you better pay attention because you
know there’s a twist coming every minute
you don’t tell us why you’re here
I cut off a finger my tears yours damn
Oh welcome to watchmojo.com and today
we’ll be counting down our picks for the
top ten spy movies I hope this won’t
take too long I have an appointment for
dinner all right there’s a dead American
agent in my flat just to be clear we’re
zeroing in on the spy films that are
intelligent iconic or otherwise elevated
a genre of course we’re also only
singling out one entry per franchise
meaning one Bond flick and only one of
Hitchcock’s many espionage classics
that’s us spies drink martinis Scotch
never less than 12 years old is that
right
number 10 spy game kicking off our list
is Tony Scott’s thriller starring Robert
Redford as a veteran CIA agent who
discovers that the Chinese government
captured his former pupil and friend
played by Brad Pitt it’s not a game oh
yes it is that’s exactly what it is and
there’s no kids gave me that this is a
whole other game in a serious and it’s
dangerous and it’s not one you want to
lose with only 24 hours until retirement
he decides to use his last remaining
hours on the job to rescue his comrade
from execution the high point here are
the flashbacks which showcase an
old-school spy teaching a freshman the
tricks of the trade
happy seventy-four casualties an entire
apartment block level one dead terrorist
yeah happy if some barometer for success
knowing they’re dead
number nine mission impossible my team
my team is dead set up as an action
series the original film adaptation
dangled the genre in never-before-seen
directions centering on Tom Cruise as a
rookie member of the impossible mission
force he finds himself framed for the
death of his colleagues and branded a
traitor a true piece of riveting
escapism this one had it all including
the obligatory rubber masked
and unexpected plot twists morning mr.
Phelps senior number eight Tinker Tailor
Soldier Spy based on the novel of the
same name this espionage film had Gary
Oldman play a disgraced and retired
British spy rehired at the height of the
Cold War to unmask a soviet mole we’re
not so very different you and I we’ve
both spent our lives looking for the
weaknesses in one another’s systems this
spy film doesn’t go for the usual
high-octane action it instead gave us a
low-key and slow cooking narrative
marinated in paranoia and anxiety what
what’s this about George it’s about
which master your business Irvington
number seven three days of the Condor
Wow young Robert Redford was a beast in
this novel adaptation he plays a CIA
researcher who comes back from lunch to
find all of his co-workers murdered what
the fun and that’s why I never bring a
sandwich to the office by the way listen
you son of a bitch I’m telling you I
came back with lunch and it was raining
in the whole house was murdered
everybody is dead he’s then forced to
outwit those who are trying to kill him
while figuring out who he can trust and
getting to the bottom of it all people
are trying to kill me
oh I don’t know but there’s a reason
this leads to a satisfying character
transformation as he must evolve from an
unprepared bookworm into a resourceful
field agent you poor dumb son of a bitch
get done more damage and you know high
hopes number six
no way out in this smoke and mirrors
Cold War thriller Kevin Costner plays a
Navy officer posted to the Pentagon
after unwittingly starting an affair
with the mistress of the Secretary of
Defense played by Gene Hackman she turns
up dead do you realize the magnitude of
the scandal with the death pinned on a
fictitious KGB mole Costner is assigned
to find out what’s going on before the
trail leads suspicions his way this
prompts a tense race against time with
one heck of an unexpected twist at the
end you have no idea what miss.ou power
number 5 the Manchurian Candidate in
this landmark thriller based on the 1959
novel the spy genre was turned upside
down when the search for an assassin
reveals that a former Korean POWs have
been brainwashed the brain is not only
being washed as they say it just been
dryclean programmed by communists to
conduct a political assassination from
the inside it made for one of the most
influential and chilling spy tales ever
sure brainwashing is an old hat now but
back in the 60s it was something people
truly came to fear mostly thanks to this
tale remember Anand the Wiseman called
they can’t touch you anymore you’re free
I said number for the Bourne Identity
something wrong
from the pages of Robert Ludlum is this
spy tale that spawned the gritty action
franchise at the center is Jason Bourne
an ex-soldier who volunteered for a
top-secret CIA behavioral modification
program in order to create the ultimate
unquestioning agent spy and assassin and
at this altitude I can run flat out for
a half mile before my hands start
shaking how can I know that not knowing
I am with viewers as bewildered as the
amnesiac protagonists from the onset we
were taken on one heck of a
pulse-pounding quest to discover who he
is who is responsible and why he was
targeted as a liability with extreme
prejudice
oh I swear to God if I even feel
somebody behind me there is no measure
to how fast and how hard I will bring
this fight to your doorstep I’m on my
own side now number three the Ipcress
file Michael Caine I am gonna cook you
the best meal of everything oh you need
more do you always wear your glasses
yes accept him then okay well here he
stars in this cold war novel adaptation
as a British soldier out to locate a
missing doctor one of several that have
gone missing and he soon uncovers a plot
that could threaten the free world yes
that’s a pretty fair appraisal the
result is a run-time filled with deceit
and double-dealing and one that has
stood the test of time for being smart
and bold at every turn shaman is trying
to frame me now who would want to do a
thing like that number two
From Russia With Love
what would a spy film be without an
appearance from one of the world’s most
famous
not-so-secret agents is the fun in this
the most low-key and espionage heavy
outing of the series bond assumes a
false identity and uses a Russian
turncoat to locate a Russian
code-breaking device all while an
assassin tracks is every move I got a
kick out of watching a great James Bond
I know what a bloody fool who’s been
making of himself we’re pros mr. Bob
unlike the Bond films to follow the
focus here was on pacing and posturing
over unbelievable action and gadgets I
want you we do not tolerate failure
number three you know the penalty yes
number one North by Northwest oh come on
fellas well this is a joke isn’t it yes
a joke we were laughing come come
taking the top spot is the Alfred
Hitchcock spy thriller that has come to
be considered the spy film I’m being
followed can you do anything about it
yes I can do it
besting his other offerings it places
its focus on an innocent man pursuit
across the US by an organization out to
capture the secrets contained on a
microfilm you just want out really
trying to kill my son are you not just
gripping and suspenseful the shots and
set pieces from this film have become
legendary and have influenced almost all
of the other films in the genre to
follow
do you agree with our list wouldn’t have
it any other way
which spy film is your favorite they
told me what assassinated in Hong Kong
yes this is my second life you only live
twice Mr Bond for more thrilling top
tens be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com it didn’t have to end this
way
of course it did
know there’s a twist coming every minute
you don’t tell us why you’re here
I cut off a finger my tears yours damn
Oh welcome to watchmojo.com and today
we’ll be counting down our picks for the
top ten spy movies I hope this won’t
take too long I have an appointment for
dinner all right there’s a dead American
agent in my flat just to be clear we’re
zeroing in on the spy films that are
intelligent iconic or otherwise elevated
a genre of course we’re also only
singling out one entry per franchise
meaning one Bond flick and only one of
Hitchcock’s many espionage classics
that’s us spies drink martinis Scotch
never less than 12 years old is that
right
number 10 spy game kicking off our list
is Tony Scott’s thriller starring Robert
Redford as a veteran CIA agent who
discovers that the Chinese government
captured his former pupil and friend
played by Brad Pitt it’s not a game oh
yes it is that’s exactly what it is and
there’s no kids gave me that this is a
whole other game in a serious and it’s
dangerous and it’s not one you want to
lose with only 24 hours until retirement
he decides to use his last remaining
hours on the job to rescue his comrade
from execution the high point here are
the flashbacks which showcase an
old-school spy teaching a freshman the
tricks of the trade
happy seventy-four casualties an entire
apartment block level one dead terrorist
yeah happy if some barometer for success
knowing they’re dead
number nine mission impossible my team
my team is dead set up as an action
series the original film adaptation
dangled the genre in never-before-seen
directions centering on Tom Cruise as a
rookie member of the impossible mission
force he finds himself framed for the
death of his colleagues and branded a
traitor a true piece of riveting
escapism this one had it all including
the obligatory rubber masked
and unexpected plot twists morning mr.
Phelps senior number eight Tinker Tailor
Soldier Spy based on the novel of the
same name this espionage film had Gary
Oldman play a disgraced and retired
British spy rehired at the height of the
Cold War to unmask a soviet mole we’re
not so very different you and I we’ve
both spent our lives looking for the
weaknesses in one another’s systems this
spy film doesn’t go for the usual
high-octane action it instead gave us a
low-key and slow cooking narrative
marinated in paranoia and anxiety what
what’s this about George it’s about
which master your business Irvington
number seven three days of the Condor
Wow young Robert Redford was a beast in
this novel adaptation he plays a CIA
researcher who comes back from lunch to
find all of his co-workers murdered what
the fun and that’s why I never bring a
sandwich to the office by the way listen
you son of a bitch I’m telling you I
came back with lunch and it was raining
in the whole house was murdered
everybody is dead he’s then forced to
outwit those who are trying to kill him
while figuring out who he can trust and
getting to the bottom of it all people
are trying to kill me
oh I don’t know but there’s a reason
this leads to a satisfying character
transformation as he must evolve from an
unprepared bookworm into a resourceful
field agent you poor dumb son of a bitch
get done more damage and you know high
hopes number six
no way out in this smoke and mirrors
Cold War thriller Kevin Costner plays a
Navy officer posted to the Pentagon
after unwittingly starting an affair
with the mistress of the Secretary of
Defense played by Gene Hackman she turns
up dead do you realize the magnitude of
the scandal with the death pinned on a
fictitious KGB mole Costner is assigned
to find out what’s going on before the
trail leads suspicions his way this
prompts a tense race against time with
one heck of an unexpected twist at the
end you have no idea what miss.ou power
number 5 the Manchurian Candidate in
this landmark thriller based on the 1959
novel the spy genre was turned upside
down when the search for an assassin
reveals that a former Korean POWs have
been brainwashed the brain is not only
being washed as they say it just been
dryclean programmed by communists to
conduct a political assassination from
the inside it made for one of the most
influential and chilling spy tales ever
sure brainwashing is an old hat now but
back in the 60s it was something people
truly came to fear mostly thanks to this
tale remember Anand the Wiseman called
they can’t touch you anymore you’re free
I said number for the Bourne Identity
something wrong
from the pages of Robert Ludlum is this
spy tale that spawned the gritty action
franchise at the center is Jason Bourne
an ex-soldier who volunteered for a
top-secret CIA behavioral modification
program in order to create the ultimate
unquestioning agent spy and assassin and
at this altitude I can run flat out for
a half mile before my hands start
shaking how can I know that not knowing
I am with viewers as bewildered as the
amnesiac protagonists from the onset we
were taken on one heck of a
pulse-pounding quest to discover who he
is who is responsible and why he was
targeted as a liability with extreme
prejudice
oh I swear to God if I even feel
somebody behind me there is no measure
to how fast and how hard I will bring
this fight to your doorstep I’m on my
own side now number three the Ipcress
file Michael Caine I am gonna cook you
the best meal of everything oh you need
more do you always wear your glasses
yes accept him then okay well here he
stars in this cold war novel adaptation
as a British soldier out to locate a
missing doctor one of several that have
gone missing and he soon uncovers a plot
that could threaten the free world yes
that’s a pretty fair appraisal the
result is a run-time filled with deceit
and double-dealing and one that has
stood the test of time for being smart
and bold at every turn shaman is trying
to frame me now who would want to do a
thing like that number two
From Russia With Love
what would a spy film be without an
appearance from one of the world’s most
famous
not-so-secret agents is the fun in this
the most low-key and espionage heavy
outing of the series bond assumes a
false identity and uses a Russian
turncoat to locate a Russian
code-breaking device all while an
assassin tracks is every move I got a
kick out of watching a great James Bond
I know what a bloody fool who’s been
making of himself we’re pros mr. Bob
unlike the Bond films to follow the
focus here was on pacing and posturing
over unbelievable action and gadgets I
want you we do not tolerate failure
number three you know the penalty yes
number one North by Northwest oh come on
fellas well this is a joke isn’t it yes
a joke we were laughing come come
taking the top spot is the Alfred
Hitchcock spy thriller that has come to
be considered the spy film I’m being
followed can you do anything about it
yes I can do it
besting his other offerings it places
its focus on an innocent man pursuit
across the US by an organization out to
capture the secrets contained on a
microfilm you just want out really
trying to kill my son are you not just
gripping and suspenseful the shots and
set pieces from this film have become
legendary and have influenced almost all
of the other films in the genre to
follow
do you agree with our list wouldn’t have
it any other way
which spy film is your favorite they
told me what assassinated in Hong Kong
yes this is my second life you only live
twice Mr Bond for more thrilling top
tens be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com it didn’t have to end this
way
of course it did
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