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The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Dramatised)
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale
- Series: Smiley Radio Plays, Book 3
- Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thriller & Suspense
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Summary
It is 1962: the height of the Cold War and only months after the building of the Berlin Wall. Alec Leamas is a hard-working, hard-drinking British intelligence officer whose East Berlin network is in tatters. His agents are either on the run or dead, victims of the ruthlessly efficient East German counter-intelligence officer Hans-Dieter Mundt.
Leamas is recalled to London where, to his surprise, instead of being washed up and consigned to a desk he's offered a chance to have his revenge by becoming a pawn in a brilliantly-conceived plot to destroy Mundt. But in order to do so he has to stay out in the cold a little longer...
Starring the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Smiley, and with a distinguished cast including Brian Cox as Alec Leamas, this tense, compelling dramatisation perfectly captures the atmosphere of le Carré's taut, intricate thriller.
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What listeners say about The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Dramatised)
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Peter
- 22-08-12
Brilliant but short.
This is a great listen. The actors are fantastic and the story gripping. My only wish is that it was longer.
2 people found this helpful
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- Fatmusketeer
- 18-01-10
Gripping Spy Story
This is a superbly acted dramatisatrion of the John Le Carre novel which had me gripped all the way through. The cast is uniformly excellent, but a particular mention from Brian Cox who is the 'spy' in the title. A very fine performance.
2 people found this helpful
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- Maz
- 09-11-20
Berlin Wall History
Characters are too old for my liking - otherwise a great read with a surprising twist! :)
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- Tony Sprague
- 28-09-16
The Spy who came in from the cold.
A great story from a great author who has first hand experience of the trade.......... The first Smiley and the first of many great spy stories by this man.
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- Ismail
- 13-06-16
Best of the Le Carre dramatisations
A brilliantly dramatised version of the book. On par if not better than the film with Richard Burton.
The dramatisation is dark and claustrophobic with minimal background sound and only ever two people talking at any time which really makes you be in the room with the characters. The play immerses you into the atmosphere and you live each moment.
Brilliant and a sheer joy to experience!
Brian Cox as Alec Leamas is perfect for the role as big drinking, bitter spy on one last mission... Ruth Genmell as Liz Gold, naive and innocent... Another great performance. Simon Russel Beale is a scene stealer with his role as Smiley!
Well worth the listen over and over and over again!
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- Andyjn
- 11-02-16
Great story
This is another dramatisation from the BBC. The story is good and the cast really brought it to life.
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- Lawrence
- 07-04-13
Gripping masterpiece
This has to be one of the best spy thrillers i've ever enjoyed.
The story is an artfully crafted masterpiece, and the BBC's format of telling it doesn't skip a beat in building the tension.
You get a similar story format from many of Le Carre's novels, (like Bond: the enemy, the back-stabbers, the beautiful girl, the plot, the peril) - but each time there's a difference that makes each distinctive in its own way.)
The story for this is chilling and gripping from the start. It brings out the coldness of the cold war with style.
Not only one of my favourite audios, this is certainly my favourite of Le Carre's stories.
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- Mr
- 26-09-11
Well dramatised and entertaining
Excellent baptism for me as my first tast of John Le Carre, very entertaining if you want a quick read. That said, I was worried that some of the detail may have been lost through the dramisation of this when compared to an unabridged version. Very good none the less.
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- Rupert
- 26-08-11
Exquisite
Russell Beale and the rest of the cast transport one back to the civil service of the 60's with ease and atmosphere. Masterful.
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- Amazon Customer
- 29-10-10
Brilliant 1960's spy thriller
Great narration or rather play format takes a fantastic story and makes it compelling listening.
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- DARBY KERN
- 01-06-10
Brian Cox is great but...
THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD is such a great story that it's hard to make a bad version of it. This one is good, but it's just good. It's been a little while since I read the book, but it seems they throw more Smiley into the story just to have more of him. Yeah, I realize the point is to tell the whole Smiley saga, but he wasn't a huge part of this story until this telling. Mr. Russel Beale is fine as Smiley, but this story is about Alec Leamus, and Brian Cox is wonderful.
My biggest beef with this production is that it wasn't needed. The BBC did a great adaptation with Colin Blakely which was commercially available until recently. That version maintained the mystery within the story better and didn't need a summation at the end explaining exactly what happened in case we didn't get it. I know there's an opinion out there, usually among younger people, that if something is more than 10 years old it should be redone because we can do it better now. This just isn't the case- not for THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, not for TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY, and from what I've heard so far, SMILEY'S PEOPLE. Newer isn't better. Just newer.
Will this version do in a pinch? Of course, it's a fine production. And more than likely you won't be able to find the older version anyway. Too bad.
As I've said, Brian Cox is wonderful in this. If nothing else listen for him.
8 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 18-12-21
Excellent
Wonderful acting from Brian Cox et Al. An exciting spy thriller with unexpected twists and ending
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- pedro filipuzzi
- 27-05-21
astounding script
a plot cleverly devised by British intelligence in order to cover (and save) the position of a nazi whose allegiance is UK inside the Abteilung that went OK but at a brutal cost.
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- Brian Taylor
- 07-01-21
Berlin Wall meets Sherlock Holmes
Mixed with a sprinkling of a failed version of 007 James Bond. If you like to be a crime sleuth who solves mystery puzzles then this dark drama is for you.
WARNING: do not read while drinking as this will require all of your faculties.
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- Lars
- 05-11-20
Still gripping after 53 years
I read the novel in English class junior year of high school. Very well acted and a worthwhile trip back to the Cold War.
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- Hildie
- 01-04-19
Smashing spy story with a surprising twist!
Loved listening to this spy thriller. It was Very addictive listening to the twists and turns. The actors were fantastic. It was like listening to a movie!
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- Bruce MacDonald
- 14-12-17
Dramatization, not Narration
Too much to listen to, voices to keep straight. Didn’t hold my attention. This is a book I’d prefer to read.
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- David Thomas
- 03-10-17
Disappointing
I really expected much more. This does not do justice to a great spy story.
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- LUCIANO DI GUGLIELMO
- 22-07-17
Best Cold War Spy Novel Ever!
I've watched it, I've read it and I've listened to it...several times each...and now this dramatization which I really enjoyed. I think I have it figured out too, lol. Excellent!
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- Amazon Customer
- 27-06-16
Gripping and consistently surprising
Terrific performance by an ensemble cast, incredible and intriguing plot, and the perfect length for a quick road trip. Highly recommended.