The murder of a Soviet defector forces his old handler, British spymaster George Smiley, out of retirement. His investigation leads to an old nemesis, the Soviet spymaster known only as "Kar... Read allThe murder of a Soviet defector forces his old handler, British spymaster George Smiley, out of retirement. His investigation leads to an old nemesis, the Soviet spymaster known only as "Karla". This will be their final dance.The murder of a Soviet defector forces his old handler, British spymaster George Smiley, out of retirement. His investigation leads to an old nemesis, the Soviet spymaster known only as "Karla". This will be their final dance.
- Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys
- 4 wins & 9 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAfter Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979), Producer Jonathan Powell was going to film a sequel, an adaptation of John le Carré's sequel novel "The Honourable Schoolboy". However, that novel was set in Hong Kong, and so it was thought to be too expensive to film. Powell skipped to the subsequent novel, "Smiley's People".
- GoofsWhen Smiley is talking to Connie Sachs, she mentions that Karla once had a mistress, upon which Smiley's eyes widen, and with an utterly surprised look, he asks "Who?" She then goes on to tell about how Karla also had a daughter from that relationship.
It's impossible that George Smiley, who spent most of his life gathering every bit of detail about Karla, and even wrote "The Karla papers" (according to Saul Enderby) wouldn't know about such a vital piece of information about his nemesis.
- Quotes
Lauder Strickland: Oh dammit, George, that whole era is dead.
George Smiley: And so is Vladimir! And I wish to God we'd got half his courage and one tenth his integrity.
- Crazy creditsThe opening titles feature a set of wooden planks, on which yellow chalk marks (the secret signal used by the spies) are scrawled.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 35th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1983)
Both 'Tinker Tailor' and 'Smiley's People' have their casting mishaps but nothing that detracts in any important way. I found Eileen Atkins' Ostrakova to be wildly miscast, physically, but masterfully acted, so she gets a pass. Michael Byrne's Guillam is an improvement over his predecessor in 'Tinker Tailor' but his part is so small that it hardly registers. Beryl Reid's scene as Connie Sachs is longer than her scene in 'Tinker Tailor' but still woefully short of the involved and fascinating scene in the book. It is in regards to Sachs and Jerry Westerby that I deeply regret the BBC not making 'The Honourable Schoolboy.' Reid would have been fabulous in that role, though still not nearly fat or tall enough to wear the original Connie's shoes.
Generally the actors are superb. There is an especially moving and unforgettable performance from Tulle Silberg as Alexandra Ostrakova. Her scene with Smiley is deeply touching and it is easy to understand why Smiley does what he does in the end. I won't say any more to avoid a spoiler.
'Smiley's People' is not as riveting as 'Tinker Tailor' I think because I found the first mini- series, focusing on the inner workings of the Circus, to be far more interesting than the foreign "outside" locations in 'Smiley's People.' But that's just me. I still love this film and watch it often.
Don't miss the Smiley series! The BBC will never make anything like it again, on the evidence of the mediocre bilge they've been catting up in recent years.
- pekinman
- Jun 8, 2005
- How many seasons does Smiley's People have?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- John le Carré's Smiley's People
- Filming locations
- Lady Bay Bridge, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK(West Berlin checkpoint)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro