Friday 29 July 2011

Coming soon

I'm very very conflicted about the imminent arrival of a film of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy:


That's a great poster, but the next one perhaps better shows the sheer wattage of British acting talent on whose shoulders this adaptation rests:


The trailer actually looks promising in some respects:


But the bottom line is this: will it be good enough to stand up against the utterly brilliant 1979 BBC tv adaptation? That had more than five hours of screen time in which to capture the complexities of Le Carré's original novel, against what will inevitably be the racier pacing of a cinema movie.


Then again, the film has Tom Hardy as Ricki Tarr rather than the slightly too creepy Hywel Bennett, although I'm not sure about Benedict Cumberbatch (much as I love him and his tiny willy) playing the hard man Peter Guillam against the late Michael Jayston's impressive turn.

Alec Guinness was, we all thought, the definitive Smiley, but let's see what Gary Oldman (an actor I don't normally associate with extraordinarily introspective and reflective characters) can do.

Also opening soon is The Moth Diaries. This stars Scott Speedman:


Actually that's all you need to know: Scott Speedman is, of course, the definitive lust object of Adventures in Beige (has been since all those years ago when he first appeared as a hairy-chested fresher in Felicity), so of course this film will be superb.

That is all.

6 comments:

PKUK said...

I fear this will not be good. To be forth best after the book,TV & radio will not be something those who were involved in this project will be proud of. That said, they will be!

Norwich Resident said...

I feel exactly the same as you. With a fantastic BBC TV and reccently a fantastic BBC Radio 4 adaption of all the Smiley Books so I am not sure why we need the film. However the film looks like it has an ammazing cast. However if the film makes people seek out these BBC versions or read the book will it be worth while?

Conrad said...

The late Michael Jayston? He's still alive.

LeDuc said...

He is? That will teach me to do it from memory rather than check, check, checking.

My apologies to the still on time Michael Jayston: I'm glad he's still with us.

Kvic said...

How do you know the delightful Benedict has a tiny willy? By the way, I am afraid I feel just the way you do about him playing hard man Peter Guillam.
Anyway congratulations on a wonderful (alas soon to be defunct), ever so stylish and literate blog.

LeDuc said...

Kvic: Benedict has just spent several months appearing in a production of Frankenstein at the National Theatre. In that role, he spends the first 30 minutes of every performance rolling around naked on stage. Trust me: he has a tiny (and beautiful) willy.