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Benedict Cumberbatch in "The Imitation Game"


Carol the Dabbler

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From Sherlockology:  "To mark the royal pardon of Alan Turing today in the UK, the first official still has been released of Benedict Cumberbatch in character as the computer pioneer and codebreaker in The Imitation Game, due for release next year."

 

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And, to quote myself from another thread:

 

I must say ... that I'm really looking forward to another film that he's lined up to star in, The Imitation Game.  Not only is it likely to be another sterling performance by Cumberbatch, but more to the point in my estimation, how often do I get a chance to see a film about a mathematician?  In this case, the mathematician is Alan Turing, who headed the successful British effort to break the Nazi code during Word War II, and single-handedly invented modern computing and artificial intelligence in the process.

 

 

 

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I can't wait! :-) he's such a great choice to play Turing, and, as you say, how often do we get movies about mathematicians? I can only think of previous stories about Turing / Bletchley Park and "Wonderful Mind"... I think that was the title anyway!

 

UndeadMedic and I have been to Bletchley Park several times, and it's a very interesting place. They have a replica of Colossus, the first programmable computer, and I still get a bit emotional thinking "this is why I have a job today" (I'm a software engineer, a.k.a. Computer programmer) whenever I see it.

 

We had the privilege of attending a short talk by one of the code breakers (his name escapes me right now) about how Alan Turing designed the machines to determine the settings of the day for the Enigma machines. The thing that impressed me most, however, was not the very clever way in which Turing approached the problem... But rather how much I was struggling to follow the (no doubt dumbed down for general consumption) explanations given by a very sharp 90-something code breaker, which made me realise how much we depend on computers these days, and how much we have forgotten how to think...

 

Is there a release date for the movie yet? :-)

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The most specific date I've seen (on Wikipedia) is "late 2014."  Principal photography was completed in early November, and it's now in post-production.

 

Have you read the book (Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges)?  I've read about half, by which point it's less about Turing and more about his algorithms, and can be kind of tough slogging.  I haven't given up on finishing the book, but it isn't light reading any more!

 

I didn't realize Bletchley Park was still in existence and open to the public.  Next time we're over, I wouldn't mind seeing it.

 

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Don't think I've read that one, no. I have a couple of books sitting on my bedside table but I haven't started any of them yet... Too much to read! Will see if I can get hold of it.

Bletchley Park was open to the public a while back, and they are working to restore the huts to their original state (it fell into disrepair after the war). Have a look at the website (http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/), they have tons of information on their current projects and special events!

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  • 2 weeks later...

My dad was stationed at Bletchley Park when he did his national service with the RAF, apparently he used to sneak out to play football as he was on the town's team and not the RAF's team.

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My favorite English professor had been in the US Army during the war, but was stationed with British Intelligence, something to do with codes.  He told us lots of funny stories about being in England (warm beer and such), but never said much about exactly what his job had been.  Since reading more about Alan Turing recently, I've been wondering whether my professor might have worked with him, and was disappointed to see that he's not listed on that Bletchley Park web site.  Their list does not purport to be complete, of course, but he may well have been involved in en-coding rather than de-coding.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have read that there has been an exoneration issued for Turing. Fat lot of good it does him now but it validates all the important work he did.

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Right, and only about a month ago, possibly due to the interest generated by the upcoming movie.  The official term was "royal pardon," which to me sounds like the queen is forgiving him rather than admitting that what he did was none of anybody's business.  But I guess governments tend to work that way.
 

Looking forward to "The Imitation Game" where, hopefully, he will be the star. Also, it will make a lot more people aware of Turing's importance and the injustice done to him.

 
Don't see how Cumberbatch could avoid being the star of that one, since it's about Turing and he's playing Turing.  (But yeah, I know, movies don't always work out that way.)
 
I'm definitely looking forward to it -- a mathematician as the hero!

 

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I presume The Imitation Game is going to be about Turing and his work but, for all I know, the emphasis could be on breaking the Enigma code and Turing could be one of many players. I saw the film Enigma, starring Dougray Scott, years ago and I don't remember Turing being in it as a character at all. Hopefully the new film will redress the balance.

 

I also hope it will mean that we start to honour Alan Turing's memory. He did so much for his country and what do we have in his honour? Well, there is a road named after him, in Milton Keynes I think, and that is about it. As someone said in The Guardian, it's not a pardon he should have been given but an apology. Him and many other gay men of that era, of course. And maybe we could at least put up a bloody statue of the man whose genius helped to save our country.

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The movie is said to be based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma, which is a biography of Turing.  I'm sure there will be a good bit of time devoted to code breaking, but it will presumably be from Turing's PoV.  Which is not to say they haven't taken liberties with the book -- most movies do.

 

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Note:  There's some early discussion of this movie (and a few pictures) on the first page of the Fifth Estate thread.

 

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  • 3 months later...

The date for a limited release in the US has been set for November 21st.  I've been unable to find any specific mention of any release date for the UK or elsewhere.

 

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Right, and only about a month ago, possibly due to the interest generated by the upcoming movie.  The official term was "royal pardon," which to me sounds like the queen is forgiving him rather than admitting that what he did was none of anybody's business.  But I guess governments tend to work that way.

 

Looking forward to "The Imitation Game" where, hopefully, he will be the star. Also, it will make a lot more people aware of Turing's importance and the injustice done to him.

 

Don't see how Cumberbatch could avoid being the star of that one, since it's about Turing and he's playing Turing.  (But yeah, I know, movies don't always work out that way.)

 

I'm definitely looking forward to it -- a mathematician as the hero!

 

Yes Royal Pardon says to me, that we forgive you, rather than will you please forgive us.  

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I agree with Benedict that it should be Turing doing the pardoning, not vice versa. Of course, it all comes far too late for Turing himself but a royal pardon is better than nothing, I suppose

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Definitely better than nothing.  And maybe it was literally either that or nothing -- there may not be any precedent for a royal apology.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK, there's now a UK release date -- November 14th, according to the UK distributor, StudioCanal -- a week earlier than the US release.

 

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Hello DomsinHoks and welcome to the forum! :wave:

 

Thank you for the link - while I find the concept of a review for a film that's only going to be released in half a year a bit mind-boggling, it was a good write-up, I suppose :smile:. Release in the US should be on November 21, 2014, no? The cynic in me would call that release date "Oscar bait" but ah well, he probably deserves one anyway ;).

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Hello, DomsinHoks -- welcome to Sherlock Forum!  :welcome:

 

Thanks for the link, and feel free to join in the discussions here.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I assume it's still set for release this November (the 14th in the UK and the 21st in the US).

 

Added:  Yup, EW's web site just quoted those same dates.

 

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