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Le Carré's style is the antithesis of his contemporary Ian Fleming's--far from the glamorous lifestyle of James Bond, with his fast cars and faster women, these agents ride around in Skodas, and Beryl Reid is the closest thing to a femme fatale, save for Smiley's elusive wife, Anne. An extraordinary cast (including Ian Bannen, Hywel Bennett, and Ian Richardson), gritty realism, and close attention to detail make Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy an outstanding piece of television drama. --Nicola Perry
"A smashing thriller" --The New York Times "Exhilarating" --The Washington Post
With ALEC GUINNESS as George Smiley
"One of the most madly atmospheric and enjoyably literate films ever done for television" --The Washington Post
No doubt remains: a mole has infiltrated the Circus, code name for the British Secret Intelligence Service. It can only be one of four men operating at the very highest level. Sidelined agent George Smiley is covertly tapped to root out the mole, a task that requires a painstaking dig through the double-blind world of Cold War-era espionage and his own past. Alec Guinness brilliantly captures the weary heart and steely soul of John le Carré’s master spy in an intricate drama hailed as one of the finest ever made for television.
Also starring Ian Richardson, Michael Aldridge, Joss Ackland, Ian Bannen, Bernard Hepton, Terence Rigby, Michael Jayston, Hywel Bennett, and Anthony Bate.
Later scenes move much more methodically, and involve long conversations about the plot, but that are framed beginning and end with chit-chat about the wife and the cottage. There is some action, but we almost feel it interferes with the plot and we want to get back to those conversations that contain the gold dust we need to sift out of the polite exchanges.
Alec Guinness is perfect as George Smiley. Slow and methodical and illustrating GS's quirks and mannerisms perfectly. Notice how often he takes off his glasses and wipes them clean. The rest of the cast performs admirably. On my first viewing, they had managed to hide some truly difficult dialogue (e.g. "Now, Young Mr. Guillam, are you happy in Brixton?" le Carre's weakness is realistic dialogue, for all his realism elsewhere) and turn them around into believable expressions of character.
Finally it seems the weather improved the production no end.
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