After I saw it I said to friends that its "the best movie I've seen in which pretty much nothing happens". That's how good the movie was - no action, nothing stated explicitly, lots left for the viewer to figure out, and still awesome. Definitely not for everyone but I loved it. Gary Oldman of course being one of the greatest actors of all time.
The movie captures the feeling of being a rockstar detective. The way everyone is dressed and the cold logic games they play. The movie raises an interesting question: what happens when the spy controls the environment? They could make anything appear any such way. The strength of your logic then becomes your undoing because an adversary can use your own logic against you. This is probably why rule-breaking is not only the norm for intelligence agencies, but practically mandatory.
One of my favorite films! Agreed that it's not for everyone, but if you're on its wavelength it's really something special. Just incredibly well made with terrific performances. That ending sequence with La Mer...
I remember seeing it in theaters with my father, who is a massive le Carré fan. He enjoyed it (though obviously he had many issues in comparison with the novel), and I (15 at the time) remember being very bored. Still, I could appreciate that is had beautiful mood and subtle, well-written dialogue. It felt a much closer approximation of actual espionage than anything else I've seen.
I saw the 1979 BBC version when I was young and really enjoyed it, even given the lack of action. I think it was the first 'spy' thriller I'd seen which wasn't some sort of James Bond equivalent and I loved it for that. I still have the notes that I took while trying to figure out what was going on (we had to wait 6 weeks for the story to unfold back in the day)
The first two minutes -- two minutes -- is a masterclass in "show don't tell". All the suspects are introduced, one after the other, their characters clear as day, with not a line of dialogue.
I've been enjoying Slow Horses, which in my head-canon is a sequel, with "Smiley" (the character played by Gary Oldman, natch) put out to irascible pasture at Slough House. It's not truly on the same level, but it's good fun.
After le Carré and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy came up here earlier this week[1], I came across a $1.95 copy at a used bookstore. I'm sure I was primed to notice it after having just seen it discussed online, but it still felt like a neat bit of serendipity because a) I never would have bought a le Carré book otherwise (lumped them with Danielle Steele/John Grisham/Dean Koontz, older "beach books" I hadn't read that I didn't think I'd like) and b) I've been getting way more than $1.95 of value from it (at the beach).
So, to the shadowy cabal promoting John le Carré books on HN this week, thanks.
He was also heavily referenced in Deadly Premonition 2, a sadly subpar follow up to the cult classic PS3-era game that is Deadly Premonition. The closest to authentic Twin Peaks you will ever see outside of Twin Peaks itself.
Its a sad thought that so many of us can never realistically hope to occupy such a space and be able to truly have that kind of setting to breathe and heal oneself
> Its a sad thought that so many of us can never realistically hope to occupy such a space and be able to truly have that kind of setting to breathe and heal oneself
I disagree with that...
For the price of a studio in basically any "big" city (any big american city or any capital city in an european country), you can buy a big house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature.
People want to be surrounded by concrete: they don't want to live surrounded by nature (because "the arts" or "because social life" or whatever other reason). So for those who want to be surrounded by nature, prices can be extremely cheap.
Heck, for the price of a normal house in many cities, you can have a castle in France (as long as its in the middle of nowhere).
The fog signal was originally a series (72 in total) of Tannoy units built into the lighthouse tower; they were powered by an alternator coupled to a 2-cylinder Ruston diesel engine. This was later replaced by a short-range Pharos Marine Omnidirectional electric emitter sounding the same characteristic of two one-second blasts every 30 seconds during fog. The fog signal was decommissioned in 2012.
Might be a good idea for a website. Collect real estate photos of house where famous people worked. Perhaps side by side with any photos of them actually working there!
Readit News
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tinker_tailor_soldier_spy
After I saw it I said to friends that its "the best movie I've seen in which pretty much nothing happens". That's how good the movie was - no action, nothing stated explicitly, lots left for the viewer to figure out, and still awesome. Definitely not for everyone but I loved it. Gary Oldman of course being one of the greatest actors of all time.
If you liked that you should try the 1979 BBC series of it [1], Alec Guiness also being one of the greatest actors of all time.
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker_Tailor_Soldier_Spy_(T...
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyNzc9cbF4EWeXnVOQhXG6_wG...
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083480/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq61jstTApk
Genuinely stunning.
So, to the shadowy cabal promoting John le Carré books on HN this week, thanks.
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37375585
I disagree with that...
For the price of a studio in basically any "big" city (any big american city or any capital city in an european country), you can buy a big house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature.
People want to be surrounded by concrete: they don't want to live surrounded by nature (because "the arts" or "because social life" or whatever other reason). So for those who want to be surrounded by nature, prices can be extremely cheap.
Heck, for the price of a normal house in many cities, you can have a castle in France (as long as its in the middle of nowhere).
Tater Du has an automatic fog horn..
>Fog signal
The fog signal was originally a series (72 in total) of Tannoy units built into the lighthouse tower; they were powered by an alternator coupled to a 2-cylinder Ruston diesel engine. This was later replaced by a short-range Pharos Marine Omnidirectional electric emitter sounding the same characteristic of two one-second blasts every 30 seconds during fog. The fog signal was decommissioned in 2012.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tater_Du_Lighthouse