the spy who came in from the cold

February 16 movie: The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. I came across this while flipping channels tonight, and didn't intend to watch the whole thing because I had just seen it recently, but I got sucked in. Some suspense movies suffer on second viewing but this one is even better. There's a moment where Richard Burton's character is talking to a German agent who drops some information that seems trivial at the time, but means a lot if you know where the movie is going. With barely noticeable changes of expression Burton reveals the beginning of understanding: his eyes open a bit wide in surprise, then shift to the left, then down. Such a tiny gesture that reveals so much: comprehension, resignation, depair. I had seen Burton in another movie (can't remember what now) and found him kind of overblown and hammy. His performance here is total opposite: tightly restrained, razor sharp. Now I understand why people thought he was such a great actor.