Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)

Loomis wrote:

Have you read the book or seen the BBC adaptation, and if so how do they stack up against the film version?

I've read the book. Not seen the Guinness BBC adaptation (truth be told, I don't have a whole lotta interest in it, for whatever reason). It's a fine adaptation of the novel.

This movie is high on my list, although I fear I might miss it in theatre, as its only playing at a few theatres, and none of them close by. If I miss it in theatres, I will definitely grab it first week of blu-ray rental. I've only read one LeCarre, (A Perfect Spy), but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Probably going back for a second viewing this weekend, was mesmerized by what I guess might be considered it's old-fashioned quality of storytelling.

It doesn't rely on all the modern standby crutches like shakeycam or music to prop up feeble and overcut action setpieces.

Oldman was ... something else. The timbre of his voice suggested to me a wholly different actor, and the way he was at one point able to put some steel into it while keeping the exact same character-sound (don't know how else to describe it) kind of redefines acting chops for me. I've long held that Jack Lemmon's work in MISSING is among the most subtle film acting, that it has a tremendous sense of continuity, which I find remarkable since films aren't shot in sequence. Oldman was that good in my mind.

Plus it had lots of little things I just love, like a PTS, plus actual titles. And the timeshifting was done in what I guess I'd call an elegant way. It is probably misleading, but Smiley's recollections somehow made me think of WILD STRAWBERRIES, which I haven't tried to watch since the late 70s. (Comparing a spy movie with Bergman sounds really hokey, but shoot, remember how early critics trashed BUTCH CASSIDY for its song, saying it was riffing on Fellni? William Goldman's response was something like, I can't speak for anybody else on the film, but I'm thrilled you even think I've heard of Fellini.)

I don't remember the LeCarre book in detail, but I'm guessing the importance (maybe even the inclusion) of the party flashback was invented for the film. I wouldn't mind spending a couple hours just in that stretch of time, because it just felt right.

Such was Oldman I wouldn't mind seeing an adaptation of The Honourable Schoolboy or Smiley's People just to see him back in action.

Tinker's up for 11 BAFTA says zee Telegraph.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/baftas/9019862/Bafta-2012-Tinker-Tailor-Soldier-Spy-has-11-nominations.html

Comments as usual aren't worth a jot, folk finding it boring giving up after 40mins. Zut alors. Still, I'll be rooting for Oldman come BAFTA night.

Easily the best film I saw last year. Wonderful to see actors using their eyes instead of their mouths.

Just pondering how the infantilisation of filmmaking has robbed us of the sequel to this great film. How its director Tomas Alfredson is 50 and has only made two films in the last seven years, both outstanding, yet isn't working on anything at the moment. And how its star, the great John Hurt has pancreatic cancer, one of the least survivable.

Film historians will look back on the last 10 years and think of all the outstanding scripts that were bought but never got made. Fuck you, Marvel.

Erica Ambler wrote:

Just pondering how the infantilisation of filmmaking has robbed us of the sequel to this great film. How its director Tomas Alfredson is 50 and has only made two films in the last seven years, both outstanding, yet isn't working on anything at the moment. And how its star, the great John Hurt has pancreatic cancer, one of the least survivable.

Film historians will look back on the last 10 years and think of all the outstanding scripts that were bought but never got made. Fuck you, Marvel.

Brilliant film. One of the best I've seen in a long time. I'm glad that I got to see it in the theater, too.

There was talk of SMILEY'S PEOPLE being turned into an HBO miniseries. Here's a blog post on it:
http://doubleosection.blogspot.com/2015/04/oldmans-tinker-tailor-sequel-headed-to.html

Sort of ridiculous that they need to go with that route, considering the first film featured some of the biggest stars in the industry (Oldman, Cumberbatch, Hardy, Firth, Hurt, Jones, etc.) and made a profit. I guess the studios just don't want to put money behind another film that refuses to hold the viewer's hand.

I'll always be willing to check out Alfredson's new works. He's a great example of a modern auteur, unlike J.J. Abrams, Zack Snyder or Joss Whedon.

Thanks for the link. First I've heard of a possible HBO tieup, but works for me.

Good site too. This quote from its Tinker review says it all:

Quote :

I hope this film is successful and leads to a resurgence of smart, complex spy films for adult audiences. The Cold War was never the raison d'être for the books of le Carré, Len Deighton, Graham Greene, Anthony Price and countless others; it was an expedient dramatic device through which to explore universal themes of loyalty and betrayal.

http://doubleosection.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/movie-review-tinker-tailor-soldier-spy.html

What a shame that resurgence didn't happen. Sha-fucking-zam.

Feel a tad disappointed that we won't see it on the big screen (unless somewhere like the BFI shows the first episode like they have done the odd thing in the past). Though, as the reviewer says in Brown's link, as long as Oldman, Hinds, Cumberbatch and others are involved I won't mind too much the series format.