New “Tinker, Tailor” Film Releases in November
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (201), "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (2011), John LeCarré
George Smiley (Gary Oldman) and ‘Control’ (John Hurt)
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John LeCarré talks to the Guardian about the new film version of his 1974 novel. The classic television adaptation starred Alec Guinness and attracted 11 million viewers.
Smiley is played by Gary Oldman in the new film, a role Alec Guinness took in the 1979 television adaptation. People will ask, but I wouldn’t for one minute allow myself to compare Guinness with Oldman. Gary has an extraordinary command of himself as an actor. I’m hypnotised by his performance: he steps right outside himself. With Oldman, you share the pain and the danger of life more, the danger of being who he is. It’s a much tougher Smiley, with – here and there, as it is in most of us – a little cruelty.
That’s not in any way to diminish Alec: they’re just different beasts in different products. The original story was adapted for television in seven episodes. The film has to tell the story again with a great deal less sentiment. The ethics and the affections have shifted: it’s sexier, grittier.