An engaging TV mini-series but poor quality in terms of production values, sound, cinematography and location. Surprisingly poor when one thinks it was a BBC production.
The acting is good considering the script is dated and the characters generally are quite wooden/one dimensional. The plot is laboured and it's hard to care deeply about the characters.
All that said, if you like spy stories (I do) it is worth watching. When it was made, the communist threat/cold war was still relevant. Today it's not the case, many other issues have taken priority and as a result it hasn't aged well.
Guinness was made for the role of Smiley though it is not by any means his best work. You get the feeling Guinness is so good in this role because he is close to playing himself. Still he does a pretty good job of carrying the whole series given its sub-standard script and production values.
Overall I gave it six out of ten because it does engage the viewer despite the slow pace and below par production quality. I did find it a bit predictable half way through but still enjoyed it as the plot unfolded.
I started watching the film starring John Hurt and Gary Oldman, but gave up after 30 minutes. I will give it another shot and compare it with the TV series.
The acting is good considering the script is dated and the characters generally are quite wooden/one dimensional. The plot is laboured and it's hard to care deeply about the characters.
All that said, if you like spy stories (I do) it is worth watching. When it was made, the communist threat/cold war was still relevant. Today it's not the case, many other issues have taken priority and as a result it hasn't aged well.
Guinness was made for the role of Smiley though it is not by any means his best work. You get the feeling Guinness is so good in this role because he is close to playing himself. Still he does a pretty good job of carrying the whole series given its sub-standard script and production values.
Overall I gave it six out of ten because it does engage the viewer despite the slow pace and below par production quality. I did find it a bit predictable half way through but still enjoyed it as the plot unfolded.
I started watching the film starring John Hurt and Gary Oldman, but gave up after 30 minutes. I will give it another shot and compare it with the TV series.