Smiley's People [Blu-ray]

It's probably safe to assume that anyone watching this BBC import miniseries has already seen -- and liked -- the classic "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." BBC's producers wisely recognized that the middle book of the series, "The Honorable Schoolboy," wasn't going to translate to the screen, so they went straight from the first story of the trilogy to the last. Comparisons between Smiley and Tinker Tailor are inescapable and it speaks well of the sequel that it is a worthy successor to the original."Smiley's People" maintains some of the main strengths of the original: Le Carre's taut characterization and plotting; excellent scripting, casting, and behind-the-camera work; and, most of all, Sir Alec Guinness's magnificent portrayal of the brilliant but profoundly flawed Cold Warrior George Smiley.In some respects, this series follows the arc of the first one: George Smiley again is in a rather unhappy and not-entirely-voluntary retirement, having been removed once again following his brief return as head of the Circus. And, like the original story, he is called back in to take on a delicate errand for the Circus. The premise of this one is a little different -- he's brought in officially, by the current head of the Circus, rather than being somewhat offline, sponsored out-of-channels by "Lacon and the Minister." And the errand initially seems somewhat trivial: cleaning up the somewhat disorderly murder of a long-ago Circus informant. Obviously, the story quickly builds into something much deeper.The plot probably isn't quite as compelling as the original, but then, "Tinker Tailor" was one of the best miniseries ever. This one takes a little longer to develop and some of the "visits" Smiley makes in his investigation (the obligatory visit to former research chief Connie, for example) seem more like sentimental visits than necessary parts of the investigation. The cast of "characters" Smiley encounters also seems a lot more miscellaneous than in the former show and some of the subplots (the Russian woman in Paris, for example) aren't that compelling.But it's a great yarn and a very satisfying ending to George Smiley's Cold War.I missed the steady presence of Peter Guillam in this series. The replacement character was far weaker and seemed much less "Guillam-ish" (the original Peter seemed a little more like a soccer thug who went to college, while the new Guillam seemed more like a croquet player). But he didn't appear until the very end and didn't really matter to the story.This loss is more than made up for by the greatly enhanced role for Toby Esterhaze, one of the great character roles I've ever seen.It's a great Cold War spy yarn and a very satisfying end to this saga.

There was nothing I disliked about this course.

George Smiley is the ultimate spymaster. He know how to tail somoene, how to set up a false ID, how to hide a murder or how to follow the tiniest lead. After a long career, Smiley is brought out of retirement so he can sanitize the death of an old contact -- without leaving any clue that British Secret Services (AKA "The Circus") are involved. Clandestine services are struggling after being penetrated by a mole and many of their secrets going straight to Moscow. They need Smiley to pour oil on the water and not cause any embarrassment to them.Smiley begins to find that there is more to his old contact's death, but that's a tale the Circus doesn't want to hear. Smiley probes on his own, an elderly spy with a lifetime of knowledge and experience but no support. He's limited to his old contacts, Smiley's people.I watched this in the early 80s when it was shown in the U.S. After that I read the book. I was thrilled when it was distributed on DVD.This is about as far from a James Bond story as you can imagine. Smiley is all thought and observation. He blends in rather than being showy. He carries a gun when it's necessary, but he'd never get into a shootout. He is nearing 70. Smiley will never willingly get into a physical confrontation, but his interrogations can be devastating. His memory and ability to observe serve him better than his fists possibly could.There are no choir boys in Smiley's universe. Smiley makes use of people and their information and is always aware of the limits and motivations of his informants. His world is one of piecing together tiny clues into a massive truth.I can't recommend this enough.

Smiley's People was the third novel in Le Carré's trilogy about the Soviet spymaster Karla (real name unknown) and his ongoing battle with his British opposite numbers. The first volume, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (likewise dramatized for UK TV,) dealt with the uncovering of Karla's mole planted in the Circus; The Honorable Schoolboy and Smiley's People followed the public and private damage caused by that betrayal, and, concomitantly, the obsolescence, as the Cold War waned, of the moral and political certainties with which both sides had entered the struggle (the beginning of the rot was dramatized unforgettably in Le Carré's best novel ever, the Spy who Came In From the Cold).How well did the transition to the small screen go? A good deal better, I think, than the recent movie. With six generous episodes in which to move, the director had room for much more of Le Carré's emotional and psychological subtleties. Le Carré's always been better on discussion than action: for TV the director could amplify the second while still giving plenty of room to the first. Twenty years ago good British actors--and these were some of the best--could make an on-screen intellectual debate gripping. Alec Guinness (Smiley) or Bernard Hepton (Toby Esterhazy) could do more with a raised eyebrow or a flickering visual reaction than most thesps with five minutes of dialogue (and we got plenty of that, too). And the direction assumed intelligent, sharp-minded viewers: the relief, today, of being treated as a grown-up was exhilarating.The action moves fast, avoiding Le Carré's penchant for reflective longueurs, but still keeping his scary emotional penetration. Perhaps the biggest triumph was pulled off by Patrick Stewart's unforgettable cameo performance as Karla: not one word of spoken dialogue, but he stole the climactic scene completely.So, apart from anything else, a history lesson: not only in the Cold War, but in the evolution of TV drama. This is how it was at its zenith. I doubt whether we'll ever see anything as good ever again.

These dvds arrived quickly and in perfect condition. Loved this series when it first came out on TV, and still just as thrilling decades later on dvd. So pleased with this transaction. Thank-you, and highly recommend

Smiley's People [Blu-ray] [2020] was well acted with an exciting and intriguing story. The film settings were superb and the filmography excellent.

Brilliant acting great story which hasn’t dated and it entertaining to watch a world before iPhones ,computers ,Uber .

The BBC productions of Tinker Tailor and Smiley's people are classic and definitive. this production even after all these decades holds up. Incredible layered acting and a labyrinth of a story for the final confrontation between Karla and Smiley. Well worth a look for any fan of Mr. Le Carre's well respected novels.

Originally shot on 16mm film and arguably the best drama miniseries the BBC have yet made, Smiley's People has long been overdue a blu-ray release to upgrade the rather bogstandard DVD that's been available for many years. Unfortunately the job of restoring this leading drama was not given to the leading experts in film restoration, but to an outfit who were rather too fond of digital noise reduction. So, whilst they have gone back to the surviving film elements (which, mercifully, still existed in the BBC vaults), in many scenes they've applied such overzealous noise reduction that the picture takes on a wierd waxy, crayon-like appearance. Having said that, the quality is still an order of magnitude better than the old DVD (the latter simply using the show's transmission videotape as its source) and the quality of the actual programme is so superb that I'm still going to give this release 5 stars.If you've never seen Smiley's People before then you're in for a treat—it's a very faithful adaption of John Le Carré's novel, a sequel to the superb Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Nearly all the cast reprise their roles (including of course Alec Guinness—Le Carré had said that by now he was writing the books with Guinness in mind) with the notable exception of Michael Jayston as Peter Guillam, but you can't have everything. And it's made up for by appearences by from everyone to Mauren Lipman to Vladek Sheybal, with the actors playing Madame Ostrakava, Karla's daughter Tatiana and the hapless Grigoriev turning in particularly excellent performances. The soundtrack music is also particularly effective (and I see has also been given a digital and vinyl re-release to accompany this Blu-ray).