We’re
watching the Cold War fade into the distance. As it recedes, the generations
who lived it begin to reflect. The Company logically
springs from such contemplations - and it likely won’t be the last such
product that we’ll see.
The
Company began life as a nearly-900-page novel by Robert Littell. The
novel begat a tv mini-series, which ran on the TNT network. This dvd contains
said mini-series.
The mini-series
is comprised of three parts - each running a little over ninety
minutes. Some
story threads naturally run through all three parts. At the same time,
each part has its own distinct feel - and each evokes some different reactions. In
a way, watching the mini-series is like watching a film trilogy.
Part One
takes place mostly in 1954 - with some flashbacks to the previous
four years. The
flashbacks show Yale graduates Jack McAuliffe (Chris O’Donnell) and Leo
Kritzky (Alessandro Nivola) recruited into the titular company, a.k.a. the United
States Central Intelligence Agency. Meanwhile, a Russian-born classmate,
Yevgeny Tsipin (Rory Cochrane), visits the mother country. While there,
he falls for a local woman (Erika Marozsan) and joins the KGB. Flash forward
to 1954, and we find Leo with a desk job in Washington, D.C., and Jack on assignment
in Berlin. Jack is accompanied by his mentor, Harvey Torritti (Alfred
Molina). Torritti is known as “the Sorceror,” and Jack becomes “the
Sorceror’s apprentice.”
From there,
Part One shapes into a good old-fashioned Cold War spy yarn. Jack and
Harvey are approached by a prospective defector. The man claims to have
valuable information regarding a Soviet mole in British Intelligence. Harvey
works to discover the mole’s identity. Meanwhile, Jack makes contact
with a source in East Berlin. The source is a ballerina (Alexandra Maria
Lara), who seemingly possesses access to important information. Who is she,
and how does she know these things? Harvey tells Jack to find out.
 By the Sacred
Protocol of Spoiler-Free Reviews, I must reveal no more! I will say that
the plot winds into some interesting twists. Is there really a mole in
British Intelligence - or is the prospective defector a “plant” to
feed disinformation? Who is that ballerina, and what does she want? Who’s
lying, and who’s telling the truth?
Part One
also introduces Michael Keaton as James Jesus Angleton. Angleton is a
CIA chief of counter intelligence and a real historic figure. Keaton performs
the role expertly. His Angleton is a chainsmoking intellectual who can
mentally juggle many possible scenarios but often won’t look at people
directly. He’s brilliant but seemingly distant. To his credit,
Keaton doesn’t overplay this.
Part One
left me thinking that we’d see a solid but somewhat traditional spy thriller. With
Part Two, The Company also becomes a true historical
epic.
Part Two
can itself be divided into two parts. In the first half, it’s 1956,
and Jack McAuliffe is in Hungary - just as an historic uprising is about to
begin! The second half opens in late 1960, right after John F. Kennedy’s
election to the Presidency. Jack McAuliffe is in Guatamala, aiding an
army of Cuban exiles. Naturally, the events lead to the disastrous Bay
of Pigs Invasion of April, 1961.
Part Two
gives us a lot more action - and a more overt history lesson. The 1956
Hungarian uprising and the Bay of Pigs Invasion are two instances when the United
States - and the CIA - promised more aid than they delivered, resulting in great
tragedy.  In The Company, one character - Frank
Wisner (Ted Atherton) - seems to epitomize the Agency’s collective guilt during
this era.
I’ll
admit that I initially didn’t care for Part Two’s change of direction. I’ve
seen too many contrived historical epics, complete with characters that just happen to
be present at every major event of their lifetimes. Would The
Company become this kind of overbaked saga?
As it turns
out, I needn’t have worried. Part Three spans even more time than
Part Two. Yet, it still brings all the plot threads together and
unifies The
Company’s three parts into a cohesive whole!
Part Three
opens in 1975. It ends with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The
historic events are important, but somewhat less prominent than in Part Two. The
real story concerns a Soviet mole in the CIA, and the efforts to learn his identity. To
many viewers his identity might seem obvious. Is it really,
though?
The
Company ends as part spy thriller, part mystery and part historical
drama - and all of it works! Even with the time jumping, the plot kept
me engaged. The story mixed fact with fiction quite well - doing
more than just reciting historic events with fictional characters.
 That’s
not to say that the mini-series is without flaws. You will see
a few cliches sprinkled here and there (The “three men who take
different paths“ schtick,
for example, is pretty well worn by now.). The story’s large
scope also makes it seem a bit sketchy upon occasion. Finally,
while O’Donnell
proves a capable leading man, there are times when we’d like to
see a little more of the supporting cast.
These are
minor quibbles, however, for what proves a satisfying viewing
experience. When The
Company ended, I wanted to read the book on which it was based. Ultimately,
that may be one of the best compliments that you can pay a product of this type!
 Presentation
The
Company is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format. It
has been mastered in high definition. Audio is in English, Dolby Digital
5.1. The disc includes English and French subtitle options.
Extras
I’ll
be honest: I’m not a huge fan of dvd extras, in general. The
majority tend to be “stealth commercials” for the movie that
you already bought!
The two featurettes
here - “Declassified: The Origins of The Company” and “The
Hidden Hand: The Making of The Company” both fit
that profile. The former runs about fifteen minutes and explains how Robert
Littell’s novel became a mini-series. The latter runs about twenty-three
minutes and provides “behind the scenes” footage. Both consist
mostly of cast and crew praising both each other and the mini-series. I’m
not picking on this particular dvd, necessarily, since what we see here is par
for the course. Some good bits do sneak through upon occasion. I
found it interesting, for example, to learn how the make-up crew achieved the “aging
effect” on the actors.
Besides
commercials for The Company, one can view commercials
for other products. The disc includes trailers for Seinfeld - Season 9, Premonition and Close
Encounters of the Third Kind - Ultimate Edition. A commercial
entitled “Coming to Blu-Ray” displays short scenes from various
 movies. Finally, the “sneak peak” of The Closer is
quite literally a one-minute commercial for the tv series.
The dvd also
contains a “covert mission,” which can accessed via dvd-rom. I
tried this, to see what would happen. A message said to click in a certain
spot to retrieve my mission. I did, and it simply took me to the Sony
Home Entertainment site, where I could view more commercials for more dvd’s! Oh,
well.
The Bottom Line
The
Company is an entertaining historical epic and spy thriller. The
extra’s are mostly average, but the mini-series is the main draw. It
just might make you want to read more about the CIA and the Cold War!
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