Shining Through (1992)

Okay, this film is full of holes. But hey, this ain't a PBS documentary. If you like Nazis and spies and trains and European borders, you'll love it. Melanie Griffith is wonky in a delightful way. The forties flavour in both the US and Germany is tremendously well executed.And theres some really good action and suspense. Would a high ranking German officer take a servant to the opera? Hardly. Would the Gestapo phone first? Don't think so. Nor would the events of the closing scenes have happened on the wartime Swiss border. The Swiss were very much on the knife's edge. They avoided provoking the Germans and any Allied combatants who found their way to Switzerland were interned for the duration. Of course, the movie never says they were not. But what the heck. I gave it an 8 because it was well produced and very well filmed, The Nazi parade was superbly done. And in that opera scene, they even had a ringer for the late Herbert Von Karajan. (Interesting they used his name. After the war, Von Karajan never advertised the fact he had hobnobbed with the Nazis.) I loved Griffith and admire Douglas and even though I knew I shouldn't have enjoyed it, I did. So there!

Fmovies: Shining Through has everything one could ask for in a movie -- big stars, great acting, suspense, drama, and a fine score. But first and foremost, Shining Through is all about Melanie Griffith, the only real female mega-star of our time (sorry, Julia). This is one of Melanie's meatiest roles and she is at her absolute peak of physical beauty. I'll admit she may not be the greatest actress to grace the silver screen but she does a wonderful job here and I am certain that this performance will win over many of her detractors. Although the secretary-from-Queens-becomes-international-WWII-spy premise might strain credibility a bit, once you get into it you can sit back and enjoy the ride.

Michael Douglas is superb, as always. I was also blown away by Joely Richardson as Margrete and wish that her relationship with our Melanie could have been developed further. Would love to see more of her! Liam Neeson seemed a little too wimpy for a high-ranking German Officer but, what the hell, it's only a movie. Ludwig Haas's portrayal of Adolf Hitler marked the crowning achievement in his long and distinguished career -- a far sight better than his appearance in Zärtliche Chaoten.

Bottom line from Claudia: A real movie-lover's movie.

What a truly gripping film and storyline!! Melanie Griffith played her role as a spy beautifully, and Michael Douglas added his own special touch to the film.The late John Gielgud and Joely Richardson were also stars who made the film that little bit more eye catching!! In some parts it was emotional too, showing how Germany was like in the 1940's era. A very moving and successful film, which deserved every bit of its 10/10!!

Shining Through fmovies. This will be a very short review. As i write this, "Shining Through" only has 5.8 stars, and I am just flabberghasted. This is a very sad statement on the typical movie-goer, I guess.

I just watched this movie for the third or fourth time. It's clearly Melanie Griffiths finest performance, and just a perfect movie overall. It delivers the goods on many levels, is never boring, and always believable.

So, just to bump it up a hair, I give it TEN stars. (Realistically I'd give it an 8.5, but the rating badly needs to go up!)

I saw this movie on BRAVO and absolutely loved it. So what if it is unrealistic? It is a movie, after all. If you want reality, rent a documentary or watch the History Channel. It reminds me of an old black and white film from the 40's like "Notorious", "Saboteur", or something of that nature.(Probably one of the reasons I liked it so much.)The suspense was wonderful, as was the romance between Linda and Ed. My eyes were glued to the television from beginning to end, and it left me in a happy state of shock. Even reading the book--which was quite different--didn't change my mind about loving the movie. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a two hour escape from the real world... especially someone looking for a good romance. I still get palpitations thinking about the closing scene. Sigh.

I acquired this mainly because it is a beautifully-filmed period piece centered around World War II. There are several train station scenes that I think about when recalling this film. They are a couple of the highlights of the fine cinematography and set designs in here. Overall, the movie had nice 1940s feel to it with the cars, dress, hairstyles and colors. It also is good to see this on widescreen DVD.

The story also is interesting but not exactly plausible in one major regard: Melanie Griffith as a spy. sorry, but the bimbo-like quality of Melanie's voice, doesn't lead credence to playing this kind of character. I just can't picture her as some super-intelligent spy, but maybe she's a lot smarter than the roles she usually plays.

Otherwise, this is a well-done, involving suspense film that I enjoy from start to finish.