Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Alec Guinness gives one of the finest performances of his brilliant career as George Smiley, the British intelligence agent who is roused out of retirement to track down and identify a Russian mole operating within the higher echelons of the British secret service (a.k.a. "the Circus"), in this wonderful 1979 miniseries adaptation of John Le Carré's classic spy novel--with all of its Cold War complexities and droll humor intact. Unlike the jazzy James Bond school of spy capers, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy faithfully recreates the quotidian reality of espionage work and finds gold in Smiley's careful and precise method of digging out the extraordinary (the hitherto undetected presence of a foreign agent) from the ordinary (the day-to-day drudgery of being a spy for Her Majesty). Guinness brings remarkable body language to his recreation of the character of Smiley, infusing him with a distinctive soul that might have viewers skipping back now and then to savor a particularly sublime scene (not to mention making sure that a casual line of conversation is not a loaded clue). Presented in a visually impressive digitally remastered triple-disc box set, special features include an interview with Le Carré. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (P. Hall)