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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9780790754888 Format: Box set, Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC ISBN: 0790754886 Label: BBC Warner Manufacturer: BBC Warner Number Of Items: 3 Publisher: BBC Warner Release Date: July 19, 2000 Running Time: 376 minutes Sales Rank: 23959 Studio: BBC Warner
Description: Magnus Pym, master spy, disappears in a search for himself in this brilliant John le Carre story. As seen on Masterpiece Theatre, this is the complex psychological portrait of the forces of nature and nurture that bring one into a life of spying.
Amazon.com: A Perfect Spy is a captivating, straight-ahead adaptation of John Le Carré's novel about the development of a Cold War double agent, Magnus Pym, whose life since childhood has taught him the art and elements of deceit. Peter Egan (Bean: The Movie) plays the adult Pym, raised in part by his con-man father, Rick (Ray McAnally), and the latter's community of accomplices. Stranded in Vienna while working an angle for Rick that goes wrong, young Magnus (Benedict Taylor) makes a connection with a down-on-his-luck writer, Axel (Rudinger Weigang). That relationship will come back to haunt him when Axel--later a Communist spy--recruits Magnus to divide his loyalties between East and West.
Typical of a Le Carré drama, the role of nature versus nurture in the spy business is a complex and fascinating mystery. Magnus has always been a talented liar--it was part of his survival in childhood--and seems most comfortable infiltrating others' secrets and tempting danger. But he is slowly and effortlessly outsmarted by those who know how to maneuver a man into a corner before he realizes he has run out of options. The cast of this 1988 British television miniseries is the best thing about the production, especially McAnally (My Left Foot), who died the following year. Arthur Hopcraft's smooth adaptation of Le Carré's story keeps the sometimes complicated narrative accessible, --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - BBC Series Is a "Must See" for John LeCarre Fans !
First of all,if you are a fan of John LeCarre`s work,then you enjoy that detailed,realistic and methodical "real world" espionage life that LeCarre sucks you into. This BBC mini-series is a wonderful adaptation of the novel and has much re-watch value.I recommend reading the book "A Perfect Spy" before viewing the mini-series...you will enjoy it that much more if you do!A great BBC television program that will also appeal to fans of British television and foreign film. In my opinion the mini-series comes in 3rd place behind the BBC classics: "Tinker,Tailor,Soldior,Spy" & "Smiley`s People". ... Read More
Rating: - It's Not Must-See TV
"A Perfect Spy" was the third of Britisher John LeCarre's cold war spy novels to be filmed for television by the British Broadcasting Company. As they generally did at that time, they threw money at the screen: script by the talented Arthur Hopcraft, who'd previously done the honors for the same author's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," and "Smiley's People;" location filming in glamorous places, extras and cars galore. Yet it's just not the same "must-see tv" as its stablemates.
Magnus Pym, played by Peter Egan, is here the perfect spy, double-dealing with zest. We are apparently supposed ... Read More
Rating: - An outstanding adaptation of a novel which must have been very tough to film
This mini-series is based on one of the most complex books I have read - dealing extensively with the inner demons of a man on an inexorable path to self-annihilation. I am happy to note that this mini-series does a superb job of translating the story from the book to film.
Yes, allowances have been taken - I don't think one could have made a film of this book without taking such allowances. Purists will object, and I'm sure each of us can find fault in some of the choices made, but these choices, by definition, are very subjective. As a whole, on its own the mini-series stand as a brilliant ... Read More
Rating: - if this one could be a perfect spy, then
every con artist could be a better spy than this perfect spy.
a guy came from a con artist parent, at first looked smart when he was young, then after he completely became a grown man, he seemed to lose all the wits and merits and turned out to be a stupid and naive so-called spy. well, le carre's novels were all like this, all the english intelligence organizations were nothing but wimpy, dim-wit in the game of the cold war. the worst of this mini series was that only the guy who played the perfect spy aging from volumne one to volume 2, but all the years his father, his father's peers, his superior, ... Read More
Rating: - The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
The Good: Ray McAnally's brilliant performance as Rick Pym, the main character's conman father.
The Bad: the miniseries oversimplifies the narrative by giving us Magnus Pym's story along a single time line, from boyhood to adulthood. The novel works on two time lines; the first one follows the search for Magnus Pym who has disappeared and the second one follows his reminiscences of his life as he hides in a seaside hotel. The book jumps back and forth, and while the US, UK, and Czech secret services are all looking for him, we are wondering why Pym went into hiding and why he seems scared and relaxed ... Read More
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