The first clip from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has hit online and it has me even more eager to hear what the reaction to the film will be after it debuts at the Venice Film Festival this weekend.  In the clip, "Control" (John Hurt), the head of the "Circus" (aka Britian's intelligence agency, MI6) instructs agent Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) in the hunt for the mole, assigning code-names to each of the suspects in the hunt.  The code names are "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Poor Man" and the fifth suspect is protagonist George Smiley (Gary Oldman), the retired MI6 agent who joins the investigation.  I think the use of putting pictures on chess pieces is a little heavy handed, but I love the tension of the scene and the way it's shot.  So far, no film has gotten rave reviews out of Venice but I'm hoping will be hearing positive reactions to the spy thriller.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  The film also stars Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, and Benedict Cumberbatch.  Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opens in the UK on September 16th and in the US on December 9th.

Clip via Empire.

Here’s the official synopsis for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy:

Based on the classic novel of the same name, the international thriller is set at the height of the Cold War years of the mid-20th Century. George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a disgraced British spy, is rehired in secret by his government – which fears that the British Secret Intelligence Service, a.k.a. MI-6, has been compromised by a double agent working for the Soviets.

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