Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy : Complete BBC Series [1979]

Amazon.co.uk Review

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

Customer Reviews:

One of the best bits of television drama. Ever. .......2008-02-20

There is a Soviet mole in the Circus. At least, according to Irina, a female Russian KGB agent in Hong Kong who wants to defect to the West. Before she can deliver this precious bit of information herself to the headquarters of the british Secret Service in London (the Circus, as it's called), she is found out by her KGB colleagues and hastily flown home to Moscow. Her british Secret Service contact in Hong Kong, an agent named Ricky Tarr, barely makes it back alive to Britain, but he refuses to go go back to the Circus.
Irina's sudden disappearance in Hong Kong is, in Tarr's mind, sufficient proof of her revelations. His message to London was relayed to the Soviets, and Irina was grabbed before she could defect. Therefore, more than likely, in London the Russians will be waiting for him.
Tarr contacts the only Circus operative he can still trust, Peter Guillam, and tells him his story. Guillam informs Lacon, the governments liaison officer to the Circus and they in turn take Tarr to see Smiley.

Someone has to be brought in to investigate Irina's claim. Someone who knows the Circus, but who can operate outside of official channels.
Enter George Smiley, the one time right-hand man of the former Chief of the Circus, Control. Smiley was slated to be his successor and was acknowledged by everyone to be the best man for the job, but then a series of scandals and spectacular failures rocked the Circus, entailing the loss of several networks in the Eastern bloc. Soon after that the terminally ill Control died and Smiley was out on his ear.

But of late british Intelligence has, as the story begins, recovered its reputation and has gained access to a valuable source of Soviet intelligence, codenamed Merlin. Source Merlin is run by the new head team of the Circus. But is this information genuine or is it fed to the british to allay suspicions?
Smiley is asked to look into it. During his last months at the Circus both Smiley and Control suspected something was wrong in the service, and now Smiley is told to finish the job where Control left off and ferret out he mole in the Circus...

A classic spy story brilliantly adapted for television. Real care has been taken in casting the parts and as a consequence the acting is superb all round. The late Alec Guinnes gives one of the best and most moving performances of his long career, as do the late Ian Richardson and Bernard Hepton.

Oh sure, for modern taste this might look far too dated with lots of Vaauxhall Vivas, Ford Granadas, Morris Marinas, huge sideburns, brown suits with enormous lapels, wide ties, paisley printed shirts with enormous pointy collars.
And for today's taste it's surely agonizingly slowly paced. Since most people today have the attention span of a common housefly, modern telly has to cater to that. When this series was made, in the late seventies, they didn't do that but instead they concentrated on good scripting and well-crafted dialogue. Also, and again alas, for the modern taste: there is precious little violence or foul language in this series, a disappointingly small number of gunshots, and no car chases.

If you manage to overcome these "objections", and give it a try you will be amazed and utterly captivated by this marvellous, drama series, one of the all-time greats, right up there with Elizabeth R, House of Cards, and Brideshead.

excellent.......2007-12-20

With forty or so 5 star reviews, I don't need to tell you how good this series is in every way.

However, I would add here for future customers a warning. That is: if you intend to watch/read other Le Carre works after this then DO NOT WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY! There are spoilers in it of Smiley's People, The Constant Gardener and no doubt some others I did not pick up on. I could not believe that it showed the final scene of Smiley's People whilst a newly-purchased copy of the whole series sat unwatched next to my TV set!

the very very best.......2007-12-19

simply the best of all times, one can say no more ; its where subjective is overtaken by unquestionable excellence

alan watkin jones, cheshire

A Must Read !!!.......2007-12-07

This is an absolute must for anyone who likes espionage. You won't get better writing, you won't be able to put it down, it will make you think. It is like reading and playing chess at the same time, stimulating, exciting, excellently written suspense drama.

Impeccable throughout.......2007-09-15

John le Carré has been my favourite author for decades. This BBC adaptation of TTSS is flawless from start to finish.
Beryl Reid is superb as Connie in my opinion. My only surprise was Ian Richardson as Bill Haydon. He's just too physically lightweight; Haydon was a rugged character for me. Of course, Alec Guinness is perfect as Smiley - what else can one say?
The scenes and locations are wonderfully shot. Great directing.
The BBC at its best. Don't miss it, especially at this price.

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