Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Although never read any of his books but still instantly became a fan of John le Carré when I first saw the BBC adaptation of 7-part TV miniseries (1979) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and then the 6-part TV adaptation (1982) of Smiley’s People ...(starring Sir Alec Guinness as George Smiley and Sir Patrick Stewart as Karla) few years back. But I've to admit that actually the news of Tomas Alfredson making a feature film based on le Carré classic made me interested about Tinker Tailor & that's why I checked those BBC TV series back then before the film came out in 2011 (not much fan of the movie though, thought it was too rush and avoided many plot elements).

Where Ian Flemming focused more on action-extravaganza & introduced to a glamorous & adventurous espionage world to us through James Bond tales; le Carré, on the other hand went completely in opposite direction, as himself a former spy who served in both MI5 & MI6 during late 50s to mid 60s, always had this gritty & bleak look and realistic approach in his stories through anti-heroic protagonists who struggled with the ethical issues & immoral tactics involved in their espionage duties and that's always fascinates me about the stories of David Cornwell .a.k.a John le Carré (pen name).

After TTSP & Smiley's People, I was planning to check out his other film adaptation and finally lately began to track down them one by one.


Among the above 6 films, loved The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and The Constant Gardener (2005) mostly. Richard Burton starring The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was a pretty captivating & excellent slow burn spy thriller where a British agent sent to East Germany in order to sow disinformation about a powerful East German intelligence officer. Richard Burton played the central role of that British agent, Alec Leamas with a great dialog at the end when he was asked about the immoral aspect of his mission:
"What the hell do you think spies are? Moral philosophers measuring everything they do against the word of God or Karl Marx? They're not! They're just a bunch of seedy, squalid bastards like me: little men, drunkards, queers, hen-pecked husbands, civil servants playing cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten little lives. Do you think they sit like monks in a cell, balancing right against wrong?"

The Constant Gardener was actually a damn good political thriller with a very moving & haunting tale with great performance from Ralph Fiennesand Rachel Weisz. I think I saw it once on TV before but not paid enough attention on that loose first viewing.

The Looking Glass War (1969) was a decent watch starring a young Anthony Hopkins about 'The Department' of British Secret Service sending a Polish defector to East Germany to verify missile sites. As a film nothing much spectacular but heard that the original book was more engaging & a great read.

Directed by Sidney Lument & starring James Mason; The Deadly Affair (1966) was based on le Carré's first novel Call for the Dead (1961). It was more like a detective drama+thriller than an espionage tale.

The Russia House (1990) was more of a fine romantic thriller with the backdrop of the final days of Cold War era. Bit aged but Michelle Pfeiffer stole the show for me as she looked so stunning throughout the movie.

A Most Wanted Man (2014) was a decent modern espionage tale but found that ending surprisingly kinda frustrating.

Still few le Carré Adaptations left to check out. Looking forward for to see The Tailor of Panama (2001) & Our Kind of Traitor (2016) in coming days but the sad news is so far couldn't able to find The Little Drummer Girl (1984).