Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

[DaveB]

Finally got around to getting the complete series via iTunes and been watching it on the iPad while travelling. The book is one of my all time favorites.

Bloody hell. I'd heard it was good but it was still a shock just how good it was. They really don't make telly like that any more. Smiley could have been based on Alec Guinness, he was that good in it. Got Smileys People lined up next.

[evilagent]

Finally got around to getting the complete series via iTunes and been watching it on the iPad while travelling. The book is one of my all time favorites.

Bloody hell. I'd heard it was good but it was still a shock just how good it was. They really don't make telly like that any more. Smiley could have been based on Alec Guinness, he was that good in it. Got Smileys People lined up next.

I have been listening to the BBC radio adaptations this week or so.
Really good, engaging, proper stories.

They're doing The Honourable Schoolboy now.

[OwlHoot]

Silly question, because I'm sure the answer is yes, but you know there was also a recent film Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) ?

All the cast were good, but Gary Oldman and John Hurt were especially memorable, playing Smiley and C respectively.

and the whole setup and ambience of "the Circus" was just how it must have been at the time (and most likely for the most part still is).

[DaveB]

Silly question, because I'm sure the answer is yes, but you know there was also a recent film Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) ?

All the cast were good, but Gary Oldman and John Hurt were especially memorable, playing Smiley and C respectively.

and the whole setup and ambience of "the Circus" was just how it must have been at the time (and most likely for the most part still is).

I did, and have seen it. It was very good, but just because of the length there was a lot of background detail left out. 2 hour film vs 7 1 hour TV episodes. The film gave you a flavour of the time, the series put you right there and was much closer to the book. In fact it was pretty much verbatim with minimal changes for TV. The sequence where Jim Prideux gets shot is entirely different in the film to the book and series for example and takes up almost half of one episode.