Smiley's People [1982] [DVD]

This is the second of 2 BBC TV adaptations of John Le Carre's Smiley novels, starring an in form Alec Guinness in one of his most memorable roles as Smiley. The first series, Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy, was an absolutely gripping and involved piece of spy drama, and the follow up had a lot to live up to. It succeeds.The tale falls into two distinct sections. In the first an old friend of Smiley's is killed whilst trying to bring him some vital information. The now retired spy starts investigating - who shot Vladimir, and what was the vital information? Trawling around and visiting many old acquaintances from his spy days he slowly finds the evidence and pieces the story together. In the second segment he uses the information he has gleaned to try and set a trap for his old foe in Moscow Central, Karla. Can he at last bring down his oldest and most bitter enemy?There are no gadgets or thrilling stunts here, ala Bond, it is a realistic portrayal of the spy world. Full of shadows, half truths, unreliable alliances, it is a hard world. Guinness is a joy to watch as Smiley as he slowly builds up the picture. He appears a donnish, slightly bumbling eccentric old man, but every now and then the ruthless intellect and air of authority shine through and everyone around him sits and listens with respect.As well as Guinness there are scene stealing turns from Barry Foster as devious spy chief Enderby, Michael Byrne as Peter Guillam and Bernard Hepton as the sneaky yet reliable Toby Esterhase and Curt Jurgens as the tragic Vladimir. And Beryl Reid as Connie is a welcome return from the previous series. Also look out for Maureen Lipman, Michael Gough, Dudley Sutton, Patrick Stewart and Alan Rickman, to name a few, in small but crucial roles.It is not necessary to have seen the previous series to enjoy this, but it would help. There are also slight references to events and characters in the unfilmed book `The Honourable Schoolboy', but again not knowing about these should not affect the viewing pleasure.The series is presented on two discs. The picture is reasonably clean but there is the occasional defect that suggests no restoration has taken place. The only extra is an interview with Le Carre and the director of Tinker Tailor. In it, it is suggested that after watching Tinker Tailor Le Carre, who was writing Smiley's People at the time, rewrote parts of the book so that Smiley more closely reflected Guinness' portrayal, quite a tribute!6 totally engrossing hours of tightly plotted and superbly acted gripping drama. Highly recommended.

This sequel to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a real treat for anybody who likes John Le Carre, or Alec Guinness, or a good Cold War spy thriller. Or all three. Mind you, it's a mini-series with six episodes and a total run time of just under six hours. Which means it takes its time telling the story and fans of fast paced action thrillers may find it rather slow. Then again, the script is excellent and ,as per usual for Le Carre, the story is well constructed.As to the cast, it's actually quite mind blowing just many familiar faces make an appearance in this. In the lead you have the great Alec Guinness, and he is excellent as ever. Among the supporting cast are such greats of British acting as Eileen Atkins, Maureen Lipman and Beryl Reid, Patrick Stewart as Smiley's adversary "Karla", a young Alan Rickman and quite a number of Bond baddies including Curd Jurgens (the arch villain from The Spy Who Loved Me), Michael Lonsdale (Moonraker) and Vladek Sheybal (that memorable chess player in From Russia With Love). All are on top of their game. All are solid. And it's a joy to watch them in such an intelligent thriller.The DVD is fine. Picture and sound quality are absolutely adequate for a tv production from the early 80s. The 4 : 3 aspect ratio is less than ideal for modern widescreen devices, but it's the original format, so that can't be helped and should not be criticized. Subtitles are available. By way of extra features there is interview footage with John Le Carre and John Irvin.

'Smiley's People' perhaps doesn't quite reach the heights of its predecessor 'Tinker Taylor Solder Spy', it still represents a very engaging and in places ,tense drama. In a way, the whole story is about the hollowness of victory and the tying up of lose ends.So it is no wonder then that some reviewers might feel slightly disappointed with the story and its conclusion.The plot is as you would expect is labyrinthine, almost in the fashion of Raymond Chandler,taking Smiley from Whitehall to sleazy German bars and just about everywhere in between as he does one last job for the 'Circus'. Little does Smiley know how all the disparate strands add up,but add up they do, leading to a major opportunity for the 'Circus' to take some long awaited revenge.Alec Guinness puts in a great performance, as might be expected. From quiet retired gent one minute to sleuth the next,before turning into stern inquisitor with barely a twitch of an eyebrow, Smiley can never be quite be defined. His character is elusive and infinitely changeable, never quite there, but always at the center of events.He is one of fictions great creations.The supporting cast, particularly Beryl Reid and Barry Foster are superb as is the general pacing and feeling of shabby realism that pervades the whole production. The additional features, an interview with John Le Carre and director John Irvin is both entertaining and informative.In places the whole thing may feel a little dated and slow,but 'Smiley's People' still would beat most of what passes for TV drama today, no contest. Recommended.