Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

If you liked this

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold1965

Same author, same bleak arithmetic of betrayal — Richard Burton at his most exhausted, playing a spy for whom the job has eaten every illusion he ever had.

But Even bleaker than Tinker Tailor, with an ending that offers no comfort at all — go in braced.

The Americans2013

Swap MI6 corridors for a suburban Virginia driveway: KGB sleeper agents raising kids next door to the people they're spying on, over six seasons of dread and marriage.

But It's a serious time commitment, and the slow-burn pacing asks the same patience Tinker Tailor does, just for far longer.

The Lives of Others2006

East German surveillance from the other side of the glass — a Stasi officer listening in on a life he starts to envy. Same texture of paranoia, different regime.

But It's in German with subtitles and takes its time; the emotional payoff arrives late.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Cast

• 
  Gary OldmanGeorge Smiley
• 
  Colin FirthBill Haydon
• 
  Tom HardyRicki Tarr
• 
  John HurtControl
• 
  Toby JonesPercy Alleline
• 
  Mark StrongJim Prideaux
• 
  Benedict CumberbatchPeter Guillam
• 
  Ciarán HindsRoy Bland
• 
  David DencikToby Esterhase
• 
  Kathy BurkeConnie Sachs
• 
  Stephen GrahamJerry Westerby
• 
  Simon McBurneyOliver Lacon

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