Smiley's People

Before John le Carre went off the tracks and became a boring writer and started yakking like a political activist, he was good. Really good. Then the Berlin Wall got torn down and, like most other Cold War writers, le Carre's writing collapsed, too. But there was a time when he was the best.

Guinness as Smiley
I managed to get my hands on a copy of the Smiley's People mini-series starring Alec Guinness. It's a six-part series that came out in 1982 and it's based on the book by the same name. I planned to watch a couple of episodes last night and ended up watching the whole thing, wrapping up at 3:30am.

I heard a story once that le Carre couldn't see George Smiley as his character anymore, because Alec Guinness nailed it. He was right. Guinness was George Smiley, in look, gesture, and delivery. He was perfect.

You should read the book but, if you have a chance, get hold of the mini-series and watch it. Be warned: George Smiley is not James Bond, and most of the scenes are ultra-long on dialogue. There is no chance that this type of movie or mini-series gets made today, especially for TV. All the more reason to go back and take a look at people at the top of their game, giving you something that you probably will never see again: quality writing, top notch acting, and an intricate plot that doesn't treat you like a moron.

To give you a chance at following the plot, you should read Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (still my favorite spy story of all time), which takes place prior to Smiley's People. The backstory will help. There's also a great mini-series of this starring Alec Guinness.