Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Discussion
2fast748 said:
Watched this Friday night and thought it was good but not necessarily as good as everybody has made out. It does seem slow compared to most modern spy stuff but that is it's USP really.
Personally I think most modern spy stuff is s
te. It's all ridiculous fistfights and shooting. No intelligence or finesse...still haven't seen this film version.chazola said:
Saw this on Saturday, I haven't seen the BBC version so can't compare it to that but this was very well made and acted, and if a bit hard work (and I usually like films that are hard work and demand concentration). It recreates the 70's accurately in that everything is grim and grey, I won't post any spoilers but for me it was a bit short on action and tension and I left feeling a bit unsatisfied. There is a nice Citroen DS in it though 
Everything wasn't grim and grey in the 70s -
Must say I found it impenetrable. Admittedly I was pretty tired after a 400-mile drive, and I haven't read the book, but I only had the most tenuous grasp as to what was going on. My 20yr old daughter (studying at Edinburgh Uni) was concentrating throughout but confessed to being lost. The emotionless school of acting is all very well but as a viewer I could have done with a few more visual leg-ups to know what one character was thinking, either about another character or the situation they were in. Suspect reading the book might have helped but that shouldn't be a pre-requisite for enjoying the movie. Having said that, the attention to period detail was extraordinary.
2fast748 said:
Watched this Friday night and thought it was good but not necessarily as good as everybody has made out. It does seem slow compared to most modern spy stuff but that is it's USP really.
I saw this last night after seeing the trailer and thinking it could be quite good. I would agree with 2fast748 on this. It was good but slow to get into and some of the plot I didn't really understand and wondered if you need to read the book first to enjoy it.Was well made but not what I was expecting.
Eric.
Have you seen the BBC series?
sirtyro said:
Was well made but not what I was expecting.
What were you expecting?tonym911 said:
The emotionless school of acting is all very well but as a viewer I could have done with a few more visual leg-ups to know what one character was thinking, either about another character or the situation they were in.
But...they're spies!!! Have you seen the BBC series?Saw it last night and came away feeling disappointed.
The only aspect that didn't disappoint was the acting.
I HATED all those deep focus pulls and the incessesent tracking shots, they were very very distracting, as were the fairly poor men's wigs.
There was just so little tension, it was obvious who the 'mole' was and too often the lonely spies did nothing more than sit around, there should have been a little more action.
The 1979 BBC series had the big advantage of being made close to the period and in comparison the film version looked rather 'staged'.
Except for the excellent performances, I expected much better command from Tomas Alfredson ('Let the right one in' - a fabulous film IMO).
The only aspect that didn't disappoint was the acting.
I HATED all those deep focus pulls and the incessesent tracking shots, they were very very distracting, as were the fairly poor men's wigs.
There was just so little tension, it was obvious who the 'mole' was and too often the lonely spies did nothing more than sit around, there should have been a little more action.
The 1979 BBC series had the big advantage of being made close to the period and in comparison the film version looked rather 'staged'.
Except for the excellent performances, I expected much better command from Tomas Alfredson ('Let the right one in' - a fabulous film IMO).
I watched the film last Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I hadn't read the books nor seen the original series, but the film was just the antidote to your typical Jason Bourne/James Bond type spy flick. I must admit that I only twigged who the mole was 2/3rds of the way through but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of it. The acting was also superb IMO.
i've only read the spy who came in from the cold, so may well watch this prior to buying the rest of the books [spy.. was cracking, have been meaning to for a good while].
i think the comments so far will probably mean i'll enjoy it, given i think the assassination of jesse james is a 10/10 film whilst most on here find it dull and impenetrable!
only problem will be finding somewhere to watch it, don't wanna have to catch it on a stty airline screen.
i think the comments so far will probably mean i'll enjoy it, given i think the assassination of jesse james is a 10/10 film whilst most on here find it dull and impenetrable!
only problem will be finding somewhere to watch it, don't wanna have to catch it on a s
tty airline screen.noooo, the books! 
guinness is amazing, his facial expressions are a treat. the woman who plays connie sachs was also fantastic and bill haydon has some great lines.
some of the actors are typically 70s wooden [ricky tarr i'm looking at you] but overall it does remind me very much of the spy who... book in that only at certain points in the narrative are you aware of what is going on and suddenly the last 30-40mins [or several chapters] make sense. all the more rewarding, looks like another late night of sheesha, scotch and alec guinness tomorrow.
very much looking forward to the film and book.
guinness is amazing, his facial expressions are a treat. the woman who plays connie sachs was also fantastic and bill haydon has some great lines.
some of the actors are typically 70s wooden [ricky tarr i'm looking at you] but overall it does remind me very much of the spy who... book in that only at certain points in the narrative are you aware of what is going on and suddenly the last 30-40mins [or several chapters] make sense. all the more rewarding, looks like another late night of sheesha, scotch and alec guinness tomorrow.
very much looking forward to the film and book.
Halb said:
sirtyro said:
Was well made but not what I was expecting.
What were you expecting?I thought it was a fantastic, restrained, refined piece of film-making. I really, really enjoyed it. Captures the tension very well. Best money I've spent in the cinema this year.
What does it lack? Possibly a bit of scene setting. The immediacy of the cold war is implied but not explicitly stated - the importance of the spies work is not apparent, only in Smileys efforts to catch one.
I've not read the book and I'm not ashamed to admit that some (indeed propabbly many) intricacies passed me by, others fell into place as the story unfurled. It's difficult at times to establish the correct chronological order, and you do need to concentrate throughout.
But it's excellently acted, I liked the visual style, and as a whole it's a robust and enjoyable film and one taht I hope will bear several more watches when I've read the book.
What does it lack? Possibly a bit of scene setting. The immediacy of the cold war is implied but not explicitly stated - the importance of the spies work is not apparent, only in Smileys efforts to catch one.
I've not read the book and I'm not ashamed to admit that some (indeed propabbly many) intricacies passed me by, others fell into place as the story unfurled. It's difficult at times to establish the correct chronological order, and you do need to concentrate throughout.
But it's excellently acted, I liked the visual style, and as a whole it's a robust and enjoyable film and one taht I hope will bear several more watches when I've read the book.
WeirdNeville said:
What does it lack? Possibly a bit of scene setting. The immediacy of the cold war is implied but not explicitly stated - the importance of the spies work is not apparent, only in Smileys efforts to catch one.
i finished watching the series last friday [youtube, so not the best quality] and i can't really say that it captures the immediacy either. it has more time to develop an atmosphere, but the soviet threat is not the 'menace' implied in period. smiley is a great character, exquisitely played by guinness. paraphrasing a quote [can't be bothered looking it up!] he's a fantastic spymaster but a failure as a man. was expecting anne to be much fitter mind...
was disappointed to find that smiley's people isn't on youtube, so richard burton in the spy who... is up next for me.
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