S. A. Kuipers

A brilliant and classic piece of television drama, now out on DVD. John le Carré's novel, about the final confrontation between retired spymaster George Smiley and his Soviet adversary Karla is magnificently adapted for tv. The casting and the acting is superb and especially the late Sir Alec Guinness gives one of his best and most moving performances as the outwardly drab, dull and unflappable George Smiley, who wrestles with his own and other people's demons and yet tries to remain human and decent. Thsi is not just for lovers of nostalgic telly or for the hoity-toity highbrow drama crowd, allthough there are bits of dialogue that seem to come straight out of Samuel Beckett's work. In order to appreciate this you will have to expand your attention span to more than five minutes, and you will have to be reconciled to the fact that there is unfashionbly little shooting going on but if you can live with those two provisos you will be rewarded by some of the best drama in the history of television. Highly recommended.