CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Prismark10 I enjoyed Tinker Tailor and found the mini series riveting as they try to unearth a Soviet mole deep in the inner bowels of the circus.I caught up with the recent repeat showing of Smiley's People and during the first episode I thought we are in for a treat here as we had intrigue and plot development. By the second episode I started to feel bored as it comprised of long conversations, long stares, cars being driven. The third episode felt even more padded as we had more long stares, more cars being driven, more long conversations and the foreign location shooting did not enliven things much. The series just meanderedIts only the final episode that regained my interest but by then I knew this was a sandwich with no filling.So Smiley comes out of retirement to investigate the death of one of his agents, a Soviet General who discovered information about the infamous Karla.The series has two actors famous for portraying James Bond villains in Roger Moore movies. We have brief cameos from Patrick Stewart, Sian Phillips and Beryl Reid.The most interesting aspect is that the character of Toby Esterhase, one of the people in charge of the Circus in Tinker Tailor. Ever so English, uptight and humourless. Here unveiled as being Austro- Hungarian complete with some kind of Italian/German/European accent and unrecognisable as a character from the first serial. Now Esterhase is a dodgy art dealer drawn back in by Smiley and loving it.We see a more nastier side of Smiley here. We guessed a skilled spy who ran a set of agents would be tough, cunning and ruthless and this was heavily hinted in the first series. Here he is called a sexist fascist after he visited Connie and we see an unlikeable, temperamental Smiley as well as someone who by the end is just tired and run out of energy.I can imagine BBC producer Jonathan Powell congratulating himself at another prestige production. The series was a severe disappointment. Its slow and boring, it should had just been a three parter.

whist While still a watchable and intelligent story, Smiley's People is a distinctly different animal from its companion Tinker Tailor. Each time I've watched Smiley's People I've found myself yearning for the kinds of complexities and subtleties movies based on LeCarre''s other stories are usually rich with - alas, the yearning goes unrequited. Whereas I can watch Tinker Tailor yet again and discover an uncaught double entendre or an unnoticed directorial adumbration, I find little new after repeated viewings of Smiley's People. What makes Smiley's People so disappointing? First, the complexity of supporting characters in SP is woeful. Sometimes there are explicit claims that this or that person is a bit checkered, other times there is a hint that a person is running under false colors, but in every case what we are presented with are affable, earnest, innocuous people, and any potentially complicating factors are forgotten.Another disappointment is the generally threadbare plot. I haven't read the book so I have no idea if there is more to it than is captured in the movie, but the story strikes me as pretty under-inflated for its momentous outcome. Perhaps, in addition to an intricate plot, it is the play of dark and light across the landscape that fascinates us. But this kind of interference pattern is largely lacking in Smiley's People. Perhaps most disappointing is that Smiley's People is really not a spy movie at all. Sadly, George Smiley has been reduced to little more than another bbc shire detective. One intriguing characteristic of the spy genre is that of the minions, which each side keeps, and the perverse way these underlings are manipulated by their controllers who are always ready to gambit. In The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, for example, the spy Leamus is passed up the chain of eastern bloc dog's bodys, and each in turn is treated with contempt by his better. In Smiley's People, rather ironically, it is not his people, but Smiley who does most of the trotting around searching for clues.There is one scene, late in the movie, that reminds me of the 'old' circus and its culture. When we meet Saul Enderby and are treated to his brand of pompous asininity - a sure sign of some serious deception - I finally feel a waking interest. But alas it is too little and too late.

sstuart3-1 Spy movies are usually exciting, but everything about this production is solid pleasure. Acting, direction, photography, script -- all add up to hours of thrilling action. There are characterizations that stick in the mind for years. Bernard Hepton as "Toby Esterhase" is as good as it gets anywhere. His scenes with Guinness couldn't be better -- Hepton has subtlety, charm, and is often very funny. He moves like a dancer, speaks with a "Hungarian" accent that makes his scenes fly in the most transcendental sense. Everyone is terrific, but as you may have guessed, Toby is my favorite character. Occasionally a jump cut may cause a little confusion, but not for long. All the elements of the story are orchestrated like a ballet. I can't imagine anyone not loving this movie.

mrclever This cold war spy story is now rather dated, but the terrific performances hold up well. I watched it twice through, however, and the story still didn't add up. Wanting to find out what the "real" story was, I read the book and was quite surprised at what was done with the story. Movies often reduce thoughtful novels to little else than plot, due to time constraints, but this mini-series is six hours long, which should be time enough to get the plot right at least. Nevertheless, unless you have read the book you won't understand much of what happens, or rather is alluded to in elliptical references to the back-story. On the other hand, if you have read the book, you'll be left wondering why the story was changed at all, let alone in the absurd ways it was. The changes to the story would be understandable if they added clarity to a reduced plot, or if they condensed characters for brevity. These changes add nothing: Saul Enderby as sexist jerk with female historian in burn-tape sequence. Ostrakova rescued in fantastic fashion from under the noses of creeps. Tension between Toby Esterhase and Peter Guillam. Drama between Smiley and his estranged wife Ann. Plus many others. These things aren't in the book and merely detract from an excellent original story. at the same time many things are left out that are crucial to the story and though alluded to make no sense. For instance the object dropped in the final scene is a lighter stolen by the hitherto unseen antagonist from Smiley in their first meeting twenty years earlier. This, and all that goes with it, are untouched story that clarifies a great deal of left-in nonsense. The DVD has no extra scenes or information or anything at all that might explain these lapses in judgment.