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Le Carré can be adapted in various ways, but by no means theatrically, let alone melodramatically on a relational level and in a too talkative way. Which unfortunately is exactly what Lumet did. The simple fact that the original is le Carré's first book (and the first book in the series about Smiley), which has essentially the same storyline (just less sophisticated and in all respects significantly worse) than his later most famous masterpiece, so it does not much improve the final impression. Another thing that is hard to understand is why he did not use the same names as the original. (25.01.2015)

James Mason proves how great of an actor he was and the thriller genre suits him well, which I didn't expect at all. But he has something in him where he works as a positive character, yet there is always something slightly dark about him. The film has an excellent atmosphere, which saves even the somewhat boring and dragged out scenes at times. (27.09.2017)