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Breaking the Code: Masterpiece Theatre [VHS]

Derek Jacobi (Actor), Alun Armstrong (Actor), Herbert Wise (Director) Rated:
NR
Format: VHS Tape
3.3 3.3 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
IMDb7.1/10.0
Format NTSC, Closed-captioned, Original recording reissued, Color
Contributor Julian Kerridge, Scott McKinstry, Richard Johnson, Amanda Root, Herbert Wise, Alun Armstrong, Harold Pinter, Blake Ritson, Derek Jacobi, William Mannering, Prunella Scales See more
Language English
Number Of Discs 1
Runtime 1 hour and 30 minutes
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Editorial Reviews

1997 Mobil Masterpiece Theatre Breaking the Code VHS.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.32 x 4.19 x 1.12 inches; 7.36 ounces
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Herbert Wise
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 30 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ May 1, 2001
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ September 29, 2006
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Derek Jacobi, Alun Armstrong, Blake Ritson, William Mannering, Prunella Scales
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Wgbh / Pbs
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00005KJP3
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.3 3.3 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

Customer reviews

3.3 out of 5 stars
3.3 out of 5
10 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Stuart Dummit
5.0 out of 5 stars The Enigma of Breaking the Code
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2011
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"Breaking the Code" is a well acted and produced film based on the true story of a hero of the Second World War - Alan Turing. Some will only know the name Turing from the "Turing Test" which determines levels of artificial intelligence, but it was the work that Turing did in breaking the German "Enigma Code" that helped the Allies win the war. This film is couched in these events but more directly addresses the fact that Alan Turing was gay and that he was arrested, jailed and persecuted for his unashamed behavior. Despite being instrumental in saving the world from the ruthless Nazi world view of racial purity and social-cultural intolerance, once the war was over, the British government enacted a similar intolerance which ultimately ends in tragedy. Derek Jacobi delivers a masterful performance as Turing. It is a shame that this production is not available on DVD - I was thrilled to be able to find an excellent VHS copy!
2 people found this helpful
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F. P. Dunbar
1.0 out of 5 stars What A Waste!
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2013
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I bought this tape from Amazon in the hopes that I would learn how the code was broken and how Alan Turing invented the digital age of the computer. Nothing doing. Instead I saw long scenes that should have been omitted or greatly abbreviated. Most likely the writers did not know how the code was broken and could not afford the technical scenery for their play. This tape was one of those that pop up as recommended by Amazon's computer. Every time I buy one of these turkeys I have been disappointed. Never again. The whole tape is just British jibber jabber. In fact the method of hs suicide is not even mentioned. See Apple as in Mac. Derek Jacobi, whom I liked in "Titanic: Blood and Steel," reprises his role of Claudius with his stammerings. Even though Turing did stammer, Jacobi's unconvincing attempt was not necessary to the plot as was not the phony nail-biting. These oddities brought a bad movie to the point of intolerability.

A much better documentary version from BBC, not a televised play, and aired on the Science Channel at least shows Turing's bombs and blonde goddesses, which are not even mentioned in this pile. The nasty treatment given him by the British system of injustice is delineated. Such miserable torture of such a hero from bigoted ingrates! I still want a biography that explains how the code was broken. Remember the Polish mathematicians had the basics of it figured out, and they are the ones who sent the enigma machine to England. Weeks later Hitler invaded Poland, and under the worst torture not one of them divulged what they knew.
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Mark Miller
3.0 out of 5 stars Expected more out of it
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2009
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I first heard of "Breaking The Code" as a play, with the same actor, Derek Jacobi, in the PBS mini-series "The Machine That Changed The World" (from 1992). Part 1 of TMTCTW showed a couple excerpts of the play, and it gave me the impression that the story really got into Turing's theories about computing, explaining them in a way that people could understand. These ideas have validity even today. I looked forward to this same depth in the TV production, but was disappointed. The TV version was more of a "message film". It emphasized Turing's homosexuality, which no doubt is an important part of his life. No telling of it would be complete without talking about it, particularly how it caused conflict with his government, which motivated his suicide. His mastery of mathematics is used as a jumping off point to show what a brilliant man he was and what a shame it was for the British government to oppress him. A valid POV, but I wanted more. The video version of the TV production (perhaps it was just the PBS version) contained another disappointment (it was no fault of the seller). A key scene showing how Turing was inspired to come up with his first theory on computing was trimmed and spliced together such that the train of thought was entirely lost. I know because I saw the complete version of this scene in a clip on YouTube. It felt insulting. The message of the video editors was "You don't understand mathematics. So we're not going to bore you with this." It felt as though Turing's unique contributions to our world (aside from the fact that he helped the allies win WW II) were completely swept aside, and instead he was used as an archetype of the oppressed gay man. It reminded me that TV is often dumbed down. Still, it's a powerful story. The climactic, tragic ending makes it worth watching. Aside from it disappointing my expectations it's a good story from a generalist perspective.
12 people found this helpful
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Dr. Joachim Gruber
5.0 out of 5 stars a concrete warning in times of NSA and GCHQ
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2014
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Atmospherically dense, scientifically sound -as far as I can see- it gives an insight in the oppression politics and its arm (police) is able to spread, narrow mindedly and entirely counterproductively. An impressive warning in times of mass surveillance: From mass survellance data the executive branch of government would have found the required basis to crush any not welcome message and the scientist behind it without -as in Turing's case- the scientist making any mistake.
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Sue
3.0 out of 5 stars arrived as and before expected
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2012
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The item arrived in good time. The film is a fictionalised account of Dr Turing's life and doesn't pay a lot of attention to his computing genius or his morpjhogenisis work, however Derke Jacobi, as ever, lifts whatever he's in. Worth it for him alone.
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PBS Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars High-quality performance of WWII true story
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2019
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Very glad to get VHS I have wanted for years, in excellent condition from seller at reasonable price. Arrived promptly.
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