Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

I liked it, but if you let your mind wander for a minute you can get turned around pretty quickly.

Or, as Ebert said, you sort of have to have a mind for espionage.

 

Yes, the flashbacks were all to the same Christmas party; that's how Smiley started putting the pieces together, by remembering that he saw Haydon at the party with his (Smiley's) wife, and realizing that Haydon got the info about Prideaux being shot because he was at Smiley's house.

 

Seriously, the only way to come away with a good understanding of the plot is to read the book first. And even then, you might have questions. Le Carre is not lightweight beach reading.

 

This was a monster best-seller back in the 1970's and the first in a trilogy. "The Honourable Schoolboy" and "Smiley's People" are the other two.

LeCarre is not Robert Ludlum so, as lone star says, it's not beach reading. You have to pay attention

 

I will have to get the book. I'd like to read the Constant Gardner, too. I loved that movie but based on the DVD commentating I think the book must be a lot more heady.

I never even figured out that "Control" was a person. I thought it was a building. Learned that from the Wiki page. So was he the guy giving the orders to Jim?

The local language translation for "Circus" was "M16." That, too, confused the hell out of me.

Apparently, I do not have a mind for espionage. I did enjoy it, but I better check out the book first. Seems reading it in advance would spoil the movie.

 

The reference to The Circus was to a physical location of the headquarters, which Le Carre posited was off Cambridge Circus in London's West End. But it's one of those phrases that resonates on multiple levels. I'm going to take my own advice and reread the book, which I first discovered as a callow youth of 25.

 

Are you sure you didn't misread that? Because it's supposed to be MI-6.

And yes, Control is the character played by John Hurt. Oldman was actually originally considered for the part but they liked him better as Smiley.

 

Maybe it was an "I", but I don't think there was a dash. What is MI-6? I don't have a clue who did the subtitles.

 

MI-6 is the UK's equivalent of the CIA.

 

I read the book (years ago). I watched the TV series. And I STILL had to pay extremely close attention to the movie to keep up with the plot. Le Carre's complicated.

 

Reading the book is necessary (and enjoyable) if for nothing else than getting familiar with the jargon, like "Circus."

I caught that Academy Awards interview -- pretty bad slip-up, and Firth looked taken aback.

 

Never read the book, and I didn't have a particular problem following along. But I like a good spy movie, so there ya go.

As for the interview on the red carpet - the movie had been out for two months. The book is more than 35 years old. Can't really claim it's much of a spoiler.