A Major Disappointment

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Blistering performances.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

This movie was wonderful. I loved every minute of it ... and every minute was unique and transporting. what a great bit of romantic escapism! Melanie Griffith was perfect for the part - a bit surreal because of her voice but it gave the movie a sweet, off-center uniqueness. The austere quality of Michael Douglas contrasted perfectly with her emotional nature which set the stage for a deep, real love. I think the mixed reviews had more to do with how the movie was marketed. They tried to promote its intellectual quality as a spy mystery but in essence it was pure old-fashioned, sensitively directed, romance.. If only the promotion department wrote about THAT as the focus of the movie ... the reviews would have been better and also not all over the place. The movie is a pure romance much like the "Titanic". The critics slammed that movie when it came out, just as others have done to this one. "Shining Through" needs to be seen again ... by many. I think it is really that good. different. classy . fun.One other thing - if the name of the movie was changed, that would have helped too. Horrible silly title.

I have NO idea why this movie has not well survived the critique process. I am an intelligent woman who finds this to be the best Nazi film I've ever seen - a great romance, a great thriller, and just a great movie all-around. In contrast to another reviewer, I found Melanie's performance here to be right on point and she was well-cast. As others mention, she's an interesting contrast, blonde and Jewish, sex appeal but survivor. Cannot believe it was selected as worst movie of 1992. My German is not as strong as the two other languages I speak, so maybe the accent is a mess, but is it really a deal-breaker for the film? Especially when it's a true story. Maybe Roger Ebert has it out for Melanie Griffith or Michael Caine, who knows, but I really encourage you to check this one out.

When David Seltzer's "Shining Through" first came out it was a critical and commercial failure. I thought that it was at least worth seeing, if not any kind of masterpiece. I suspect that a lot of the antipathy towards the movie is because of Melanie Griffith's American-sounding German speech. Griffith plays a secretary in a law firm who gets sent into Nazi Germany to try and find secret information.Aside from the German spoken in a monotone American accent, I found it a little odd that when she first arrives in Germany she does have to speak German to everyone, but then they start speaking English. But for the most part, I did like the movie. Aside from Griffith, Michael Douglas plays her boss whose whereabouts she doesn't know half the time, and Liam Neeson plays a Nazi officer. Joely Richardson and John Gielgud also star. Above all, Melanie Griffith looked a lot better before she had her face done.Like I said, not any kind of masterpiece, but still worth seeing.

This is a bad movie. As if there haven't been enough movies done about WWII. The movie begins with a supposedly older woman telling her story to the BBC about her spy work during WWII. Melanie Griffith was good in Working Girl. Why? That was about an ordinary American girl. Are we supposed to believe that she is fluent in German enough to fool the Germans? Why don't they get real American actors who are fluent in German, so after two lines in German they don't revert to English? I don't think so. She is the flakiest spy ever. About the only thing that she didn't do was go up to Hitler and say I am a spy for the Americans. I think I got really tired of Griffith's character, so much so that I felt for Michael Douglas. Why was he dragged into this movie, except to play a lover that has to put up with this female version of Inspector Clouseau? About the only good thing about the movie was Liam Neeson. He played a believable German officer. Sir John Gielgud played an older man, who was naturally cranky and unhappy about the spy that he was to look out after. This movie was pretty awful.