tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post4774385565468099205..comments2024-03-28T15:01:21.285-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, EmpathLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-75177861425434286162017-09-06T23:19:18.744-04:002017-09-06T23:19:18.744-04:00Sorry about your tea, Eve.
I only saw the Burto...Sorry about your tea, Eve. <br /><br />I only saw the Burton movie a few years ago, although I read the book decades ago. Both are excellent.<br /><br />Keenan, the Oldman version was a movie; the Guinness version was a TV mini-series. I thought Oldman's movie was pretty good taken by itself, but it did some damage to the book's plot. Not only did they simply skip the empathy-issue I was discussing, but they throw in a line spoken by Karla which, if you think about it, throws the entire plot into a cocked hat, to use a very old and odd expression. (To be clear, the problem isn't that Karla speaks, but what he says.) <br /><br />Another issue is that since Roy Bland is virtually a non-entity in the movie you lose the fact that the four members of the Magic Circle represent (or at least come from) four elements of British society: bureaucrats, aristocrats, working class, and immigrants. <br /><br />One more problem: Jim's relationship with a certain character was not so clear in the movie. Clear enough if you have read the book, but it confused others.<br /><br />On the plus side, two things I thought were very well done in the movie: As soon as Smiley retires he gets new glasses. This obviously emphasizes his role as observer, but it also lets the film viewer immediately (even unconsciously) recognize flashbacks when they occur (because George is wearing the OLD specs). <br /><br />Second excellent thing: Guillam (Cumberbatch) stealing the file from the Registry. Doing it in an open space was much more suspenseful than doing it in a phone booth, as was done in the TV series and, I think, the book.<br /><br />My next two blogs will be about Le Carre, unless something comes up.<br />Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-69232635558216949752017-09-06T12:27:58.885-04:002017-09-06T12:27:58.885-04:00My first exposure to TTSS was the television versi...My first exposure to TTSS was the television version with Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy. I've read some damning reviews of it. What's your take? Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-91769718305768910452017-09-06T10:46:51.686-04:002017-09-06T10:46:51.686-04:00Great post, Rob! I think I have all JLC's boo...Great post, Rob! I think I have all JLC's books, and I love 'em.<br /><br />Eve, I watched <i>The Spy Who Came in From the Cold</i> again two nights ago. Richard Burton's face, throughout that movie, is pure anguish. What a great actor, and Oskar Werner too.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-89167177932392030122017-09-06T08:58:43.404-04:002017-09-06T08:58:43.404-04:00Great post here, Rob. It's been years since I&...Great post here, Rob. It's been years since I've read Tinker Tailor but this makes me want to dive in again. And good points generally about empathy and all too--fascinating!Art Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02409008167752619352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-19933853751236249422017-09-06T08:28:50.866-04:002017-09-06T08:28:50.866-04:00Rob, your lines, "One of the frustrations of ...Rob, your lines, "One of the frustrations of the British spies during WWII was that the Japanese intelligence units were so incompetent they would miss the false information that had been cunningly prepared for them. In other words, you can't get someone into your trap if they don't notice the bait." made me laugh so hard I spilled my tea. <br /><br />I love TTSS; I'm also a huge fan of The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, which was my first spy movie ever, and made me fall in love with both Richard Burton and Cold War stories. <br /><br />Empathy is the trickiest concept in the world. Personally, I don't think con artists actually have empathy. Instead, I think that, like most sociopaths, they don't "get it" at all when it comes to what the rest of us are actually feeling. BUT - they have honed the ability to analyze people's reaction to the bait to the extreme, which makes them very, very effective. And dangerous. (see Cathy in "East of Eden") Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-14923133433750486952017-09-06T08:20:00.392-04:002017-09-06T08:20:00.392-04:00I'm a big fan of Tinker Tailor in both its pri...I'm a big fan of Tinker Tailor in both its print and TV incarnations. Of course, having Alec Guinness in the lead didn't hurt at all.janice lawnoreply@blogger.com