Bridge Of Spies Essay

Bridge of Spies tells an account of the Cold War from American attorney James Donovan through his involvement in negotiations for captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, in exchange for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. Released on October 21, 2015 and directed by Steven Spielberg, this film was nominated for, and received numerous awards. It was met with critical acclaim and was a box office success, earning $165.5 million, over four times its budget.
In 1957, Rudolf Abel, a European man living in America, is arrested with suspicion of being a Soviet spy. Insurance lawyer James Donovan is assigned to the case to act as the defense for the accused spy. Due to an enraged public and a judge who seems to have already made his decision, the suspected spy, Rudolf Abel, is found guilty,

In Bridge of Spies, the film score is composed by Thomas Newman, a new composer for Director Spielberg, as he usually works with John Williams. The music Newman crafted for the film contains a mix of American and Russian musical themes, fitting and encouraging the emotions felt throughout the plot. Film sound recorders Andy Nelson and Gary Rydstrom worked together to create the sound effects for Bridge of Spies. Describing the opening scene where Abel is followed through a New York subway, Newman said, “Down on the platform Steven wanted to create a few different languages of people passing by to sense that multicultural influence in New York, and the distraction of someone’s line or a giggle or a laugh as they walk past them...” (Desowitz). This contrasts from the chilling sounds of despair commonly heard from citizens in East Berlin later on in the film, or the adrenaline inducing explosions and engine failure of the U-2 plane Francis Gary Powers piloted. The music, sound effects, and dialog of the film all work in unison to strengthen the effect and message it has on the