All customer reviews

A fantastic movie adaptation of Le Carre's novel. Great cast and a thoroughly enjoyable thriller experience. Be warned though, the pace of the movie is slower than the usual action fests, so if you have a short attention span then this is not for you.

I don't feel there is much need to delve into the film itself here aside from saying this is possibly the most intelligent and gripping spy thriller to be made in many years but it's not faultless and fans of the old series will find many holes but then that was made over many episodes where the film has just two hours. The film remains brilliant throughout and is one that keeps you guessing throughout. The steelbook bluray is of very high quality in both terms of packaging and the quality of the disc, picture quality is excellent and when required the sound keeps the tension nicely but this is a film that won't be giving your speakers a workout as it uses sound for atmospherics rather than blowing your socks off. The packaging is really nice and contains artwork on the inside of the casing along with that on the outside and the set contains both bluray and dvd versions of the film but sadly there is no digital copy in sight which is the only negative in what is an essential purchase. Highly recommended.

For anyone not familiar with Le Carre's story this is a very good adaptation. Enjoyable for the performances and the production design is top notch. If you've seen the BBC TV version with Alec Guinness from 1979 however you will find little here to further the experience. The film is quite condensed and perhaps the style of the story telling as it is in the book and TV version suffers for this. However, if you haven't seen it this is well worth giving your time to. Le Carre has in the past converted one of his books into a film as the equivalent to turning a cow into an oxo cube and you can see where he's coming from with that statement. The package was very good with great A/V on both the BD and the DVD and a nice selection of extras. Bottom line is, if you liked this in the cinema then buy this set. If you think you might like it, bearing in mind it isn't Jason Bourne, it's slow-burn story telling of the high order, then buy this set. If you do and you enjoy it, try the TV version after, not before, and it's sequel, Smiley's People. Either way it's a welcome return to proper spy stories told the way they should be.

Very good. If you have seen the Alec Guinness TV series this has a similar atmosphere albeit condensed into just under two hours. If you are looking for a film full of action, this is not the one. It is measured, wordy - but if you like this type of film, compelling.