Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
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Short description
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is set in the early 1970s, during the Cold War, and centres on George Smiley, a veteran of British intelligence who has been pushed out of the Service. Word reaches him that a Soviet mole has been planted high inside the organisation, and he is quietly brought back to find the traitor. Working without official access and unable to explain his return to anyone, he sifts through the careers and rivalries of his former colleagues, narrowing his attention to a small group of senior men while a KGB officer known as Karla waits at the other end of the trail.
Tomas Alfredson directed the film, his second feature after Let the Right One In and the second of the films he has directed in chronological order. Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor wrote the screenplay, and Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Robyn Slovo produced. Gary Oldman plays Smiley, with Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones and Mark Strong among the principals, part of a credited cast of 47 and a crew of 87.
Made for about 30 million USD, the film took roughly 82 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from around 226,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.6 out of 10 from about 3,000 votes. A critics' rating of 7.8 out of 10 from 229 reviews places it noticeably above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- John le Carré’s novel “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” was previously adapted in 1979 as a television miniseries. George Smiley was played by Alec Guinness.
- The film is based on John le Carré's novel "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (1974).
- The original title of the film is "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." These are the words of a children's counting rhyme, and the professions from it are used as code names for the main characters in the film.
- Part of the action in John le Carré’s novel takes place in the then-Czechoslovakia. In the film, these events are moved to Hungary, and filming also took place there in Budapest. This was due to the fact that the Hungarian cultural authorities offered more favorable conditions, namely a 20% reimbursement of all expenses.
- Jared Harris was considered for one of the key roles in the film, but later dropped out of the project due to his commitment to filming the sequel to "Sherlock Holmes." Toby Jones was invited to replace him.
- To choose George Smiley's glasses, Oldman visited Old Focals in Pasadena, where he tried on hundreds of frames before finding the right ones.
- Tom Hardy was cast as Ricky Tarr quite by chance. The film's producer, Tim Bevan, stated that the actor reminded him of a young Robert Redford.
- John le Carré, the author of the spy novel on which the film is based, appears in a cameo as one of the guests at a party.
- In the early stages of preparation for filming, negotiations with the film company were led by David Thewlis.
- Michael Fassbender was originally slated to star in the film, but was ultimately replaced by Tom Hardy.
- The initial version of the script was written by renowned British screenwriter and playwright Peter Morgan. He later withdrew from the project due to his mother's illness, and Peter Strogan and his wife, Bridget O'Connor, were brought in to refine the script.
- To prepare for the role of George Smiley, Gary Oldman ate a lot of molasses and custard to grow a "small belly, like older people", observed Alec Guinness's performance in the 1979 television series, and also communicated with the "creator" of Smiley – John le Carré.
- The film is dedicated to the memory of British writer, screenwriter, and playwright Bridget O'Connor, who worked on its screenplay. She passed away from cancer on September 22, 2010, at the age of 49, less than three weeks before filming began.
- John Hurt was one of the first candidates for the role of Smiley. He was later given the role of Control.
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