The New Beginning: Peter Hitchens prefers the book.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Peter Hitchens prefers the book.

Just as in the case of Master and Commander, so too with respect to the Alec Guinness adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy:

Smiley’s life is best told by the book

The BBC version of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was so good it made me get a TV, after years of not having one in my home. Yet when I watched it again a few years ago I found it oddly slow and quiet, not as thrilling as the first time round. I had changed completely in the 25 years between, as we all have.

This is because I am used to more and more of my thinking and feeling being done for me by the TV or the cinema, thanks to music, special effects and fast, clever editing.

I’ll be interested to see how the new film version compares, but in the end they can’t beat the book, drawn from life by a wonderful observer. Unlike the TV series, which starred Alec Guinness as Smiley, it gets better every time.

Incidentally, his brother agreed with him regarding the Peter Weir adaptation.

I have the Alec Guinness TV series on DVD; need a long day when I can watch it guilt-free.