...I viewed all three DVD's with anticipation to the 'wrap up' on the final episode. In the end I found the explanation wanting. It isn't the fact that the effort made by the legendary Karla was not credible as much as it was 'and?' Many hold that the story line is compelling - it was until the end and there, as usual for LeCarre we have his documented moral equivalency of 'west' vs. 'east'.One senses in LeCarre an affection towards the mindset of the bolsheviks it brings to mind Lenin's admiration for the Jesuits. Respect for their commitment but little for their beliefs - it would seem LeCarre has both respect for both commitment and their contempt for the bourgeois.

I watched 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' and enjoyed it so much that once I'd finished I had to watch its sequel, 'Smiley's People', straight away; having now watched the latter series I must say I found it just as gripping. This time there is no worry about moles in the service; this time Smiley is on the trail of his old Nemesis 'Karla', the Soviet spymaster.As the story begins Smiley is once again retired but is called in when a defector who has been in London for some time contacts MI6 saying he must talk to Smiley on a matter of the utmost importance. Unfortunately he is killed before he can get to the meeting; the service wants everything to be quietly buried but Smiley believes that the death is worth investigating as the defector would only try to contact him if he had something of vital importance. As he follows the clues he finds evidence of blackmail and just as importantly information that can be used to blackmail others... information that leads him closer and closer to Karla.Once again Alec Guinness was brilliant as George Smiley; he really inhabited the role. Other cast members also put in fine performances keeping things tense and believable. As with the previous series there isn't a huge amount of action and because of that what there is seems all the more believable. Unlike 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' the action does move about a bit as the trail leads Smiley to Switzerland, this doesn't make the series any less gritty though as none of the scenes take place in the sort of picture postcard locations often favoured by film producers scouting for over seas film locations. If you enjoyed 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' I'm sure you will enjoy this too... it is just a pity that there aren't more stories featuring Alec Guinness as Smiley.

While still a watchable and intelligent story, Smiley's People is a distinctly different animal from its companion Tinker Tailor. Each time I've watched Smiley's People I've found myself yearning for the kinds of complexities and subtleties movies based on LeCarre''s other stories are usually rich with - alas, the yearning goes unrequited. Whereas I can watch Tinker Tailor yet again and discover an uncaught double entendre or an unnoticed directorial adumbration, I find little new after repeated viewings of Smiley's People. What makes Smiley's People so disappointing? First, the complexity of supporting characters in SP is woeful. Sometimes there are explicit claims that this or that person is a bit checkered, other times there is a hint that a person is running under false colors, but in every case what we are presented with are affable, earnest, innocuous people, and any potentially complicating factors are forgotten.Another disappointment is the generally threadbare plot. I haven't read the book so I have no idea if there is more to it than is captured in the movie, but the story strikes me as pretty under-inflated for its momentous outcome. Perhaps, in addition to an intricate plot, it is the play of dark and light across the landscape that fascinates us. But this kind of interference pattern is largely lacking in Smiley's People. Perhaps most disappointing is that Smiley's People is really not a spy movie at all. Sadly, George Smiley has been reduced to little more than another bbc shire detective. One intriguing characteristic of the spy genre is that of the minions, which each side keeps, and the perverse way these underlings are manipulated by their controllers who are always ready to gambit. In The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, for example, the spy Leamus is passed up the chain of eastern bloc dog's bodys, and each in turn is treated with contempt by his better. In Smiley's People, rather ironically, it is not his people, but Smiley who does most of the trotting around searching for clues.There is one scene, late in the movie, that reminds me of the 'old' circus and its culture. When we meet Saul Enderby and are treated to his brand of pompous asininity - a sure sign of some serious deception - I finally feel a waking interest. But alas it is too little and too late.

This cold war spy story is now rather dated, but the terrific performances hold up well. I watched it twice through, however, and the story still didn't add up. Wanting to find out what the "real" story was, I read the book and was quite surprised at what was done with the story. Movies often reduce thoughtful novels to little else than plot, due to time constraints, but this mini-series is six hours long, which should be time enough to get the plot right at least. Nevertheless, unless you have read the book you won't understand much of what happens, or rather is alluded to in elliptical references to the back-story. On the other hand, if you have read the book, you'll be left wondering why the story was changed at all, let alone in the absurd ways it was. The changes to the story would be understandable if they added clarity to a reduced plot, or if they condensed characters for brevity. These changes add nothing: Saul Enderby as sexist jerk with female historian in burn-tape sequence. Ostrakova rescued in fantastic fashion from under the noses of creeps. Tension between Toby Esterhase and Peter Guillam. Drama between Smiley and his estranged wife Ann. Plus many others. These things aren't in the book and merely detract from an excellent original story. at the same time many things are left out that are crucial to the story and though alluded to make no sense. For instance the object dropped in the final scene is a lighter stolen by the hitherto unseen antagonist from Smiley in their first meeting twenty years earlier. This, and all that goes with it, are untouched story that clarifies a great deal of left-in nonsense. The DVD has no extra scenes or information or anything at all that might explain these lapses in judgment.