This 1982 follow-up to the BBC's brilliant adaptation of John Le Carré's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (VL-5/04) is not as satisfying at its predecessor, but it is nevertheless compelling thanks primarily to the wonderful cast, led by Sir Alec Guinness, reprising his role as the titular retired spy who is called on for one last mission. In Smiley's People, the assassination of an émigré Soviet general/British informant brings Smiley back for a vast chase across Europe, culminating in a showdown with his longtime Soviet foe, the silent but deadly Karla of Moscow Centre (played with seething authority by Patrick Stewart). At times this production feels like a more coherent version of Orson Welles' Confidential Report, with Guinness stopping in far-flung locations to hold brief but intense interviews with a skein of eccentric and often unscrupulous characters. British reliables such as Michael Gough, Beryl Reid, and Alan Rickman turn up for entertaining (if occasionally overcooked) cameos, but the heart and soul here is the peerless Guinness: his solemn, world-weary Smiley is an extraordinary feat of reserved acting. At six hours, the production admittedly feels padded--there is literally a killer feature film stuck inside a bloated miniseries here--yet, in the final analysis, even second-tier Le Carré is superior to first-rate most everyone else, and Guinness' Smiley capped off an extraordinary career with quiet gusto. DVD extras include an exclusive interview with Le Carré, an author biography and bibliography, production notes, and a glossary of characters and spy terms. Recommended. (P. Hall)
Smiley's People
Acorn, 3 discs, 324 min., DVD: $59.99 October 4, 2004
Smiley's People
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