Kim Philby: His Most Intimate Betrayal (2014– ) User Reviews

Great documentary about Cold War traitor

[mcjames-63312 · 9/10 · 16 October 2021]

A very well researched and presented documentary which goes behind the headlines. It provides the full back story of how someone with a privileged background and education decided to become a traitor to his friends, family and country to spy for a foreign power, naively thinking he was doing the right think for a moral cause - Soviet communism ! History has proved how wrong he was.

Another reviewer has given a very low rating (politically motivated ?) because they did not like the presenter. Ben Macintyre just happens to be an enthusiastic expert on the topic, and provides a well paced guide along this tortuous tale. If only more documentaries were this well researched and produced.

Utterly interesting - but destroyed by narcissistic narration.

[ptsj-music · 2/10 · 16 June 2019]

The story of double cold war agent Kim Philby is most interesting, and luckily there are also other documentaries made than this. It all adds to the choise of presenter and narrator, historian Ben Macintyre, who over eagerly want the viewer to know what a brilliant expert he is on the topic. Sadly Macintyre is close to anti charismatic, both in his appearance in front of the camera and when one only listen to his voice. It's simply annoying and even more so when most of the film is showing him with his stiff gaze into the camera, either drinking, sitting, standing or walking in locations where the famous Philby once went. It's just horrible, and doesn't get saved by occasional well made dramatizations, which is one of few reasons to give more than one star.