Marlburian A disappointing adaptation of a good book, with a key aspect of the latter (inter-departmental rivalry) being omitted. I located an on-line copy after the usual frustrations of working through links to Youtube that led to short clips, paid subscription copies and so on.With several jumps in the plot, I did wonder if the version I saw had been hacked around, but it was the 108 minutes stated here on IMDb. Christopher Jones was unconvincing and uninspiring as Leiser, his fight with Avery a prolonged interpolation and his scrabbling around to get under the wire in the dark protracted. And how lucky he was to come across an attractive girl and child (what happened to him?) in the middle of nowhere - and to bump into her again in a cafe.The best things were the wide, open European spaces and Anthony Hopkins' acting

wilkinsonalan Hunted down this movie, as it appears a rare beast. The cast is stellar for a British movie. The main protagonist appears to have been likened to James Dean. He spends much of the film striking louche poses - less angry young man, and more 'hip cat'. He appears miscast in this movie, as he inhabits a different plain to the rest of the cast. The storyline, in retrospect, is quite straight forward. However, it has managed to become inextricably entangled in elongated scenes of travel across the agricultural swathe of the then East Germany. There are also some unnecessary fight scenes that appear neither relevant nor truly aggressive. Conceivably, aspects of this movie are conceived out of homo-erotica? I truly wanted to love this movie. I adore 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' and the BBC Smiley series, but this was to flaccid and languid for my tastes. Something of a shame when one notes the immense cast that was at the director's disposal. If you love Cold War dramas - and Le Carre adaptations, you will, no doubt, want to watch this movie - with much sadness, I have to say - be prepared to be underwhelmed.

Adrian Stevenson (ade-stevenson) I'm a big fan of Le Carre, and I love the movie versions of 'The Spy Who Came in From the Cold' and 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'. This movie is a real disappointment though. It differs significantly from the book in ways that seem pointless. The actor who plays Leiser looks like he's stepped off the set for 'Two Lane Blacktop' and looks frankly ridiculous as a Pole under cover in East Germany. The East Germany scenes themselves look like they were filmed in California (perhaps they were). The changes to the plot actually change a fundamental premise of the book. All in all, this film is not really worth the bother. Head for the book version or the 'The Spy Who Came in From the Cold' if you've not yet seen it.

eldontyrrell I cannot believe I am driven to comment but I feel the need to warn others who may simply assume, as did I, that any film adapted from a le Carre cold war novel would be worth seeing.If, as it has been said, le Carre wasn't happy with the Richard Burton adaptation of "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold", then I can't imagine he knew that this particular film was even *made* -- for he would have gone berserk.Unless you wish to utterly waste ninety minutes of your life, steer completely clear of this horrifically tedious, disjointed, pointless, nearly unwatchable film.