In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.
- Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
- 4 wins & 8 nominations total
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Did you know
- TriviaJohn le Carré was so impressed by Alec Guinness's performance as George Smiley that, in later novels, he wrote Smiley's characterization to be in keeping with Guinness' performance.
- Quotes
Roy Bland: It isn't ordinary flight information, Peter. The source is very private.
Toby Esterhase: Ultra, ultra sensitive in fact.
Peter Guillam: In that case, Toby, I'll try and keep my mouth ultra, ultra shut.
[Bill Haydon chuckles]
- Crazy creditsThe opening titles show a set of Russian matryoshka dolls. One doll opens up to reveal a doll more irate than the other one, and the final doll is seen as being faceless. This was inspired by a line at the end of the "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" novel describing the mole: "Smiley settled on a picture of one of those little Russian dolls that open up to reveal one inside the other, and another inside him. Of all men living, only Karla had seen the last little doll inside..."
- Alternate versionsThe American DVD edition is a syndicated edit comprised of six episodes instead of seven.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 33rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1981)
- SoundtracksNunc Dimittis
Composed by Geoffrey Burgon
Sung by Paul Phoenix and the Boys of the St Paul's Cathedral Choir
Featured review
A monumental epic of a series from the BBC's glory days.
I hired this from our library, and was agog. I saw the latter half of Tinker in 1980 when it was televised and always wished I had seen the whole thing. Now that I am older, I have developed a real interest in espionage, and consequently, rented the video set. The cast list is simply unbelieveable. The BBC could at that time, get so many big names together to do a major series, see for example "I Claudius". Sadly, the BBC today is a shadow of its former glory, and we in the UK have to either watch the old shows and dream, or watch the BBC in the present and be so disillusioned. I prefer the former. I can't pick out any performance in particular, because everyone was marvelous. Ian Richardson, who I have always admired, from seeing him as Neuheim in "Private Schulz", is possibly the very best, if I *have* to choose. If you are in any way interested in spying, or just love a really good intelligent thriller, this is for you.
helpful•141
- brad-94
- Jul 9, 1999
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- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
- Filming locations
- Bywater Street, Chelsea, London, England, UK(Smiley's house)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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![Alec Guinness, Ian Richardson, Bernard Hepton, and Terence Rigby in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMGI4NDhhNzUtNmFjZS00MGM3LTk4ODItYWM0NTZmNDhjY2JhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUyNjc3NDQ4._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,1,90,133_.jpg)
Top Gap
By what name was Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) officially released in India in English?
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