SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, THE (CRITERION)

The acclaimed, best-selling novel by John le Carré, about a Cold War spy on one final dangerous mission in East Germany, is transmuted by director Martin Ritt into a film every bit as precise and ruthless as the book. Richard Burton is superb as Alec Leamas, whose relationship with a beautiful librarian, played by Claire Bloom, puts his assignment in jeopardy. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a hard-edged and tragic thriller, suffused with the political and social consciousness that defined Ritt's career.

Special Features:

• New, high-definition digital film restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• New, exclusive, wide-ranging interview with author John le Carré
• Selected-scene commentary featuring director of photography Oswald Morris
• The Secret Center: John le Carré, a 2000 BBC documentary on the author's life and work
• Interview with actor Richard Burton from a 1967 episode of the BBC series Acting in the '60s, conducted by critic Kenneth Tynan
• Audio conversation from 1985 between director Martin Ritt and film historian Patrick McGilligan
• Gallery of set designs
• Trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Sragow