian spy as they walking in the bridge of he’s worried he’ll get killed for getting caught. The Russian spy simply responds with “will it help?”. And just like that…I never got nervous on decisions that were beyond my control. I applied for a higher ranking job, went through the interview and during the decision process, was not nervous one bit. I mean what the hell will that change? It’s not like being a nervous wreck was gonna influence anything. When I bid for a house same thing, when I was waiting for test results for a medical exam, ALL of those events I was cool as a cucumber. Because stressing over the outcomes was not going to change the outcome in by itself.
Very Wise words.
It helped me through a month and a half hospital stay last year for a heart issue. When I finally got out the nurses where both happy and sad to see me go, a chill patient is a luxury.
Or even these days with war going on that harken back to these other days of the past.
Maybe it's because fear stops us from doing really stupid things?
So, in retrospect, you are a cucumber?
I like how Abel looks at Powers's friend. Like KGB had this intricate question to make sure it was 'their guy" while Americans literally used "Hey bro".
It’s not paranoia if they are in fact out to get you.
This film is incredibly underrated. It should have definitely best picture. Such memorable scenes such a memorable message.... that no matter which sides we may remain loyal to a man being faithful to his commutment is no different from another doing the same even if their commitments may clash with each other. No matter which side we were born into or even even chose we all love, laugh and bleed the same. The respect Abel gave Donovan when he decided to stay back till Donovans goals were concrete says a lot about his respect for a man being professional even if they were on enemy sides and that gift he gave just sealed the deal. A masterpiece of a film that only a mature and accomplished director like Spielberg could deliver! Truly underrated.
Thomas Newman's music...that crescendo to which it builds from 6:07...when the almighty horns take over with rapturous drums, and strings still majestic in the background...6:41 onwards...goosebumps!
Mark Rylance is so good.
'Abel' who was really a guy called Fisher died nine years later of lung cancer but was treated as a hero before that
This took place just a few years before I was born.
I've been to Checkpoint Charlie and I patrolled the Inter-German Border... you call it The Iron Curtain, we called it 'the Trace'... as a young tank crewman with the 11th ACR in the 80's. Don't let the history books fool you...we came VERY close to nuclear war in that era and I had a front-tank view of it.
After this movie was released, I did some reading on Powers, Donovan, Abel, and the exchange. While taking some liberties with the timeline and for dramatic effect, this film does depict the personalities honestly. It appears that Jim Donovan was every single bit the principled honest broker of the deal that Hanks and Spielberg portray him as. It's one of the few times that art and actual find that balance we all look for in a historical film.
Postscripts:
James Donovan was a USN Commander detailled to the OSS during War Two and was an assistant to Justice Jackson at the Nuremberg Trials, but was never a CIA asset. He interceded for the United States in events surrounding the release of prisoners after the Bay of Pigs. Sadly, he passed away of influenza at the age of 53 in 1970. For his efforts on behalf of the US Intelligence Community, he was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal [roughly equivalent to the Silver Star for military personnel], though I have no information on the date of the citation.
Francis Gary Powers went on to work for KNBC in Los Angeles as a news helicopter pilot. He tragically died on the job in a helicopter crash in 1977 at the age of 47. I remember the nationwide coverage of his death as a kid.
Rudolf Abel was a lifelong heavy smoker and passed away of lung cancer in 1971 at the age of 68. He was hailed by the KGB and the Soviet government as 'the spy that never broke'.
Fascinating 🤔 thanks for sharing and for your service. But may I ask though why you guys called it the trace? I mean in a sense it really was an iron curtain wasn't it? So what am I missing here?
@@operation1968 Our patrol routes traced the very edge of the border. We had the right to go right up to the edge and we often did.
@@carlhicksjr8401Every road that crosses the former DDR/BRD border is now marked by a brown memorial board indicating the former partition line.
Half the former DDR/Soviet border station at Marienborn is preserved as a memorial. The rest is now a truck stop. Still a few random DDR watchtower along the inner German border too. The one that was up against the border fence and overlooked Checkpoint Alpha still stands. Assuming it hasn't fallen down since a few years back. It looked somewhat poor condition at the time.
@@RebelRebelious That's actually good to know, not so much for my sake or any of us who patrolled the border, but rather for the sake of younger Germans for whom the DDR is just a couple of weeks in their National History classes.
@@carlhicksjr8401 I see. Must have been nerve wrecking. That area was probably one of the most volatile places on Earth at the time. Reminds me of the DMZ between the two Koreas, highly fortified and having snipers and whatnot on both sides... Any wrong move or accidental trigger pulling could cause world war three...
Loved this movie
Unfortunately, watched it too late in life. "WOULD IT HELP?" is a very good question to ask yourself
The slow buildup of the music starting at 6:07 is masterful.
Tom Hanks is the greatest American actor.
With all the respect due to the other nominees, Mark Rylance was a deserving winner of the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Woody:"He's saving for Wilson!"
Yes- Thomas Newmans score makes this movie. Just like it made Shawshank. Bloody brilliant.
I thought his name sounded familiar. Thanks for pointing that out 👍🏻
What a great fucking climax to this movie. Hanks literally embodying Abel's "Standing Man" as he watches Abel whisked away to a dark fate.
It really gives the impression that they're going to execute Abel. I was glad that the end of the movie said he wasn't killed. The real Abel died of natural causes.
@@Mybpeterson I guess it was for dramatic effect. Logically, it would make no sense to trade for him back just to execute him. Especially a 2 for 1.
@@jon00769 No. One thing. We're doing one thing. Three people. One thing. You could trade him simply so that the Americans didn't have him. You might not know what he knows entirely or what he divulged until you have him and debrief him.
An honourable man by many standards
I adore the part where USA said "wait. not yet. There is another" and damn sure right.
When I first saw this movie, it pissed me off that U.S. government officials were willing to leave a citizen of this country in the detention of the Russian government because he wasn't important enough. And before you scoffingly retort with the derisive "Do some research!!", there actually was a Frederic L. Pryor, and yes Donovan **insisted** that he be included in the swap (they wanted to try to trade for him later)
Is that a Volvo P1800E?
Yes an P1800. Not an E as that was a later injected version.
Ever powerful movie. ❤
For the younger generation, who may not know, that is what integrity looks like.
It seems older folks could use a lesson or two on integrity now more than ever as well.
@@popcorn8153 Shadup nerd
You have summed it up beyond words.
damn i thought the title of this movie was a metaphor.
Abel was born and brought up in Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK.p
Верно! Абель родился в Великобритании в 1903 году. А в 1901 году его семью выслали из России за революционную деятельность.
В 1968 году у нас сняли фильм о полковнике Абеле, он даже сам там снялся. И сцена обмена на мосту там тоже есть.
I had to rewatch the end 3 or 4 times. Shouldn’t there be 2 guys from the Russian side crossing? I only saw the one, but maybe the other guy was going back to Germany?
I don't know why Tom's so worried. It's not like Russians ever perform vicious, cruel, arbitrary acts of totalitarian terror on helpless...oh wait, I'm thinking of the Swiss.
2:04 What are they saying?
Take off your hat and glasses
"Take off your pants and underwear and spin it like a helicopter"
@@loganstroganoff1284😂😂😂
The Soviet official asks Abel to take off his hat and glasses. He then asks him if his wife has a birthmark. Abel says yes. The official then asks where it is on her body. Abel says it's on her right breast.
🤣🤣
Smiley's people?
This is such a BS scene. Americans are happy and greeting each other. Smiles and hugs.
Russians act like hes gonna be behaded right there.
LoL. Guy was awarded Hero of USSR award, full pension and and an effin Cottage in a Moscow upstate.
Give me a break.
Exactly
What did you expect from Hollywood movie?
Haven't you seen the movie? Powers is shown as reviled in the very next scene. He wants to thank someone while flying back home, and they're disgusted by him and assume he broke and betrayed USA. Meanwhile, most of what you say about Abel is mentioned right before the credit roll.
He also gave public lectures on international affairs at Moscow University.
Yeah, he was a longtime spy for them, and got busted because the KGB gave him drunk ass for an assistant. William Fisher (real name) had been active for a while. The reality was that he was very well liked even by the prison staff in Atlanta. There were other spies in Atlanta. Fisher taught classes in espionage for the KGB. US movie industry had to make him more ambiguous and the Russians and East German's nastier. However, when the KGB got Gordon Lonsdale/Konon Molody back, he complained to George Blake about the economic system in Russia (Molody's cover business was very successful and he was honored by the Queen, apparently. Blake was a committed Marxist and Molody died under suspicious circumstances of a stroke.
😪
There was no bridge at checkpoint charlie. It was in central Berlin close to the Brandenburger Gate
The exchange was happening at two locations, The Glienicke Bridge and Checkpoint Charlie.
The East Germans had Pryor, the Russians had Powers, and the Americans had Abel.
The East Germans had agreed to release Frederic Pryor at Checkpoint Charlie as the Russians and Americans would exchange Rudolph Abel for Gary powers at the Glienicke Bridge.
Checkpoint Charlie was in Central Berlin in the Mitte District. The West Berlin side was in the American sector and the east was controlled by the DDR Grenzetruppen. (border guards)The Glienicke Bridge is on the south western edge of the city on the Berlin - Brandenburg boundary. The east side was controlled by Russian Troops and the west by two West Berlin Police Officers. The allies didn't formally recognise the DDR Berlin border so controls were minimal. Over 40 prisoners were exchanged on three separate occasions over the years at the bridge. The exchange depicted in the movie did happen with Pryor being released at Checkpoint Charlie. At the time Glienicke Bridge was for military and diplomatic access only. No civilians were permitted to cross there.
@@LordBloodraven Thank you for the details.
@@RebelRebelious Thank you for the details.
Hanks is a great actor, but I wouldn't trust him with my cat.
This pseudo actor should go back to soap operas.
Russian bots getting testy.