Universal Unveils ‘Tinker Tailor’

1 Feb, 2012 By: Billy Gil

Three-time Academy Award nominee Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy comes to DVD and Blu-ray Disc March 20 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, just a month after the 84th Annual Academy Awards take place Feb. 26.

Nominated for Best Actor (Gary Oldman), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score, the film is based on the 1974 novel by John Le Carré about George Smiley (Oldman), a middle-aged intelligence expert who was forced out of the British Secret Intelligence Service and is hired to ferret out a Soviet mole within the SIS.

The film also stars Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt and Toby Jones.

The $34.98 Blu-ray includes a “first look” feature on the film; deleted scenes; an interview with Le Carré; access to a cloud-based UltraViolet copy of the film, playable on a PC and select devices (sans Apple’s iPhone and iPad) and shareable among six users; and a digital copy of the film, playable on myriad devices including the iPad and iPhone. The $29.98 DVD (as well as the Blu-ray) includes interviews with Oldman, Firth, Hardy, director Tomas Alfredson and screenwriter Peter Straughan; and a commentary with Alfredson and Oldman.

The book previously was adapted in 1979 for the BBC into a seven-part miniseries, which was condensed to six episodes for U.S. audiences. The series, which starred Sir Alec Guiness in the role of Smiley, was released last year in a three-DVD set from Acorn Media.

About the Author: Billy Gil