Blockbuster Gets ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ Disc Exclusive in the U.K.

23 Jan, 2012 By: Erik Gruenwedel

---

Blockbuster in the United Kingdom is offering exclusive DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals of Cold War espionage reboot Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, starring Gary Oldman and Oscar winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), weeks before the thriller’s retail release.

Blockbuster LLC, which is owned by Dish Network, operates 2,600 stores internationally, including about 600 locations in the United Kingdom.

Blockbuster in the United Kingdom () reportedly has several studio exclusives on tap as it attempts to stay competitive with the recent launches of Netflix streaming and LoveFilm Instant — the latter being Amazon-owned LoveFilm’s standalone streaming competitor.

Tinker, Tailor, which is based on the eponymous 1974 John le Carré novel, was first adapted into a 1979 film, starring Alex Guinness.

A Dish representative declined comment. A spokesperson with Universal Studios Home Entertainment, which is releasing Tinker, Tailor domestically March 20, said the studio has no plans to distribute the title early to U.S. rental channels.

Oldman (The Dark Knight) this week was nominated for his first Oscar (Best Actor) for his role in "Tinker, Tailor" as veteran sleuth George Smiley, who must find a Soviet mole (double agent) working within Britain’s secret service.

The film, for which Oldman was also nominated for Best Actor by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, received two other Oscar nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Music.
 

 

Bookmark it: