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Comment by adamsea | Hacker News Reader

Highly recommend the BBC 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' miniseries with Alec Guinness.

I always liked Alec Guinness (Obi-wan!) but seeing this made me understand just what an incredible actor he was. BBC just knocks it out of the park here, and, it's way better than the Gary Oldman film (no disrespect). IMHO one of the best television shows ever made. Would totally put it up against The Wire, although it's an apples-to-oranges comparison for a variety of reasons.

FYI said miniseries can often be found floating around on Youtbe.

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The film is stellar too really, has a visual authenticity to it, and great actors as well Oldman, Benedict Cumberbach, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy.

Oldman in fact does turn out a subtle and nuanced portayal of Smiley, that is not any less superlative.

Unless I’ve forgotten something about the BBC program, it’s really just The Alec Guinness Show, in contrast to the film, wherein every supporting role was played brilliantly. I’m a bit of a fanboy, but honestly, the whole film is worthwhile just to hear John Hurt’s Control tell Esterhase “I should have left you where I found you.”

Ian Richardson, Bernard Hepton, Michael Jayston, Ian Bannen, Joss Ackland, Beryl Reid, Anthony Bate, Sian Phillips and even Patrick Stewart.

Definitely not just the Alec Guinness Show.

An impressive list of actors, but the person comparing the two productions will compare the direction and the performances. It's a little unfair, given the standards of early eighties television, but still.

To the original point that you seem to disagree with - I think the person making that comparison will agree that the show is built around Guinness in a way the film is not built around Oldman. I don't think that's wrong, and which is "better" must be a point of personal preference. One could not make a show with Alec Guinness any other way, and the result is certainly worthwhile.

It really is a great show and of course I'd encourage anyone to watch both. A person reading your comment might end up being a little disappointed, though. The most eminent name on that list, and the one people outside the UK are likely to recognize, does not even have a speaking part.

Sure? Don’t quite understand your point. The actors in the supporting roles are also a pleasure to watch.

Nor would it be nearly as good if it had Alex Guinness, but the supporting cast wasn’t up to snuff.

Lol I very strongly feel that the miniseries kicks the movies ass :).

Consider that Gary Oldman re-uses the glasses prop for George Smiley which Guinness originated. That’s how long a shadow Guinness cast in the role - it’s the definitive performance, and thus the definitive filmic version :).

> Don’t quite understand your point. The actors in the supporting roles are also a pleasure to watch.

They’re not nearly as good as the actors in the film, and they’re used to a much lesser extent. (Seems a little mean but you did force me to spell it out.)

The positive comments make me feel I do need to give the series another watch someday soon to understand where the fans are coming from. I think I had a much more positive view of Smiley’s People than some, which I’m curious about too...

> Lol I very strongly feel that the miniseries kicks the movies ass :).

I can clear a room by going on about how Soderbergh’s Solaris is superior to Tarkovsky’s, so I guess I’m not a stranger to your plight.

> Consider that Gary Oldman re-uses the glasses prop for George Smiley which Guinness originated.

He used Guinness’s voice. It’s astonishing, really.

> it’s the definitive performance, and thus the definitive filmic version :)

You’ve got me wishing it was filmic - unless I’m mistaken it’s 576i :(

There’s a series with Helen Mirren called Prime Suspect that was shown intermittently in England over twenty five years. One thing I took away from it was that the evolving aspect ratios of broadcast TV (the show used three different ones over time, inviting some comparison) really have expanded what’s possible on the screen.

I've been trying to stop myself from commenting further but you've forced me to!

> They’re not nearly as good as the actors in the film, and they’re used to a much lesser extent. (Seems a little mean but you did force me to spell it out.)

Factually incorrect on both counts and very unfair to an outstanding cast.

> The positive comments make me feel I do need to give the series another watch someday soon to understand where the fans are coming from. I think I had a much more positive view of Smiley’s People than some, which I’m curious about too...

Maybe a good idea to have a recent watch before criticising. Actually Smiley's people suffers from many of the flaws you've highlighted with a much weaker cast beyond Guinness.

> You’ve got me wishing it was filmic - unless I’m mistaken it’s 576i :(

Yes it was made for TV and made in 1979. As a result it is also utterly authentic.

I have many, many criticisms of the film which I'm not going to express because it may just be my taste and I'm glad that lots of people enjoyed it. I just don't want anyone to be put off seeking out the TV series because of an assessment that is so far out of the consensus.

Edit: for an independent view the LA Times gives a good assessment of both.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-nov-27-la-...

>> You’ve got me wishing it was filmic - unless I’m mistaken it’s 576i :(

> Yes it was made for TV and made in 1979. As a result it is also utterly authentic.

“Authentic.” Okay.

The remarkable photography of the film is part of its value.

> I just don't want anyone to be put off seeking out the TV series because of an assessment that is so far out of the consensus.

It’s free on YouTube. The most people have to lose is their time, and it's Alec Guinness, so of course people should watch it and form their own opinions.

> I've been trying to stop myself from commenting further but you've forced me to!

It's an interesting topic that doesn't involve the ongoing decline of civilization, or Rust, so I don't think you should be shy about it.

Btw here's a lovely New Yorker article about the miniseries.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/we-are-all-sm...

Love your comment man! Appreciate it. And I agree with you about Smiley's People.

Ha, Soderbergh's Tarkovsky I have never seen - sounds like I should.

You're probably right about filmic - I was just looking for the word that encompasses film/tv/video.

FWIW I saw the film before the miniseries, and, really liked it at the time. It's been a minute. Sounds like maybe I should

The thing is the film is nuanced and well crafted, and also has engaging performances from an ensemble cast. It did do a superlative work in adaptating Lecarre's vision, so I don't think it compares unfavorably with the TV series.

The Night Manager dramatisation from a few years ago is also great.

I really enjoyed it. But it left me a bit empty. My take away from it, was that the real 'bad people' (MI6) are so embedded and protected that their work is not going to stop just because the more public/exposed figures (Laurie's character) are removed. Olivia Colman's character essentially accomplished nothing and was after the wrong people the entire time.

That really was - it came and went like a ship in the night so I often forget about it but it was very well done. Have been intending to rewatch at some point.

If you liked it, I strongly recommend checking out the little drummer girl, a similar BBC miniseries based on Le Carre

Hugh Laurie as the super villain? Hell yes. It was fantastic, and JLC has a cameo in it as well.

Agreed, the series was a masterpiece, though I am not sure I recommend watching the sequel series (I forget the name). I think I preferred the suspense of the first series as the ending.

Also, watch the series not the film (if you must, watch the film second). The series is far better.

The film is pretty damn good considering it has to make do with about 2 hours, and has to keep the audience interested. It's also absolutely beautiful - fantastic cinematography and direction.

The film is absolutely gorgeous. As one example among many, I'm blown away every time that plane gently drops down behind Esterhase and Smiley on the runway.

I think it's OK, but I think it spoils the far better series.

It is called "Smileys People" and has Patrick Stewart playing soviet super spy Karla.

It's not as good as TTSS, bit still worth watching in my opinion.

For anyone in Australia, BBC's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the follow-up Smiley's People are both available on Amazon Prime Video here - I don't know about elsewhere.

I'm gradually watching through TTSS now. So good, although the first episode suffers from the common problem of no subtitles for the Czech scenes in Ep 1.

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