"A Perfect Spy" (1987) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Peter Smith

Writers:

Arthur Hopcraft (adaptation)
John le Carré (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

4 November 1987 (UK)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

This is the story of Magnus Pym, from his childhood to the end of his career in middle age. As a young man...

Plot Keywords:

TV Mini-Series

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Sarah Badel	...	Baroness Weber (2 episodes, 1987)
Fiona Mollison	...	Felicity (2 episodes, 1987)

Also Known As:

John Le Carré's A Perfect Spy

Runtime:

374 min (7 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

According to 'John Le Carré', the character of Rick Pym is heavily based upon his own father.

A Masterpiece of storytelling and acting

Without doubt the best of the novels of John Le Carre, exquisitely transformed into a classic film. Performances by Peter Egan (Magnus Pym, The Perfect Spy), Rudiger Weigang (Axel, real name Alexander Hampel, Magnus' Czech Intelligence controller), Ray McAnally (Magnus' con-man father) and Alan Howard (Jack Brotherhood, Magnus' mentor, believer and British controller), together with the rest of the characters, are so perfect and natural, the person responsible for casting them should have been given an award. Even the small parts, such as Major Membury, are performed to perfection. It says a lot for the power of the performances, and the strength of the characters in the novel that, despite the duplicity of Magnus, one cannot help but feel closer to Magnus and Axel than to Jack Brotherhood and the slimy Grant Lederer of U.S. Intelligence. I have read the book at least a dozen times, and watched the movie almost as many times, and continue to be mesmerized by both. If I had one book to take on a desert island, A Perfect Spy would be the choice above all others.