Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1627 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-06-06
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: PAL, Subtitled, Dolby, Colour
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 374 minutes

DVD Description
A Perfect Spy traces the rise and fall of Magnus Pym and his career through intelligence. From chance meetings with people will be important to him in the future to a life in Czechoslovakia, Washington and finally on the run in England Pym weaves his way through the complicated world of espionage. Where no-one is safe from betrayal, not even his father.

Synopsis
Top British Spy Magnus Pym initiates a massive man hunt when he goes missing. He's desperate to uncover who he really is, and must find himself before his hunters do...

Customer Reviews

a perfect story
This is just about a perfect spy story. Of the three Le Carre yarns given the BBC treatment, it could be said that "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" is a "whodunnit" and "Smiley's People" a "howdunnit", while "A Perfect Spy" is a "whydunnit". The "why" question is usually the most interesting, which is why I rate this above the other, admittedly fine, productions. Peter Egan and Ray McAnally - father and son - are superb in every scene together, showing how two fundamentally different people can forge a single identity of deception, true only to each other in a dreadful way. The portrait of Magnus Pym is carefully and convincingly drawn: it could be said to represent not just a perfect spy, but a psychological template for every spy. The supporting cast of Alan Howard, Rudiger Weigang and Jane Booker, in particular, are terrific. The whole production showcases the best of a strong era for television drama in the UK.

A slow starter, but ultimately rewarding
Peter Egan, the nominal star of this serial, makes his first appearance in episode 3. In the first two episodes we see his childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. The pacing is very slow at the beginning. Flashback sequences would have alleviated this, but the programme can be seen as an excellent antidote to the frantic cutting of modern television productions.

This role is Egan's best performance I have seen to date. In one scene he sits in a restaurant with his father and you see his attitude melt from bitterness to unwilling humour by facial expressions alone. Egan also impressively portrays the ambiguousness of the enigmatic Magnus Pym, an ambivalence that inhabits every part of his life - personal or professional.

By episode 5 the story is in full flow, and the building sense of unease compels you to watch. Magnus's life looks set to unravel. His spy bosses, his wife, even his young son begin to perceive what kind of man he is. Only Magnus's father accepted him for himself, for there is a subtle but clear similarity between them. Again, Peter Egan is convincing enough for you to lose yourself in the drama.

One of the most fascinatingly mysterious characters is Axel, who crops up throughout Pym's life and, it seems, will be a major force in his destiny.

Betrayal as a way of life
What makes a perfect spy? Meet Magnus Pym. He's a nice little kid. His dad's a bit of shyster and his mum has Magnus carefully tutored to support and not to upset the old man. And why wouldn't he do everything to please his dad? He loves him. His dad's good to him. He's fun. Rick (Magnus's dad) manipulates everybody around him into impossible positions - but little kids don't notice things like that. That's the sort of thing you learn as you grow up and Magnus soaks it up like a sponge as he gets older. He's a natural: business and friendship with a smile and a stab. A chap like that can go far.

I watched this when it was first broadcast in the 1980s and it had me hooked for its seven episodes (about 50 minutes each). I wondered if it would be as good as I remembered and guess what, it's better. The story is completely gripping and the acting is just superb. The casting is a piece of genius, especially Peter Egan as Magnus, Ray McAnally as Rick and Alan Howard as Brotherhood - but really, every actor - even the smallest parts are acted to perfection. La Carre writes such a clever and convincing story. The characters are complex and colourful - no black and white/good and bad simplicity here. Rick and Magnus are absolute rotters but so likeable with it. The people who should despise them love them. How many other writers could create such paradoxical characters and make them convincing - almost ordinary? La Carre is in a class of his own. Brilliant.

Highly recommended.