Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (DVD 2003)

For those, like me, who remember Smiley from the 80's this was a trip down memory lane. All the characters were immediately recognisable and even evoked memories of me and my Dad watching it on TV. This series got me into reading John Le Carre ( I'm currently reading "The Constant Gardner")and Alec Guiness, in my humble opinion gave the best performance of his career.
Top quality British drama at its timeless best - check it out!
Mark

Put out as a TV series and now available in two DVDs this is a gem that everyone should view. The list of great actors appearing are some of the best of the period and Alec Guinness is at his best. The atmosphere it creates with dark shots and a dialogue that keeps you hanging for the last episode is so evocative.

The acting is beyond comparison but learn from the silences...

A storey is that is of the top secret service cabal that has a "mole". Sought out by Smiley (Alec Guinness) the twists and interrogation recalls the Philby and McLean troubles of the time.

Buy it and see all 7 episodes without waiting for it weekly as I did originally!

Superb a must for any collection.

Remember seeing it on the BBC and buying the book. First class acting and writing; all the characters seem to fit so well from Smiley to the smallest 'bit 'part. Remember going to London years ago and finding the location of the 'circus'via the A-Z.Great DVD; well worth adding to the collection

This item was perfect in every way. I have no adverse critisisms at all about the item.

I am a 67yo silver surfer and enjoyed the series so much when it was first broadcast that I have always wanted a copy for myself.

This is a first rate story, well written, a first class cast including Sir Alec Guinness. Le Carre's tale is complex and, admittedly, difficult to follow but with a good standard DVD it can be easy to review confusing bits and enjoy it to the full.

I purchased this DVD because I am a self-confessed John Le Carre Fan and I wanted to see how it stood up to the test of time. I am pleased to say that I was,nt dissapointed the standard of writing ,direction , and an excellant performance by Alex Guiness made for very pleasant viewing, This is a DVD which will not gather dust in my library.
The bonus was a very rare and fascinating interview with John Le Carre.

D.R.Forbes.

Excellent bbc program
I wanted copy of this dvd and there it was perfect price -so I checked other sites e.g. Amazon and checked price for a new one and put a bid in for below cost of new one - I won it and I am delighted with it.

perfect transaction, thank again
JLF
désolé je n'ai pas l'habitude de perdre mon temps pour laisser de longues
appréciations, a l'avenir je ne laisserai aucune appréciation, obliger
les achetaurs a remplir cette formalité devient dissuasif;
pensez-vous que vous pouvez demander a des étrangers de se plier a ces
formalités, qu'attendez vous pour vous mettre au Français ???
votre approche relève d'un manque d'education, en refusant de vous mettre
a portée des autres. JLF

hi over three years i have been byeing , only one hiccup in that time , that was when i think a young lady put a projector on for sale ,put £20.00 to start but put a reserve on the price she wanted was 200.00 pounds so every time i put a bid it was no good ? that was a mess , but otherwise no problems, to e mail you i found it hard its me getting old, its easy to shop, all the people i bye off are good the item come clean and fast as i am leaveing in France retired its still good postage , i have never returned an item in the time i been an eBay member, thats Wye i always come back , security is the top on the list cards its good with what goes on theses days on the Freud side i can tell you i never bye over the phone , and also pay pal helps me a lot i can pay right away on byeing thats what i like,what i do know is if i want say to bye an item i always go eBay first at night like to night its one in the morning here and i serf for about one hour, DVD film is a good market ho model trains is good and bikes Yamaha i have always looking, its a pity that ebay should have started 30 years ago ?? i would have been 37 years old ha tinker tailor soldier spy was one of the dvds o got the post was fast the packegs was clean the films where exlent ok thats it good luck ebay may you go on for along time to come mike France thank you ebay

ALEC GUINNESS IS EXCELLENT IN THIS SERIES FROM THE COLDWAR. THE OLD ''SCHOOL TIE'' BRIGADE, CARRY THE PLOT OFF BRILLIANTLY. I WOULD RECOMMEND ANYONE TO GET A COPY. THERE IS ALSO A BIT OF NOSTALGIA, THE OLD CARS,SUITS,LONDON ETC.

What do I like? Well this to me shows some of what I'm sure the "spying game" is/was like.Not the seemigly relentless flash bang wallop of the Bond films,but something much more mundane.Going over facts,bits of info,and repeating that,George Smiley gradually unravels the web surrounding the spy hidden at the home of British Intelligencs.In the second,he is called out of retirement to try to find out who,after so many years would want to kill a retired Russian officer,and why.Slowly,the trail leads him to his old russian counterpart Karla.Both of these two stories still stand the test of time,and are well worth a look.

Prompt delivery with no problems. Very reasonable postage to international addresses. My experience has been good with this seller.

I was delighted to be able to purchase this masterpiece ; I could not find it in Paris, where I live.
I was looking for "Tinker, Taylor Soldier, Spy". As a matter of fact it came as part of a set of Two DVD's , along with "Smiley's People", another dramatization of a book by John Le Carré. Both DVD's are high-class and very enjoyable ; actors, direction, and production.

This old bbc series is outstanding. The gentle pace is refreshing in comparison to the fast, short scenes of modern drama (24, csi). The acting is outstanding. the story is complex and interesting. I've watched this series a number of times and it gets better with every watch. I would recommend this dvd to anyone.

Classic spy story brought to life by some of the cream of british acting talent, not in the james bond style but subtle, over a cup of tea style spying at its best, can Alec Guiness uncover the mole in MI5 before its too late!!
Only by watching can you find out!!

This mini-series pre-dated 'Smiley's People' and was popularly supposed to be pretty close to the way our spooks, and theirs, conducted themselves during the Cold War with the Soviet Union versus the others.

I decided to buy it having faint memories of the series and having enjoyed the sequel and, on balance, wasn't disappointed. Unlike today's adaptations which tend to be hugely energetic, and noisy, this is more cerebral and low key; although it's several shades more sophisticated than 'The Spy Who Came In From the Cold' staring Richard Burton. One of his better movies.

Watching the series will provoke the same feelings I expect in both younger and older viewers when thinking about the Cold War much on the lines of, 'what in the world was it really all about?' and 'what a pointless waste of time, men and resources.' Given what was learned when the Berlin Wall came down and the KGB opened their files to the world, these sentiments would be right. In many respects 'Carry On Spying' would be a closer appreciation of clandestine operations of both east and west. If only so many people hadn't died as a result of it all. A mole then meant people like Burgess, Philby & MacLean and it wasn't the technology they informed on, the Russians were well on their own way to keeping up with the USA et al, it was the agents they betrayed along the way who didn't get to live and see the birth of the DVD market.

What it does prove is that despite the threat of nuclear extermination hanging over the world, it was a much safer place than today. The enemy was clearly defined and the balance of terror held the worst excesses in abeyance. There were no suicide bombers around then.

The acting in the series, as you'd expect from Sir Alec Guinness, Bernard Helpton, Hywel Bennett and other stalwarts of the Brit. acting establishment of the time is faultless. I'd recommend this to any student of this period of history or interested in the acting school of effective minimalism