Smiley's People
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Movie Reviews of Smiley's People
Movie Review: Awesome sequel to Tinker, Tailor...
Summary: 5 Stars
All the virtues of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy are present in the Smiley's People miniseries. I'm in awe of Alec Guinness. As a leading actor, this production was probably his swan song, but what a way to go out!
Smiley seeks to unravel the mystery of one of his old commrades who turns up face down in the park, dead. He does this through a series of extensive interviews with friends and likely suspects, like a combination of James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. The end of this knowledge may enable Smiley to set a trap for his old nemesis, Karla.
Guinness has perfected the art of naturalism in acting through minimalism. There is no distracting gesticulation and exaggerated emotion. Guinness brings Smiley into three dimensions simply by intelligence and quietness.
This is a complicated story that unfolds over nearly six hours of programming. Patience and attention will be required to enable the viewer to enjoy and understand the plot progression. Movie fans who favor large explosions, kung fu fighting, and car chases down the wrong lane of a freeway ought to look elsewhere for entertainment. They will probably find the "talking heads" nature of this miniseries boring.
Personally, I'd rate this in the top ten miniseries ever done for TV. It beats most academy award winning films of the past two decades.
Technically, the image quality is superior to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. It is slightly sharper and slightly less grainy. There is a problem with the audio. On my set, the soundtrack to episodes 1 and 4 were somewhat muffled, leading to a bit more difficulty in deciphering the dialogue (especially given that many of the characters have accents -- Russian, French, etc.). I cannot explain why the other episodes sounded perfectly adequate, but 1 and 4 were muffled. Shoddy work in the mastering! Turn up the treble on your amplifier when listening to part 1 and 4.
Apart from that glitch, this is a five star program. I rate it slightly higher than Tinker, Tailor, because I found the plot slightly easier to follow, probably due to better editing.
Movie Review: Once upon a time in Switzerland......
Summary: 5 Stars
SMILEY'S PEOPLE continues the series begun in SOLDIER, SAILOR, TINKER, SPY, so do your self a favor and buy them both. It's hard to describe the plot of this series without giving away clues from the prior series, but suffice it to say, in SP George Smiley continues his "cleanup" of operations at the Circus.
Several of the actors appearing in the previous series appear again in this series. Those missing are dead or incarcerated. New actors are introduced as spies and superspies from both sides of the wall. The cover features a nighttime shot of a defection not unlike the scene in THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD. Will he make the crossing or be shot be his own side as they realize what is happening?
When I first watched the series (both SPY and SP) I found one scene in the latter - when Smiley visits his old pal Molly forcibly retired from the Circus, and living out from Oxford on a dark road in the "country" - particularly frightening. Molly functioned as a research librarian at the Circus before her dismissal, and she has incredible amounts of knowledge tucked away in her brain. Smiley and the other Secret Serivice analysts charged with synthesizing information collected in the field by British operatives, and coming up with the "Big Picture" depended on Molly. The viewer gets the distinct impression that Molly knew something that some insider did not want shared around. Does Smiley's visit put her in danger? Will she be shot to keep her quiet? Dead bodies do pop up in this series, which in some ways is more frightening than the first set.
Watching both series is a great way to spend a weekend, and I recommend them both.
Movie Review: A splendid adaptation of George Smiley's swan song.
Summary: 5 Stars
For those who loved the BBC production of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", "Smiley's People" is required viewing. Most of the cast is back for this sequel, which wraps up Tinker Tailor's story arc. In Smiley's People, we find Smiley called back from retirement (again) to clean up after the murder of an old anti-Bolshevist activist in the middle of London's Hampstead Heath. The story that unfolds is a classic le Carré meditation on the twilight of the Cold War, solitude and the secret places in the human heart.
On the whole, I felt that this adaptation was not quite as fleshed-out as Tinker Tailor. It seemed at times like the script was hitting only the high plot points in the novel and missing some useful backstory. Also, I thought that Sir Alec was not quite as comfortable in George Smiley's skin as he was in the earlier series. There are a couple of scenes that feel awkward, such as his outburst during his visit with Connie Sachs. However, these are minor quibbles. Smiley's People remains one of the all-time great TV dramas.
The production values are higher here than in Tinker Tailor. They used better film stock and there's noticeably less grain. The cinematography and sound design linger more on small details-things such as a plate of half-eaten sausage, a box of yellow chalk and a thumbtack stuck into a post add a palpable richness to Smiley's People and provide a poignant backdrop to the story.
Finally, Disc 1 of this 3-disc set features a fascinating interview with Le Carré taped in 2002. It is not to be missed. All-in-all a highly recommended addition to the DVD collection of any le Carré fan.
Movie Review: A Smiley Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Alec Guinness in one of his finest pieces of work, "Smiley's People" comes from an age where televised miniseries - especially those adapted from their respective novels - were actually of higher quality than many similar movies. This particular miniseries is perhaps one of the finest examples of quality acting in a spy drama and stands out as a BBC masterpiece.
"Smiley's People" isn't for everyone. The miniseries is done in the style of a drama not an action movie like many other spy dramas: there are no explosions or no gunshots. As for the DVDs, there are no fancy features on three part set but the quality (in this reviewers opinion) - despite what some other reviewers have claimed - seems to be fine considering this was not a theatrical release, simply a BBC miniseries.
What this miniseries does offer is a lot of mystery (with occasional death to spice things up) followed by extremely powerful performances on the part of both the main cast, and quite surprisingly, with the supporting cast as well. As another reviewer on site put it, "Smiley's People" unfolds methodically and might be too slow for some modern viewers, but patience goes a long way to appreciating the complexities of this mystery. In addition to the stellar performances one can also appreciate the absolutely stunning sequences filmed throughout Europe.
A fan of good acting and spy dramas, readily able to let the common-place "shoot `em ups" sit on the back burner for a bit? Then "Smiley's People" won't let you down. In combination with "Tinker Tailor," George Smiley might just become your favorite on-screen secret agent yet!
Movie Review: Outstanding drama
Summary: 5 Stars
We watched Smiley's People over the past two weeks. My wife had not seen Tinker, Tailor nor has she read the books but she enjoyed the film tremendously. I have read the other reviewers' criticisms of the quality of the transfer to DVD but did not notice the quality myself. In retrospect the sound was muddy at times. Still, this and its sister series Tinker, Tailor, are probably the best 12 hours of television ever presented. The books were outstanding, and fortunately free of LeCarre's later anti-Americanism, and the film versions are faithful and very well done.
The story picks up after George Smiley has retired and his place taken by the lightweight Saul Enderby and his sycophant assistant Lauder Strickland. The General, played by another old favorite Curt Jurgens, is assassinated as he is maneuvering to resume his war with an old foe, Karla, head of Moscow Centre. Smiley is called in to cover up any association between the Circus, Britain's now emasculated MI 6, and the General, a former agent. Smiley begins to pick up the scent of what the General was doing and this leads to a chance to end his career with the trapping of his old nemesis. The story does continue from the earlier book and series but can be enjoyed without seeing the other film first.
Alec Guiness is at his best here and in the earlier series. The other actors are excellent and fit the mind's eye version formed by reading the books. The casting was excellent. The locations in Smiley's People are an added benefit and are beautifully photographed. It is worth the time and money spent to watch it.