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Amazon.co.uk Review
Note: Customers have reported that the they are unable disable the subtitles , there is no issue here, please note the color coding for the subtitle option, grey is 'ON' , and white is 'OFF'.
'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy stars Alec Guinness as George Smiley, John Le Carré's familiar, ageing British Intelligence agent, called out of retirement to discover the identity of the high-ranking Russian mole who has burrowed deep into "The Circus"--codename for the British secret service. This slow-burning, complicated and ultimately rewarding BBC adaptation, dramatised by Arthur Hopcroft and directed by John Irvin, perfectly captures Le Carré's own insight into the shady underworld of spies and the political climate during the Cold War.
'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy stars Alec Guinness as George Smiley, John Le Carré's familiar, ageing British Intelligence agent, called out of retirement to discover the identity of the high-ranking Russian mole who has burrowed deep into "The Circus"--codename for the British secret service. This slow-burning, complicated and ultimately rewarding BBC adaptation, dramatised by Arthur Hopcroft and directed by John Irvin, perfectly captures Le Carré's own insight into the shady underworld of spies and the political climate during the Cold War.
Le Carré's style is the antithesis of his contemporary Ian Fleming's--far from the glamorous lifestyle of 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
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of BBC Drama,
By A.K.Farrar "AKF" (Timisoara, Romania) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy : Complete BBC Series [DVD] [1979] (DVD)
This is the third time I have watched the series through and even though I know the plot and have read the book, I still get a lot of pleasure from it.The story is strong - totally believable as you would expect from, as the accompanying documentary makes clear, the pen of a real spy. For those who don't know it it is based on the real story of Kim Philby, a mole who penetrated deep into MI5. The acting is stunning! Alec Guinness, as George Smiley, shines - a subtle combination of school boy benevolence and executioner's hardness. But the number of cameo appearances by top quality British actors is mind blowing. Technically the production is as good as the acting - an atmosphere of built up pressure and intense guilt is established almost from the first frame: Great Camerawork and Great Music. Well worth the money.
59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top-notch drama and stellar performances,
By Sally-Anne "mynameissally" (Leicestershire, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy : Complete BBC Series [DVD] [1979] (DVD)
The cold war is in full swing. British agents are at risk. There is a mole at work within the highest levels of the secret service. Smiley, who had been unfairly ejected from the service - forced into early retirement after voicing legitimate suspicions - is brought back to investigate. He must tread carefully. The double agent could be any one of his former colleagues. Information is power and should not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.You know great drama when you see it. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is easily one of the best. I watched it for the first time on DVD recently and found the story compelling, the acting flawless and the quality of the cinematograph superb (although the picture quality on the DVD could have been better). I remember people talking about it when it was shown on television. There was a lot of criticism of its incomprehensibility, the complexity of the plot and difficulty in keeping track of the characters. Now that I have actually watched the series for myself, all these years later, it just shows how a person should make their own judgement and not accept everything the critics have to say. It was easy to follow and understand the plot, but perhaps the ease of watching the episodes over the short period of a couple of days so that the story is fresh in the mind from one episode to the next gives the DVD watcher an advantage over the people who had to wait a week between episodes. In addition to the drama, there is also a documentary entitled 'The Secret Centre', revealing fascinating details of John Le Carre's life: when, where, why and how his ideas and attitudes were formed, his life as a spy, how he became an author and so on. I found this documentary so riveting that I watched it twice. Highly recommended.
93 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great drama, shame about the DVD transfer,
By
This review is from: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy : Complete BBC Series [DVD] [1979] (DVD)
This is a truly great drama with some superb understated performances from the whole cast. The original photography was dark and atmospheric and added well to the low key feel of the production. What a shame then, I presume in an effort to cram the entire series onto just two DVD disks, that the image quality presented here is so poor. The picture is blocky and with visible artifacts, blacks are grey and murky and there are tonal shifts in areas of a single colour. Don't even attempt to zoom the picture.But none of that truly matters as the vewer soon forgets it and becomes immersed in the plot and the acting skills on view. I for one, however, would have been prepared to pay bit more for a three disk set with a higher image quality
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