Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; TV spot. The film just looks better & better...

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Tinker, Tailor gets its UK release tomorrow (Friday the 16^{th / International release dates at the bottom)})and is still boasting an excellent 100% on rotten Tomatoes (with 20 reviews& an8.1 ‘score’ and yes, I know I’m not the world’s biggest RT fan). Sohere’s a reminder of why you should (whenever the film comes out for you) rushout and see a collection of some of the finest actors on the planet (Will GaryOldman finally receive his long, long, overdue Oscar for this?); being directedby the man who gave us one of the best vampire films of all time, ‘Let TheRight One In’, Tomas Alfredson.

I’m still finding the use of Henry Jackman’s outstanding ‘Magneto’theme music from X-Men: First Class (an outstanding ‘Blockbuster’ film by theway) to be inspired and a part of me is going to be a little disappointed whenI don’t get to hear it in the film, as I’m now associating it almost as muchwith Gary Oldman as with Michael ‘James Bond’ Fassbender’s excellent, warpath, ErikLensherr.

X-Men: First Class review.

“Director’s Statement

When I first met John le Carré, he was very clear about hiswishes regarding the film version of his novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy;“Please don’t shoot the book or remake the TV miniseries. They already exist.I’m not going to interfere, but you can call me any time if there is anythingyou wonder about.”

I think we have obeyed him to the letter.

Of course, you cannot encompass every detail in a book of 349pages at the movies. But you can take themes and strands and moments, and tryto describe what you see.

With Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, I think we’ve made a filmabout loyalty and ideals, values that are extremely relevant – perhaps mostlybecause they are so rare these days?

-- Tomas Alfredson - August 2011”

Synopsis...

“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the long-awaited feature filmversion of John le Carré’s classic bestselling novel. The thriller is directedby Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In). The screenplay adaptation is by thewriting team of Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan.

The time is 1973. The Cold War of the mid-20th Centurycontinues to damage international relations. Britain’s Secret IntelligenceService (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 and code-named the Circus, is striving to keep pacewith other countries’ espionage efforts and to keep the U.K. secure. The headof the Circus, known as Control (John Hurt), personally sends dedicatedoperative Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) into Hungary. But Jim’s mission goesbloodily awry, and Control is forced out of the Circus – as is his top lieutenant,George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a career spy with razor-sharp senses.

Estranged from his absent wife Ann, Smiley is soon called into see undersecretary Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney); he is to be rehired insecret at the government’s behest, as there is a gnawing fear that the Circushas long been compromised by a double agent, or mole, working for the Sovietsand jeopardizing England. Supported by younger agent Peter Guillam (BenedictCumberbatch), Smiley parses Circus activities past and present. In trying totrack and identify the mole, Smiley is haunted by his decades-earlierinteraction with the shadowy Russian spy master Karla.

The mole’s trail remains cold until maverick field agentRicki Tarr (Tom Hardy) unexpectedly contacts his handler, Guillam. Whileundercover in Turkey, Ricki has fallen for a betrayed married woman, Irina(Svetlana Khodchenkova), who claims to possess crucial intelligence.Separately, Smiley learns that Control narrowed down the list of mole suspectsto five men. They are the ambitious Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), whom he hadcode-named Tinker; suavely confident Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), dubbed Tailor;stalwart Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), called Soldier; officious Toby Esterhase(David Dencik), dubbed Poor Man; and – Smiley himself, tagged as Spy.

Even before the startling truth is revealed, the emotionaland physical tolls on the players enmeshed in the deadly international spy gamewill escalate…”

TV spot courtesy of Pearl & Dean...

Ireland	16-Sep-11
UK	16-Sep-11
Australia	27-Oct-11
Portugal	08-Dec-11
Turkey	09-Dec-11
USA	09-Dec-11
Netherlands	15-Dec-11
Spain	23-Dec-11
Sweden	25-Dec-11
Italy	20-Jan-12
Belgium	01-Feb-12
France	01-Feb-12
Germany	02-Feb-12
Denmark	09-Feb-12