Commentary By Ron Beasley
I love a good spy novel. I read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carr�hortly after it came out in 1974 and shortly after I left the DIA. I heard about the movie and looked forward to seeing it. I had it in my Netflix que but but then I read this by Eric Margolis, Forget the Film Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: See the BBC Original. Well I took his advice and watched the five plus hour BBC version instead.
John Le Carr�39;s Cold War espionage trilogy, which also includes, The Honorable Schoolboy and Smiley's People, is the finest work on the world of intelligence ever written. Le Carr�erved in Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, and knows of what he writes. He masterfully captures all the bureaucratic tedium and moments of terror of spy work, its lies, double-dealing, and betrayals.
The 1976 BBC TV version of Tinker, Tailor and the sequel, Smiley's People, was the best thing I have ever seen on TV. It was perfect. Full stop. Only the BBC series I, Claudius came near it.
John Le Carr�tated the BBC version was "complete" and should not be remade. I felt the same way, fearing that a remake would inevitably disappoint.
I still haven't seen the movie but after watching the 1976 BBC version I don't really see how a two hour movie could do the novel nearly as much justice as the five hour BBC series. In addition Alec Guinness plays George Smiley and I can't really imagine anyone doing it better.
Plus the follow-on, "Smiley's People", was equally fine, and has Patrick Stewart and Allan Ryckman.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, the Brits did an equalaay fine multi-part series of Len Deighton's "Berlin Game, Mexico Set, LondonMatch", with Ian Holme. Saw it originally on CBC back in 1981 � then it disappeared. Well, it took 3-4 years of searching, but I found a copy from VHS in Oz, and DL'd. It really is excellent, but for some reason Deighton hated it, and after a limited VHS release, all copies were removed, he had that much clout.
@Edstock
ReplyDeleteI regret that I can't enjoy "Smiley's People". I am hearing impaired and need English subtitles or CC.
Ron, I noticed that about Smiley's People. It's really unfortunate. Smiley's People is not as good the first, but worth seeing. That said, I'm a fan of both versions of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and the film is worth a look. (I wrote about both versions as the fourth entry in this post, and Lance Mannion also has a good post.) Le Carr�as involved with the new film, and it's the equivalent of a new production of a classic play. It doesn't play out scenes at length, which is the great strength of the miniseries, but the performances are splendid and the command of the medium (particularly the cinematography) is markedly stronger. Like I said, I like both.
ReplyDelete@Batocchio
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links, I'd missed my friend Lance's review and your's was great. I will put the movie in my Netflex Que again.
Well, let us know what you think! On the extras, Oldman talks about how he admires Guinness' performance, but thinks he made him slightly more likable than in the book, where he has a dark side. I do agree with one of Lance's commenters that the Esterhase confrontation stands out as better in the miniseries (because it can take the time). But we'll see how you feel about it all...
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