By Jorge Pinto Mazal
Introduction
As an avid reader and a film lover, I have collected dozens of notes about films primarily based on novels that I have read or want to read. In general, after watching a good movie adapted from a story, I look back at those books that I know and check the reviews. If I have them in electronic format or in print, I browse it to find out if it is worth reading them again. I usually did not take the time to compare how close a film is to the original work and just made notes as a reference for an informal personal database.
The routine changed upon John Le Carré’s death in December 2020 after reading the obituaries and notes about his books, including those adapted into movies. Forbes Magazine published a list; John Le Carré Novels To Watch by Sheena Scott/1. I also found in the New York Times a report with the title Nine Great John le Carré Adaptations to Stream/2, by Scott Tobias, which includes links to the streaming platforms where the films are available. Electric Lit, Reading into Everything, a literary website, has a similar
note; Ranking Every John Le Carré Adaptation/ 3
Lured by these articles, I decided to check Le Carré’s adaptations. I had read many titles in the past but had I missed some. After watching the films, I looked into my eLibrary and started by catching up with those novels I had not yet read and those that the film led me to reread.
I started by watching The Little Drummer Girl, directed by George Roy Hill, based on the book with the same title written by John Le Carré./4, who also wrote the film’s screenplay. I remember reading the book non-stop when it was released in 1983 /5. It was not a typical Le Carré Cold War spy novel. George Smiley, the main character of his famous cold war spy novels, does not appear in The Little Drummer Girl which is
about fighting a new war: terrorism. The plot centers on infiltrating a new adversary, an enemy organization, and the complex process security agencies follow to recruit and train agents that can help them to achieve that goal. In the novel, the agent is an attractive woman who is also a theater actress with the qualities to seduce and penetrate a terrorist group, capture the elusive leader, and eventually destroy his network. The story was inspired by the bloody Palestinian and Arab terrorist actions in Europe during the late 70s and 80s, targeting Israeli diplomats and embassies. At the time, European terrorist organizations were also active, mainly the Red Brigades in Italy, the Baader Meinhof organization in Germany, the IRA in the UK, and the ETA in Spain, to name the most visible. This period and the terrorist groups and actions inspired several novels and films, including a 2018 BBC-produced TV serial
adaptation of The Little Drummer Girl directed by a Korean screenwriter and director, Park Chan-work.
The film follows the book’s plot closely and manages to convey, in essence, the same experience of impersonating and replicating a complex and layered text. Following the experience of comparing a novel and its film adaptation, I made a list of my favorite movies based on Le Carré’s books. I decided to select my personal preferences and write a short text about the links between literature and film. I never
intended to write an academic essay.
I understand that it is impossible to compare the visual and the printed media. Reading a novel can take weeks, while watching a film takes approximately two hours. For that reason, films need to limit dialogues, reduce or change locations, and sometimes edit and skip entire chapters of a story. Still, the visual experience will show a city, a street, a place, the characters’ faces, voices, moods, and gestures in minutes or seconds.
A good adaptation needs a good screenwriter, an experienced and well-selected cast to reflect the characters in the novel, locations, and production managers. These fundamental elements can be costly, especially in those novels set in different cities, requiring elegant spaces, restaurants, hotels, homes, offices, classic cars, and many more elements. These are some of the critical issues in selecting novels that can gain viable financing.
Some adaptations portray a different historical era or situation. The director’s interpretation, recreating, and representing a new or different environment is frequent such as Shakespeare’s plays filmed under innovative styles, cultures, and historical eras. For example, Akira Kurosawa produced an outstanding King Lear, keeping the original work’s essence Japanese.
Regarding the financial viability of an adaptation, there are many extraordinary novels where the plot makes it relatively affordable. That can be the case with Dostoyevsky’s 1866 novel Crime and Punishment. The film will not require various locations or a big cast if the director and the producers follow the book, like most Le Carre’s novels´ adaptations do. That is probably one reason why Crime and Punishment has been filmed more than thirty times, according to a complete list published by Wikipedia, which includes relevant links to explore the different versions/6. The first adaptation listed is 1909 Prestuplenie i akazanie (Crime and Punishment), a Russian film directed by V. Goncharov. In 1935 a classic version appeared, directed by Josef von Sternberg starring Peter Lorre. Among the many versions from directors of different countries, Fernando de Fuentes directed Crimen y castigo, a Mexican production in 1951. Other examples are ‘Neramu Siksha, a 1973 Indian production by K. Vishwanath, and in 1983 Rikos ja Rangaistus (Crime and Punishment), by Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki, set in modern-day Helsinki. There also many expensive productions and mini-series, with various locations and famous actors, like the 2002 Crime and Punishment elaborate adaptation by Menahem Golan starring Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Vanessa Redgrave, and Margot Kidder, set in modern times.
It is essential to know that many filmmakers have also become novelists, including the recent debut novel by Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Many other examples of filmmakers becoming novelists are quoted in an extensive article by Peter Bradshaw published recently in The Guardian/7.
For the texts, I rely on John Le Carré’s Autobiography, The Pigeon Tunnel, Stories from My Life/8, with direct personal notes of the author regarding the research process for his books and the contact with filmmakers and actors who play relevant characters of his novels.
Each of the following chapters is an independent review; therefore, there is no fixed format or method. I use as sources quotes from the electronic versions of Le Carré’s books. Also, references from Adam Sisman, John Le Carré: The Biography /9, and book and film reviews from newspapers and magazines. In most cases, I include the URL link to the source when it is available.
I present some introductory notes about Le Carré’s life as a writer and his connection with filmmakers, with background and others notes about the books and the film adaptation. The Introduction is followed by reviews of A Murder of Quality (1962); The Spy Who came in from the Cold (1963); Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974); The Russia House (1989); The Night Manager (1993); The Tailor of Panama (1996), The Constant Gardener (2001); and A Most Wanted Man (2008).
The selection is personal based on the novels and films that I enjoyed and consider among my favorites and also those adaptations that are readily available in streaming services such as Apple TV, BFI, Amazon, Criterion, among others. I avoided unfolding the plot to allow the book readers and film watchers to discover the extraordinary stories by one of the great thriller writer of our time and not spoil the fun.
Notes:
- Sheena Scott. 5 Movie And TV Adaptations Of John Le Carre Novels To Watch. Forbes Magazine December
14, 2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sheenascott/2020/12/14/5-movie-and-tv-adaptations-of-john-le-carrenovels-to-watch/?sh=19bfa6d37103 - Scott Tobias 9 Great John le Carré Adaptations to Stream.The New York Times, Dec. 14, 2020 https://
www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/movies/john-le-carre-netflix.html?searchResultPosition=1 - Ranking Every John Le Carré Adaptation. Electric Literature, https://electricliterature.com/ranking-everyjohn-le-carre-adaptation/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087629/
- John Le Carré The Little Drummer Girl, Hardcover; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983
- Film adaptations of Crime and Punishment. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Film_adaptations_of_Crime_and_Punishment#cite_note-7 - Peter Bradshaw. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood review – Tarantino’s debut novel shines. The Guardian, 29 June
- https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jun/29/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-reviewtarantinos-debut-novel-shines
- John Le Carré The Pigeon Tunnel, Stories from My Life, Viking, 2016
- Adam Sisman John Le Carré: The Biography, Harper Collins 2015
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