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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

  • 20112011
  • RR
  • 2h 7m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
200K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,960
316
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.
Play trailer2:07
13 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
200K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,960
316
  • Director
    • Tomas Alfredson
  • Writers
    • John le Carré(novel)
    • Bridget O'Connor(screenplay by)
    • Peter Straughan(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Gary Oldman
    • Colin Firth
    • Tom Hardy
Top credits
  • Director
    • Tomas Alfredson
  • Writers
    • John le Carré(novel)
    • Bridget O'Connor(screenplay by)
    • Peter Straughan(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Gary Oldman
    • Colin Firth
    • Tom Hardy
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 674User reviews
    • 488Critic reviews
    • 85Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 35 wins & 100 nominations total

    Videos13

    Domestic Trailer
    Trailer 2:07
    Domestic Trailer
    UK Trailer
    Trailer 0:20
    UK Trailer
    Trailer #1
    Trailer 1:52
    Trailer #1
    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
    Trailer 1:18
    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
    "The Scalp Hunters"
    Clip 1:13
    "The Scalp Hunters"
    "Smiley Is Suspicious"
    Clip 0:53
    "Smiley Is Suspicious"
    "I'm Putting My Life in Your Hands"
    Clip 0:52
    "I'm Putting My Life in Your Hands"
    "Code Name"
    Clip 0:58
    "Code Name"
    "Belinda the Blonde"
    Clip 0:34
    "Belinda the Blonde"
    "Good Flight?"
    Clip 0:49
    "Good Flight?"
    Inside the World of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
    Featurette 3:52
    Inside the World of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
    UK Premiere
    Featurette 4:15
    UK Premiere

    Photos214

    Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    Péter Kálloy Molnár and Mark Strong in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    Colin Firth, Ciarán Hinds, and David Dencik in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    Benedict Cumberbatch in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    Colin Firth in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    Ciarán Hinds and Toby Jones in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    Colin Firth in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    John Hurt in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    Colin Firth in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    Tomas Alfredson in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
    Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gary Oldman
    Gary Oldman
    • George Smileyas George Smiley
    Colin Firth
    Colin Firth
    • Bill Haydonas Bill Haydon
    Tom Hardy
    Tom Hardy
    • Ricki Tarras Ricki Tarr
    Mark Strong
    Mark Strong
    • Jim Prideauxas Jim Prideaux
    John Hurt
    John Hurt
    • Controlas Control
    Zoltán Mucsi
    • Magyaras Magyar
    Péter Kálloy Molnár
    Péter Kálloy Molnár
    • Hungarian Waiteras Hungarian Waiter
    Ilona Kassai
    • Woman in Windowas Woman in Window
    Imre Csuja
    Imre Csuja
    • KGB Agentas KGB Agent
    Toby Jones
    Toby Jones
    • Percy Allelineas Percy Alleline
    David Dencik
    David Dencik
    • Toby Esterhaseas Toby Esterhase
    Ciarán Hinds
    Ciarán Hinds
    • Roy Blandas Roy Bland
    Kathy Burke
    Kathy Burke
    • Connie Sachsas Connie Sachs
    Benedict Cumberbatch
    Benedict Cumberbatch
    • Peter Guillamas Peter Guillam
    Stephen Graham
    Stephen Graham
    • Jerry Westerbyas Jerry Westerby
    Arthur Nightingale
    • Bryantas Bryant
    Simon McBurney
    Simon McBurney
    • Oliver Laconas Oliver Lacon
    Amanda Fairbank-Hynes
    Amanda Fairbank-Hynes
    • Belindaas Belinda
    • (as Amanda Fairbank Hynes)
    • Director
      • Tomas Alfredson
    • Writers
      • John le Carré(novel)
      • Bridget O'Connor(screenplay by)
      • Peter Straughan(screenplay by)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    Gary Oldman Through the Years

    Gary Oldman Through the Years

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      John le Carré's novel was based on the uncovering, during the 1950s and 1960s, of the Cambridge Five traitors, who were K.G.B. moles working within the S.I.S. It is the first book in le Carré's Karla, or Quest for Karla trilogy, the second and third parts being The Honourable Schoolboy (1977) and Smiley's People (1979).
    • Goofs
      In one of the flashbacks to the Christmas party, presumably before Control resigns in 1973, a "Lenin Santa" has everyone sing along to a recording of the Soviet National Anthem. The version that is played is the 1977 version - the original 1944 words fell out of favor after Stalin's death in 1953 and the anthem was played without words until the new version in 1977.
    • Quotes

      George Smiley: I want to talk about loyalty, Toby. Control recruited you, didn't he? He found you starving in a museum in Vienna, a wanted man. He saved your life, I heard. And yet, when the time came... when it came to picking sides between him and Alleline, you didn't hesitate. It's understandable, perhaps, with your war experience. You survived this long, I suppose, because of your ability to change sides, to serve any master.

      Easterhase: What's... what's this about, George?

      George Smiley: It's about which master you've been serving, Toby.

    • Crazy credits
      The closing credits slowly shift from the right side of the screen to the left and then back to the right, no doubt to symbolize the heart of the story: a double agent who 'changes sides'.
    • Connections
      Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 1 September 2011 (2011)
    • Soundtracks
      Land du Välsignade
      Written by Ragnar Althén (as Ragnar Althen), Elisabet Björklund

      Performed by Jussi Björling (as Jussi Bjorling)

      Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Inc

    User reviews674

    Review
    Top review
    The classic Cold War spy thriller turned into a ravishing looking thinking man's thriller
    I have not read the book nor seen the 1979 landmark series that garnered so much acclaim for the BBC and Sir Alec Guinness, but such contextualisation is not needed to recognise that this version of 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' is a masterful re-telling of John le Carré's seminal work about British espionage during the Cold War. An early scene really encapsulates the whole tone and mood of the film. A retired George Smiley (played majestically by Gary Oldman) is sitting at home and enjoying a documentary about Winston Churchill (which seems suitably apt for a man of his former position) when his doorbell suddenly and unexpectedly rings. His head turns slowly to the left in the direction of the impudent sound and the instantaneous look of sheer effrontery and disdain on Oldman's face will leave you chuckling as his peaceful reverie is rudely disturbed. Such scenes like this leaven the film with humour but ultimately this is a chamber piece; expertly played by the cream of British acting talent headed by Goldman and Hurt (who incidentally could also have been a great George Smiley) and told with a languid verve that unravels the complex plotting in a series of tableaux vivants laden with mystery and suspense, but which also acts as important plot points and clues.

    The film is about the hunt for a Soviet 'mole' in the highest echelons of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6 but fictitiously known as 'The Circus') by George Smiley, an intelligence officer who has been brought out of forced retirement by Oliver Lacon, the Civil Service overseer of the Circus. Through a love affair with the wife of a Russian intelligence officer, a British agent, Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) discovers that there may be a high ranking Soviet mole within the Circus. Aided by Peter Guillam (Bendedict Cumberbatch) who is Tarr's handler, Smiley sets about uncovering the mole without the knowledge of Circus leadership, anyone of whom might be the mole, headed by Percy Alleline (Toby Jones) and his deputies Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds) and Toby Esterhase (David Dencik) – the 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' of the book (codenames assigned by Control, Head of British Secret Service).

    The director, Tomas Alfredson, established his reputation with 'Let the Right One In', an icy Swedish romantic horror that dealt with relationships and this too, is a film about human nature, moral dilemmas and relationships – friendship, loyalty and betrayal on intimate and grand scales with personal and national implications. Like 'Let the Right One In' Alfredson imbues 'Tinker, Tailor', Soldier, Spy' (his first English language feature) with somnambulistic pacing and mood that requires the audience to be patient, but this is richly rewarded with scenes, shot after shot, that ravish the eye and heavy with period atmosphere and drama. James Bond this is not and George Smiley has more in common with Harry Palmer than Ian Fleming's vigorous secret agent. Indeed, Robert De Niro's admirable treatment of the early history of the Criminal Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 'The Good Shepherd' (2006) has a similar cipher in Edward Wilson – a 'grey man' whose very ordinariness renders him invisible to counter espionage and thus makes him the perfect intelligence operative. A raised voice towards the end of 'Tinker, Tailor' is as excited as Smiley gets but for those not familiar with the story the ending will leave you with a broad smile of satisfaction as the 'grey man' (note Smiley's grey hair, grey countenance and grey suit replete with over-sized glasses and shambling gait) of the secret intelligence service wins the day.

    The screenwriters, Peter Straughan and the late Bridget O'Connor, have done an exceptional job in condensing down what is clearly a labyrinthine Cold War thriller into a classic two hour potboiler without losing any of its exposition, characters, and plotting. John le Carré and his fans will be proud. This is a thinking man's film about a period of recent history that is as murky as it is exciting and relevant today with its eternal themes of friendship, loyalty and national security. There must be many more stories of espionage to mine from both sides of the Iron Curtain and I do hope this film kick starts a renewed interest in telling the stories of the Cold War warriors who shaped the modern world. If the film does 'King's Speech' levels of business I think it just might and Hollywood would be the richer for it.
    helpful•126
    62
    • alan-chan-158-451491
    • Sep 17, 2011

    FAQ3

    • Do I need to read the book first to understand the plot of the movie?
    • What is the music in the trailers?
    • What is the song when Peter Guillam attempts to steal the files?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 6, 2012 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • France
      • Germany
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Focus Features
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Russian
      • Hungarian
      • French
      • Turkish
    • Also known as
      • El topo
    • Filming locations
      • Istanbul, Turkey
    • Production companies
      • StudioCanal
      • Karla Films
      • Paradis Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • £20,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $24,149,393
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $310,562
      • Dec 11, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $81,515,369
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 7 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Datasat
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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