The film "The game of imitation": cryptography, Enigma and Alan Turing

On February 5, 2015, the wonderful film The Imitation Game (“ The Game of Imitation ”) will be released on the cinema screens of the Russian Federation, unless Goskomonadzor or another censorship body prohibits it.

The film is based on the book by Andrew Hodges "Alan Turing: Enigma" and describes the life and work of the famous English mathematician Alan Turing, who helped break the code of the German Enigma cryptographic machine during World War II.

Although the action takes place during WW2, but the title of the film refers to another scientific article by Alan Turing, published in 1950 under the title “ Computers and Mind ”. There, Turing considers the question “Can cars think?” And suggests replacing the term “thinking” with something more specific. In particular, he suggests using the “imitation game” when the examiner in a separate room communicates with the machine and the person, trying to determine from the text who the machine is and who is the person.
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Breaking the Nazi encryption machine Enigma played a crucial role in the victory over the Nazis. The British managed to keep the secret of the cipher, not even giving it out to their partners in the anti-Hitler coalition.


^{Actress Keira Knightley plays a cryptanalyst and interpreter Joan Clark (in the photo on the right)}

To decrypt messages from Enigma, a machine called Turing Bombe was created based on the Polish cryptological bomb .

The work on breaking Enigma took place in the secret center of British intelligence Station X, later known as Bletchley Park. One of the main theorists of this analytical center was Alan Turing.



The film “The Game of Imitation” has already managed to receive the award, the title of “The Best British Film of 2014”, good reviews from critics and an excellent rating of 8.2 on IMDB.