Please don't spend money on this.

A Disappointing Continuation

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Blistering performances.

It's a good plot, at one point I thought that it would have been better if the enemy played the game as flawlessly as Smiley. But by the end I changed my mind - everything had to happen the way it happened! For me this was better than Tinker, Tailor although the plot accelerates as it goes on so require some patience at the beginning, which is well rewarded as the exciting finale draws closer.Also well acted. Once again though I was distracted somewhat by mispronunciation of foreign names. I was particularly surprised that Bernard Hepton, who had previously played a German in the Colditz series, couldn't pronounce his "own" name, "Esterhase" (est'rr haaze - the last e pronounced the same way as the first one) The BBC really ought to invest in that area - they are still apt to mispronounce place names on the World News for example. Also "Kantonalbank von Bern" is a bit clumsy - but just have to drop the "von" to make it authentic. I particularly liked some of the correct little details such as a "Turkischer Imbiss" in Berlin - it brings back memories of my own experiences there.So I still give it a 10, well-deserved relative to what else is available in the genre. It's so hard to get authentic spy fiction on screen and too easy to get silly spoofs instead.

which is to paraphrase John Le Carre's own description of George Smiley played by Alec Guinness in this. I'm glad the Creator himself called the craft of spying absurd, there's a lot of people who apparently think it an essential art form and necessary for all our safety. And he also said he thought it was Guinness's performance which held people glued to the end, to which I can only agree too. There's a remarkably seamless continuity between this, the sequel TV series to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – seamless in all departments that is and not just in Alec Guinness's performance. And eleven brilliant hours all told. To me it's as good as the first, a splendid and engrossing pair of miniseries from the days when UK BBC often still broadcast for higher common denominators. Alas, since then they've settled firmly into the gutter, producing year after year of cheap unloved tripe and remembered by no one.Complicated tale of "modern" and old systems of espionage clashing, of smoothing over the many consequences of various past causes, of West & East blurring in the middle, of a spy story expertly related, and basically of staunch Briton Smiley hoping to find his old adversary the master-crafty Russian Karla had an ancient Achilles Heel after all. It's all beautiful to behold, all walking and talking with plenty of thinking required for full enjoyment. The only (slight) downer to me was that the sex club scene went on for an unnecessarily long time. Probably for Smiley too!As with Tinker I had to especially concentrate during the first episode but again found it more than worthwhile and completely memorable. Everyone who can appreciate this gem is another of Guinness's People.

The recent release of Smiley's People on Acorn Video DVD contains the sex club scene in Germany deleted in the U.S. broadcast but sadly deletes or cuts too many of the scenes that build suspense in this complex thriller.After Smiley retrieves the negative in Hampstead Heath he is shown purchasing the chemicals to develop the negative and subsequently developing it in his flat. Deleting this progression during this tense period when Smiley is fearing for his life, takes away from seeing Smiley at his best -- still capable of slow methodical work, even under life threatening pressure.In Switzerland, the scenes establishing Gregorev's wife as a witch are truncated. In particular, the scene where she is seen hitting two cars in order to park is reduced to one frame at the end of the scene. This missing scene explains the applause when gregorev finally tells off his wife during the interrogation and Smiley offers him refuge in the West "with or without his wife".The scene where Smiley goes to meet Lady Anne at her uncle's estate deletes Smiley meeting the aged uncle whom he was always fond of. Thus, we are denied the realization that Smiley, in totally ending it with Anne is suffering some loss too.Acorn Video in cutting these and other scenes in their DVD release of Smiley's People has in effect taken away from the brilliance of this complex masterpiece, as the Acorn DVD will probably be established as the definitive work. A pity.

Judging by the other comments on this site, this episode of the 2 Smiley-BBC productions seems to disappoint some of it's fans. In my opinion, this is only slightly less praiseworthy than Tinker, Tailor and that is due to the previous high standard of its predecessor.SP has excellent character parts, particularly Bernard Hepton as Tobe Esterhazy, Beryl Reid, and even the maligned Barry Foster as Saul Enderby. (His outstanding scene with Guinness on the roof after the consideration of Smiley's evidence about Karla is outrageously deleted in the Acorn DVD version. It's one one of my favorite moments.) Everyone in this production is outstanding and equal to their forbears in TTSS - almost all of whom are them! The fact that virtually every key person is back reprising their roles says a lot about the quality of this production. Mario Adorf plays another vivid character, Claus Kretschmar. Dammit, every actor is interesting, alive and vivid in this story.I guess the discrepancy is due to the fact that this is an entirely different sort of thing than TTSS. This also is a detective story but with a different dynamic. Nonetheless the same qualities make this must viewing for every Smiley fan. SP has excellent character parts all of whom add texture to the slow unfolding of this tale. And that is what is good about it - the story unfolds with pieces coming to light after each of Smiley's interviews. (To anyone who has never seen the Smiley stories this might sound like a recipe for boredom, but in fact it is just the opposite. So yeah, you have to pay attention.) Now for the bad news.The Acorn DVD is a travesty.With about forty minutes cut and scenes shortened and juxtaposed, this is NOT the Smiley's People that appeared on PBS and the BBC videotape. While the story can be followed and enjoyed to a point, there are moments when the cutting is abrupt and the story jumps with the viewer wondering why some things are happening and 'did I miss something?'. The answer is yes. For example, Villem's part is cut and his reason for going to Hamburg are not explained. The previously mentioned Enderby-Smiley scene is nowhere to be found.I don't know where or why this particular 'version' of Smiley's People was found or used but it as an extreme disappointment to me and to viewers who are coming new to this film. No wonder it gets such mixed reviews.With the story stretched to 3 DVDs surely someone should have noticed.A great film, a very disappointing DVD.