Mar 29 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Blu-ray Review
4.3 Stars (out of 5) - Rated R
Synopsis
John Le Carré's classic thriller of Cold War espionage follows an English spy as he returns to MI-6 under a cloud of suspicion. In the years since he was sacked by the agency, some suspect he's become an operative for the Soviet Union. (Buy Now $19.99)
Starring:
Gary Oldman, Kathy Burke, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Colin Firth, Stephen Graham, Tom Hardy, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Konstantin Khabensky, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Simon McBurney, Mark Strong
Director:
Tomas Alfredson
Blu-ray Release Date:
March 20, 2012
Subtitles:
English SDH, French, Spanish
Rating
Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt
Audio 4.3 Stars (out of 5)
Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison
● Subwoofer – 3.5 Stars
● Dialog – 5.0 Stars
● Surround Effects – 4.0 Stars
● Dynamic Range – 4.5 Stars
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: DTS 5.1, Spanish: DTS 5.1
For a mostly quiet film, this Blu-ray sneaks in a decent audio performance. Low frequency activity is a little light, but it noticeable when trains pass by, during gunshots, in the musical score, and at times random rumbles are used to build tension. The film is dialog heavy, and all lines are heard clearly. Rear channels do great job of filling the room with ambiance and help draw you into the movie whispering voices, typing on typewriters, jets flying overhead, phones ringing, and raindrops.
Video 4.7 Stars (out of 5)
Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison
● Color Accuracy - 4.5 Stars
● Shadow detail – 4.5 Stars
● Clarity – 5.0 Stars
● Skin tones – 4.5 Stars
● Compression – 5.0 Stars
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1, Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
The style of the video suits the tone film by having a lots shades of grey and earth tones. There are rarely any vibrant colors and overall everything looks a little pale. Shadows are handled quite well but lose a few details in a few scenes. Clarity is great and make the old school paisley ties look new, gives greasy spy hairstyles extra sheen, and brings out the details of old dry wrinkled skin. Nothing really pops in this presentation, but it doesn’t take away from the film itself.
Bonus Features 3.5 Stars (out of 5)
- Audio Commentary: Director Tomas Alfredson and actor Gary Oldman offer insightful.
- Interviews (HD/SD, 57 minutes): Cast and crew share their thoughts on the original book, the script, and the overall film.
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy First Look (HD, 13 minutes): Gives you the quick once over of the intricate plot.
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 6 minutes)
- BD-Live Functionality and News Ticker
- My Scenes Bookmarking
Movie – 2.0 Stars (out of 5)
Review
A best selling spy novel made into a movie starring several noteworthy actors sounds like an easy movie to enjoy, but I found it hard to stay engaged in this unconventional spy movie. Tinker Tailor Solider Spy is a slow moving movie that has very little action. I don’t expect every spy movie to be full of action, but this movie needed something. Almost everyone’s performance was intentionally flat and emotionless. Even though this was done on purpose, it took away any personality the movie may have had, and made it boring at times. The details of the plot are difficult to follow and the beginning and ending of the film are downright confusing. Timelines change often and you are not informed when and where you are in the plot. I feel like I’m supposed to like this film, but I can’t like a film that confuses me, bores me, and leaves me feeling disappointed. If I want to feel that way I just watch CSPAN.
Reader Comments (1)
I found this movie very good my wife found it slooow I feel it captured the era and some of the style of the previous version. This was the end of the end of the Gentleman spy (the Cambridge Spies) and an era in UK history (I only see in their films) that I would've found fascinating to have experienced. The colors and the styles were recreated and Gary Oldman's role as Smiley was a well done. A more accessible movie for a US audience my be Richard Gere's The Double that deals with Cold War Spycraft themes with a more US centric approach - I only just saw that movie too and found it enjoyable for different reasons.