Smiley's People (1982– )

Called out of retirement to settle the affairs of a friend, Smiley finds his old organization, the Circus, so overwhelmed by political considerations that it doesn't want to know what ... See full summary »

Stars:

Alec Guinness, Beryl Reid, Eileen Atkins

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Alec Guinness	...	George Smiley (6 episodes, 1982)
Beryl Reid	...	Connie Sachs (6 episodes, 1982)
Eileen Atkins	...	Madame Ostrakova (4 episodes, 1982)
Bill Paterson	...	Lauder Strickland (4 episodes, 1982)
Vladek Sheybal	...	Otto Leipzig (4 episodes, 1982)
Andy Bradford	...	Ferguson (4 episodes, 1982)
Bernard Hepton	...	Toby Esterhase (3 episodes, 1982)
Michael Byrne	...	Peter Guillam (3 episodes, 1982)
Anthony Bate	...	Oliver Lacon (3 episodes, 1982)
Tusse Silberg	...	Alexandra Ostrakova (3 episodes, 1982)
Germaine Delbat	...	Madame La Pierre (3 episodes, 1982)

Storyline

Called out of retirement to settle the affairs of a friend, Smiley finds his old organization, the Circus, so overwhelmed by political considerations that it doesn't want to know what happened. He begins to follow up the clues of his friends past days, discovering that the clues lead to a high person in the Russian Secret service, and a secret important enough to kill for. Smiley continues to put together the pieces a step ahead or a step behind the Russian killers.

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Plot Keywords:

british intelligence | emigration | spy | british secret intelligence service | insanity | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agent in eigener Sache

Filming Locations:

Bern, Kanton Bern, Switzerland

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

360 min 360 min (6 parts)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Simon Langton was brought in to direct the serial after Alec Guinness demanded a change of directors because the initially assigned director had a reputation for bullying actors.

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Quotes

Lauder Strickland: Oh dammit, George, that whole era is dead.
George Smiley: And so is Vladimir! And I wish to God we'd got half his courage and one tenth his integrity.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits feature a set of wooden planks, on which yellow chalk marks (the secret signal used by the spies) are scrawled.

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Connections

Follows Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)

User Reviews

One of the great spy films of all time.

Definitely the best film version of the books. More artful than Tinker Tailor and much more intense. The characters are more developed, especially Smiley's. The end of the movie had me on the edge of my seat, the suspense was incredible. If you enjoy spy films, this is absolutely essential viewing.

If only they made films this great all the time! (now available on DVD)