In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 35 wins & 100 nominations total
- Belinda
- (as Amanda Fairbank Hynes)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector Tomas Alfredson based the environment on his first impressions of London when he first visited the city in the 1970s: a brown and grey palette, shadows and uncovered lightbulbs, and dirty streets. "If you see London now and at that time, it's two different cities. Today it's a white city; then it was black; it was so dirty, and you could still feel the War all around."
- GoofsIn one of the flashbacks to the Christmas party, presumably before Control resigns in 1973, a "Lenin Santa" has everyone sing along to a recording of the Soviet National Anthem. The version that is played is the 1977 version - the original 1944 words fell out of favor after Stalin's death in 1953 and the anthem was played without words until the new version in 1977.
- Quotes
George Smiley: I want to talk about loyalty, Toby. Control recruited you, didn't he? He found you starving in a museum in Vienna, a wanted man. He saved your life, I heard. And yet, when the time came... when it came to picking sides between him and Alleline, you didn't hesitate. It's understandable, perhaps, with your war experience. You survived this long, I suppose, because of your ability to change sides, to serve any master.
Easterhase: What's... what's this about, George?
George Smiley: It's about which master you've been serving, Toby.
- Crazy creditsThe closing credits slowly shift from the right side of the screen to the left and then back to the right, no doubt to symbolize the heart of the story: a double agent who 'changes sides'.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Breakfast: Episode dated 1 September 2011 (2011)
- SoundtracksLand du Välsignade
Written by Ragnar Althén (as Ragnar Althen), Elisabet Björklund
Performed by Jussi Björling (as Jussi Bjorling)
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Inc
I've not read the tome of a book or seen the BBC mini-series, so I can't comment how well it compresses down to this two-hour film, but for me it did at times seem to be cramming a lot into a small time and occasionally it felt like it was unnecessarily convoluted or confusing. If you stay with it as best you can, it is intriguing and rather dramatic considering that much of the film is people talking to one another as opposed to chases and gun fights. The success of this is mostly down to the atmosphere and tone created by director Alfredson, because there is a constant tension to the film – cold perhaps, but very tense at times, certainly not bored even if it can look that way from a distance.
This is not what he does best though, because to there was an aspect to the film that was excellent and this was the feeling of outdatedness, of an unnecessary function and a pointless "war". This feeling is in the characters, in the set-decoration and in every shot. The men we follow had the height of their import many years ago – now it appears they are mainly fighting their equal numbers on the other side simply because they exist. I really liked this overarching sense of smallness that sat across the film and I enjoyed finding it being employed in even the smallest detail – in the attitude of a minor character through to the cheap "do not unplug" text scrawled on the wall (those that work in older offices will know this feeling). Alfredson is bang on the money with this feeling, it is part of the story and it is brilliantly delivered throughout.
Speaking of brilliant delivery, the cast is deep in British talent and unsurprisingly they deliver. Oldman may not have won the Oscar but he is great here – working with restraint and doing so much. He does so much with minor reactions and movements and he is a great character. He is the lead here but alongside him is a cast that is hard not to just list – Cumberbach, Hurt, Jones, Firth, Burke, Graham, Hardy and so on; British all perhaps but it says a lot that almost all of the supporting players here will be recognised internationally. Everyone gives strong performances and everyone seems to understand what Alfredson is doing.
Overall, this is a great film albeit one that is not as easy to follow as those impatient snobs would have you believe. It is OK to struggle with some aspects and it is still easy to enjoy the film. The plot engaged me but what stayed with me more than anything else was how it all seemed so unimportant, how those involved were all working to ignore the irrelevance of their work and how very tired this world seemed – this aspect was very well done and made the film as much as Oldman's strong central performance.
- bob the moo
- Apr 7, 2012
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Trò Chơi Nội Gián
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $24,149,393
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $310,562
- Dec 11, 2011
- Gross worldwide
- $81,515,369
- Runtime2 hours 7 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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