A failed operation in budapest causes Control (John Hurt), the head of the MI-6, to be forced into retirement, along with his right-hand man George Smiley (Gary Oldman). When it is discovered that there is a Soviet mole inside MI-6, Smiley is asked to come back and look into it. There are four high-ranking intelligence officers under suspicion, Tinker (Toby Jones), Tailor (Colin Firth), Solider (Ciaran Hinds) and Poor Man (David Dencik). Smiley hires Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) to be is own trusted spy in the field to help with his investigation.

I had never read the original 1974 spy novel written by John le Carré, nor seen the 1979 UK miniseries. The story itself is quite interesting and intriguing, a Cold War thriller that keeps you wondering who can you trust? However, the way the story is told can get a bit frustrating for the viewer. It’s almost like they want you to feel that same confusion and frustration that Smiley experiences while trying to figure out who the mole is. Things are told out-of-order, with flashbacks to fill in some of the gaps. However, this can be very disorienting. There are also a lot of spy lingo and code names used (such as “the Circus” for referring to MI-6), which adds to some of the confusion.

The cast is amazing, so many big name British actors who all give great performances. There are some very tense scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat. However, this is really a movie that needs to be watched at least twice to fully understand what is going on. Even just listening to a bit of the audio commentary after watching the film, I found some things became a lot clearer than they were the first time watching the film.

The story is set in the early 70s, and the creators have given the film a washed out, grainy look that really works well for the film, and adds a lot to the atmosphere and feeling.

What’s Included on the Blu-Ray:

The Film (128 minutes):

• Blu-ray disc of film and extras
• DVD disc of the film and most extras
• Code for both Ultra Violet and normal Digital Copies (expires 8/27/2012)
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD and Spanish, French 5.1 DTS Suround
  English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes (6:08)
  Some Deleted/Unfinished Scenes
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: First Look (13:00)
  Behind the scenes featurette with cast and crew.
• Interviews (24:43)
  Interviews with Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Director Tomas Alfredson and Co-screenwriter Peter Straughan, and John le Carré. (This bonus feature is only included on the Blu-ray)
• Feature Commentary with Director Tomas Alfredson and Actor Gary Oldman
  There are some gaps in the commentary, but from what I listened to, it really did help in the understanding of the film. I especially like the first line of “Welcome to this commentary track, we’ll try to lead you through this film, which is too complicated to see without us.”

Final Thoughts:

The film looks and sounds great and really evokes the feeling of the era in which it takes place. The story, while thrilling and interesting, is a bit too complex and confusing and really requires multiple viewings to fully understand it. However, it has an amazingly talented cast who give great performances.
The extras are pretty solid, with lots of informative interviews, delete scenes and a feature length audio commentary. This is definitely worth renting, and viewers will get a lot more out of it upon a second viewing.