charlidos

This is an interesting video/interviews about the clothes worn in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - more specifically, the suits worn by Gary Oldman, Colin Firth & Benedict Cumberbatch. (I would have loved a closer look at Tom’s clothes too!)

In related news, Harrods has a Tinker Tailor theme in menswear - I love it.

More from that lovely interview with Tomas Alfredson (in Swedish - translated by me), talking about music and why he chose La Mer with Julio Iglesias (see video):

So you sit alone and listen to music for hours in headphones?

Yes.

Ironically enough, it sounds like something you can imagine George Smiley doing.

You know the song which ends the film, La Mer? We choose it just because we fantasised about George Smiley listening to it home alone. We wanted to somehow give an impression of his inner being. So the choice of the kind of music he could possibly listen to was very important. It could absolutely not be Beethoven. And not something too typically British, like Music Hall.

But then I found this recording of La Mer done by Julio Iglesias from the beginning of the 1970’s, recorded live at the Olympia in Paris. Julio Iglesias was a great singer at this time. I have a few albums which are damn good. Julio Iglesias version of La Mer becomes representative of everything the world of MI6 isn’t. Instead of damp streets and old men smoking in rooms it’s sea and sun and the beach, perhaps a golden bracelet around the wrist. And so we get a more romantic image of George Smiley.

But there is no scene where he sits and listen to La Mer. It starts playing at a Christmas party.

No, we filmed a scene like that, but we had to cut it, it became too meaningful. But all the actors in the final scenes got to listen to it in headphones to get in the right mood.

What did actors like Colin Firth think of how you in a British film listen to a Spanish singer perform a French chanson?

The reaction was something like: “I’m not sure I get it … but I think it’s wonderful!” And in the film’s very first scene you can hear Jussi Björling [legendary Swedish opera singer].

What? Is it true?

Nobody’s caught that. But in the apartment of Control you can in the background hear Jussi Björling sing “Sveeeeerige, Sveeeeeerige” [Sweeeeeden, Sweeeeeden]. A little joke on my part.  

deareje:

overdarainbow:

tom and benedict whispering to each other on the red carpet @ TTSS UK premiere

spread.

I love how both Tom & Ben grab and pat each other a little extra. They’re obviously wonderfully happy to see each other. :D

lornasp:

Here’s the Sky Special on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Includes interviews with Gary, Colin, Tom but sadly no Benedict.

 Excellent! Great stuff. And lots of Tom in there. He calls himself ‘an opinion thief’. Heh.