Summary

• John le Carré movies have a level of prestige due to the quality of the author's novels and the spy experience he brought to his stories.
• The adaptation of le Carré's novels into movies has brought critical acclaim, awards, and featured top-notch actors such as Sean Connery and Gary Oldman.
• Some movies based on le Carré's works, like "A Murder of Quality," deviate from espionage and focus on basic mystery thrillers, while others, like "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," are considered standout spy movies and have received Oscar nominations.

When it comes to quality spy thrillers, John le Carré movies come with a level of prestige thanks to the quality of the author's novels that they're based on. Over his career, le Carré wrote 31 novels, including eight in his popular George Smiley series. The author was a spy himself before he took up writing, working for both the Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) — experience he brought to his stories and, by extension, the movies based on them. While he wasn't an instant sensation, when his third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was released in 1963, it became an international bestseller.

1965's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was also the first le Carré movie adaptation, released just two short years after the book's publication. That movie was an immediate success, with Richard Burton taking on the lead role, and that led to several more movie adaptations of John le Carré's books. In all, there were 11 John le Carré movies by the time the author ed away in 2020. These movies picked up Oscar awards, BAFTA awards, and critical acclaim along the way. With stars like Sean Connery, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Gary Oldman, many John le Carré movies include some of the best spy movies ever made.

12 A Murder Of Quality (1991)

The Forgotten Made-For-TV Detective Smiley Movie

A Murder of Quality was the second John Smiley novel John le Carré wrote, and it was also the only book that didn't involve espionage. This made 1991's A Murder of Quality a very different le Carré adaptation. In this story, an old friend of Smiley asks him to help a woman who believes her husband is plotting her murder. However, before Smiley can start his investigation, his would-be client is murdered, and he sits to figure out if her husband is responsible for the crime.

This 1991 John le Carré movie was made for TV and released on ITV in the United Kingdom and on the A&E Network in the United States. Denholm Elliott stars in the movie as George Smiley, but what really holds this movie down from other movies based on the author's works is that it wasn't about spies and espionage, but was instead a basic mystery thriller. Viewers on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a low 28% approval score, and as a made-for-TV movie from the early 1990s, it remains mostly forgotten.

A Murder of Quality is currently unavailable for streaming.

11 The Tailor Of Panama (2001)

Piers Brosnan And Geoffery Rush Lead This Dark Satire

In John Boorman's The Tailor of Panama, the philandering MI6 Agent Andy Osnard (Pierce Brosnan) is dispatched to Panama as punishment for bedding the wrong woman in Spain. When told to befriend a local Brit to gain intel, Osnard recruits Harry (Geoffrey Rush), a men's tailor with his own sordid past. As Harry becomes a British spy agent, Osnard gains access to his high-powered clientele, including Manuel Noriega and his criminal cohorts. The movie was based on a 1996 novel by le Carré.

The novel was a departure for le Carré, more of a satire than the regular espionage novels that his fans were used to. The movie played in the same style, a dark satire with great performances by Brosnan and Rush, with a great ing cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Gleeson, Jonathan Hyde, Dylan Baker, and Daniel Radcliffe in his movie debut.

The Tailor of Panama is available to stream on DirecTV.

10 The Looking Glass War (1969)

A Noir Tale Featuring An Early Anthony Hopkins Appearance

Based on the John le Carré 1965 novel of the same name, The Looking Glass War follows a traitorous Polack who is given a chance to gain British citizenship if he successfully undertakes a top-secret mission in . After jumping ship to meet his pregnant British girlfriend, the Polish Leiser (Christopher Jones) meets British intelligence director Leclerc (Ralph Richardson) and is given an assignment to monitor nearby missile sites. If he succeeds, Leiser will receive full immunity and political asylum.

The novel was the follow-up to le Carré's breakthrough The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and it was also the third adaptation of the author's works. This story actually took fans into the underbelly of espionage and the danger of glamorizing the business. To match this theme, the movie was a bit more of a noir than other le Carré adaptations. The movie had a very early Anthony Hopkins role, but it remains lightweight le Carré.

The Looking Glass War is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

9 The Little Drummer Girl (1984)

Diane Keaton Leads A Tale Of An Actress Sent Undercover

The last John le Carré novel adapted before his death was The Little Drummer Girl in 2018, which was made into a TV series on the BBC and AMC. However, this book was also adapted as a feature film by George Roy Hill in 1984. The movie stars Diane Keaton as Charlie, an American actress who is chosen by the Israeli government to participate in a masterful ruse to catch a Palestinian terrorist. Due to her ability to lie with convincing results, Charlie is recruited to impersonate the girlfriend of the dead Israeli soldier's brother, who died in a bombing attack.

The novel was released in 1983, making this a quick turnaround to the big screen. However, while the book was highly regarded, the movie received mixed reviews from critics when it was released. This was one of Hill's last movies and was a slight letdown after back-to-back Oscar-nominated movies (A Little Romance, The World According to Garp).

The Little Drummer Girl (1984) is available to rent and purchase on multiple platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

8 Our Kind Of Traitor (2016)

The Final Movie To Feature A John Le Carré Cameo

The last feature-length adaptation of a Le Carré novel before his death was Our Kind of Traitor, based on a book published in 2010. Directed by Susanna White, the film follows a British couple who become involved with the Russian mafia while on vacation in Morocco. Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris star starred as married couple Perry and Gail, who become swept up in money laundering, espionage, and coldblooded murder when meeting a Russian mobster on holiday. When Dima (Stellan Skarsgaard) offers sensitive British intel in exchange for safe haven, Perry is put in a precarious scenario.

The movie received favorable reviews, with a 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. This was also one of the adaptations that saw Carré make a cameo appearance in the movie, as the author played an usher at the Einstein Museum.

Our Kind of Traitor is available to stream on Freevee.

7 The Deadly Affair (1967)

John le Carré Wasn't Credited For This BAFTA Nominated Adaptation

Although John le Carré went uncredited at the time, Sidney Lumet's 1967 film The Deadly Affair is based on the author's first novel, Call For The Dead. The film was nominated for five BAFTAs. James Mason stars as Charles Dobbs, a British spy attempting to solve the so-called suicide of Samuel Fennan (Robert Flemyng). When the evidence points to an organized assassination attempt, Dobbs uses the help of a police officer and an old war buddy to uncover a vast conspiracy.

Not only was Call For the Dead the first John le Carré novel, but it was also the first George Smiley book and introduced the world to the Circus. It had everything going for it, including one of the best directors working in Lumet, just 10 years after he made 12 Angry Men and four years before directing Serpico. This helped The Deadly Affair receive five BAFTA nominations, including Best British Film and Best British Actor for James Mason.

The Deadly Affair is available to rent and purchase on multiple platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

6 A Most Wanted Man (2014)

Philip Seymour Hoffman's Penultimate Movie

Philip Seymour Hoffman gave his penultimate screen performance in A Most Wanted Man, a German-set tale of political intrigue based on le Carré's 2008 novel of the same name. The story revolves around Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a Chechen-Russian immigrant brutally tortured by Russian authorities. When Issa enters Hamburg, Gunther Bachmann (Hoffman) leads a team of investigators to determine Issa's true identity as either a legitimate refugee or an international terrorist.

The novel was inspired by the true story of Murat Kurnaz, a Turkish citizen arrested and reportedly tortured at American detention camps. The movie itself was only a minor success, making $36.2 million on a $15 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). However, it received high critical praise, with many critics naming it one of the best movies of 2014.

A Most Wanted Man is available to rent and purchase on multiple platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

5 The Russia House (1990)

Sean Connery And Michelle Pfeiffer Lead One Of The First Movies Shot In The Former USSR

Based on Le Carré's 1989 novel of the same name, The Russia House is a romantic spy thriller starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer. Scripted by acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard, the film traces the likes of gruff British ex-pat and book publisher Barley Blair (Connery) who is hired to authenticate top-secret Russian intel written in three notebooks delivered to his publishing house. Pfeiffer plays the Russian seductress Katya.

The novel was published just one year before the movie, and the title is based on the real British intelligence agency tasked with spying on the Soviet Union. With that said, the movie was ironically one of the first American films to be shot in the former Soviet Union. Pfeiffer landed a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, while director Fred Schepisi was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Belin Film Festival.

The Russia House is available to rent and purchase on multiple platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

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3 The Constant Gardener (2005)

The John le Carré Movie From City Of God Director Fernando Meirelles

Fernando Meirelles followed up his acclaimed Brazilian thriller City of God with the adaptation of le Carré's The Constant Gardener. The story follows Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), a reserved British diplomat who goes on an epic sojourn through Africa to uncover the truth about his wife Tessa's (Rachel Weisz) vicious murder. Fighting contradictory rumors, Quayle's journey leads to the harrowing discovery of a global conspiracy much bigger than he could have imagined. The movie relied on flashbacks to tell their love story, as well as scenes showing his investigation.

The novel was based on a real-life case of a pharmaceutical company that allegedly falsified data while experimenting with trial drugs on young children in Nigeria. The film landed four Oscar nods, including a win for Rachel Weisz as Best ing Actress. It also picked up 10 BAFTA nominations, but it only won for Best Editing.

The Constant Gardener is available to rent and purchase on multiple platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.