Product Details

• Actors: Diane Keaton, Yorgo Voyagis, Klaus Kinski, Sami Frey, Michael Cristofer
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: January 14, 1994
• Run Time: 130 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302877903
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,511 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Middle-eastern terrorism provides the dense, perpetually timely context of The Little Drummer Girl, loyally adapted from John Le Carré's complex bestseller. It's slow going at first, taking pains to establish the tragically complicated plight of Charlie (Diane Keaton), a left-wing, pro-Palestinian actress, recruited by Israeli intelligence in 1981 to play the role of a lifetime: Once her loyalties are turned, she will lure a dominant Palestinian terrorist (Sami Frey) into a deadly trap. She's an unwitting pawn, vulnerable to romance (particularly with her Israeli recruiter, played with subtle conviction by Greek-born Yorgo Voyagis), and Keaton brings sympathetic naiveté to her character's potentially lethal dilemma. Klaus Kinski is arguably miscast as the Israeli intelligence chief, but viewers are more likely to stumble over the film's constant flow of intricate detail. The Little Drummer Girl is not always easy to follow, but attentive viewers will be rewarded, and the plot itself is, sadly, as relevant as ever. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great spy movie!, March 15, 2004

By 

Kate C. (Lansing, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Drummer Girl [VHS] (VHS Tape)

forget the tacky 1980's clothes that Diane Keaton wears, forget the fact that Diane Keaton was a mite too old to be playing the Mata Hari, this is a fantastic spy movie!

A more boiled down verson of the novel by the same name (this is one of the rare example where I think the movie is better than the book) is complex and gritty; a fluid example of the race/religion quagmire that is the State of Israel. Klaus Kinski is absollutely fabulous and subtle in his role as the leader of the Israeli spy team that is trying to hunt down a mysterious bomber (remarkable performance by Sami Frey as the Palestinian bomber) and Diane Keaton, though a little too mature to be playing a somewhat nieve actresss who is recruited to pose as the bomber's brother's lover, plays through her confusion of grappling with her pro-Palestinian political affilations while at the same time working for the Israelis. The supporting cast of characters are equally complex if not extremely present in the movie which adds to the feel and scope of the spy operation that ensues.

The final hour is emotionally engaging and harrowing as is Keaton's eventual nervous breakdown after the bomber is caught. The extent of the spy operation is also grand in scope without being overbearing or, likewise, confusing.
A great movie for a cloudy day when you feel in the mood for a little intrigue!

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The terrorism is familiar but the plot is implausible., October 19, 2002

By 

Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Little Drummer Girl [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This 1984 film is based on the novel by John LeCarre and deals with a subject we've all become too familiar with lately: terrorism. Diane Keaton stars as a young woman who's into causes and even though she shows Palestinian sympathies, is still recruited by the Israeli Mosad to become an operative. What follows is an entirely implausible plot that required utmost concentration to follow.

Klaus Kinski played the part of the Israeli leader and even though he is a good actor, his Nordic looks made him hard to believe as an Israeli. Yorgo Voyagis, a handsome Greek actor, played the Israeli agent who gets romantically involved with Keaton. Problem is that their relationship never really sizzled and it was hard to believe she wound up putting herself in so much danger for a cause she felt so lukewarm about or for this man with whom she had few, if any, love scenes with.

I liked Keaton in her role, cast as an actress with a rather ditzy personality. The role called for her displaying her own insecurities as well as courage. She also played it in a way to make it clear that she was attracted more to the adventure and the Israeli agent than she was to the politics.

There's good cinematography and a fine sense of place. Scenes are shot in Germany, England, Greece and the Middle East. It all looks very real. There's a moderate amount of tension, especially near the end, but the story itself lacks believability and emotional intensity.

Times have changed since the film was produced, which was groundbreaking then because it showed the moral ambiguity and savage methods used by both the Israelis and Palestinians. The computers the characters used were the latest technology then too, but I had to smile the black and white monitors and dot matrix printers. Watching the film is a trip back into the past with overtones that are all too true in the present. And it's sad to note that the conflict it deals with has grown in intensity since.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too good to be missing, November 11, 2008

By 

Sandi Berman "Sandi B" (Pasadena TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Little Drummer Girl [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film is unavailable from Block Buster or NetFlix or the library system. It is too important to be abandoned. I don't know why, if it is considered politically incorrect or too hot to handle, or what. John La Carre wrote without an agenda, showing both sides, warts and all. I plan to loan it to as many people as will watch it.
Sandi