''Breaking the Code'' is a 1996

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television movie directed by Herbert Wise, based on the 1986 play by

Hugh Whitemore Hugh John Whitemore (16 June 1936 – 17 July 2018) was an English playwright and screenwriter. Biography Whitemore studied for the stage at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he was taught by Peter Barkworth, then on the staff at RADA ...

about British mathematician

Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...

, the play thematically links Turing's

cryptographic Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or '' -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adve ...

activities with his attempts to grapple with his homosexuality.

Plot

The story focuses on the life of the English mathematician Alan Turing, who helped decode the Enigma code, used by the Germans to send secret orders to their

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s in World War II. He also was one of the key contributors to the development of the digital computer. Turing was also a homosexual in Britain at a time when it was illegal.

Cast

Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...

**William Mannering as Young Alan Turing * Alun Armstrong as Mick Ross *

Blake Ritson Blake Adam Ritson (born 14 January 1978) is an English actor and director. Early life Blake was born on 14, June, 1978 in London and attended the Dolphin School in Reading, Berkshire until 1993, before going to St Paul's School in West Londo ...

as Christopher Morcom * Prunella Scales as Sara Turing *

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

as John Smith * Richard Johnson as Dilwyn 'Dilly' Knox * Amanda Root as Patricia 'Pat' Green *Julian Kerridge as Ron Miller

Production

Development

starred in an eight-month run of the play at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London's West End beginning on 21 October 1986, and he stayed with the play when it ran on Broadway in New York City from 15 November 1987, to 10 April 1988.New York Times: Stage: Breaking the Code
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Broadcast

It was broadcast by the

on 2 February 1996, and in the United States by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

on '' Masterpiece Theatre''. A producer's cut was released on DVD in 2012.

Reception

It won a Broadcasting Press Guild Award and was nominated for two BAFTA TV awards, for best single drama and best actor, and for a

GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...

Media Award.

References

External links

*
''Breaking the Code'' movie trailer
Cultural depictions of Alan Turing BBC television dramas Bletchley Park Enigma machine British LGBT-related television films Plays by Hugh Whitemore Cryptography in fiction Biographical films about mathematicians 1996 television films 1996 films Films directed by Herbert Wise 1990s British films {{LGBT-tv-film-stub