In this 1979 miniseries version of the classic John le Carre spy novel, there is a Soviet mole in the highest echelon of British intelligence. It could be anyone except George Smiley, whom the other top spies have pushed out to pasture. Smiley, in one of Alec Guinness’ greatest performances, begins a deliberate hunt to unmask the double agent. Guinness is joined by a superb cast that includes Ian Richardson, Patrick Stewart, Ian Bannen and Sian Phillips. It’s 290 minutes of pressure-packed whodunit.
The Labor Day weekend is a great opportunity to watch the old master spy drilling down through the characters of his former peers to expose the mole – one of the best mysteries ever on film.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy has been remade into a much shorter theatrical version that will open in the US on November 18. This new film version will also feature a top tier cast – Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Fassbender, Ciaran Hinds, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones and Stephen Rea. The trailer is at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.
Other recent DVD picks have been Poetry, Queen to Play, Kill the Irishman and The Music Never Stopped.