British author John Le Carré recently passed away, but his influence on spy movies and miniseries will live on into perpetuity. Quite a few of Le Carré's award-winning novels have been adapted over the decades, titles that have become synonymous with Cold War espionage, intrigue, and government cover-ups.
Le Carré's focus extends beyond the Cold War, though; his works are set across time and across the globe, making them the perfect source material for cinematic ventures. They're so perfect, in fact, that every film based on a Le Carré book carries a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes - which is no easy feat.
The Little Drummer Girl (1984) - 71%
Decades before the miniseries that pushed Florence Pugh into the limelight, Diane Keaton played Charlie in a feature-length adaptation of The Little Drummer Girl. Charlie is an American actress living in London who is coerced by Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, into entrapping a Palestinian bomber.
Klaus Kinski co-stars as Mossad agent Martin Kurtz, who trains Charlie for the mission she's far from excited to complete. While reviews are mixed about the performance from Keaton, most critics agree The Little Drummer Girl is a taut, effective thriller.
Our Kind Of Traitor (2016) - 72%
Director Susanna White adds a bit of flair and briskness to Le Carré's usually slow-burning narrative style in Our Kind of Traitor. It stars Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris as Perry and Gail MacKendrick, who become friends with a jovial, wealthy Russian man while vacationing in Antigua.
Little do they know the Russian, played by Stellan Skarsgard, intends to exploit the MacKendricks as part of a money-laundering scheme. While stylish, there is nothing superficial about what transpires in Our Kind of Traitor.
The Russia House (1990) - 72%
A classic Le Carré novel gets the Bond treatment in The Russia House, which sees Sean Connery playing a British publisher who is pursued by British Intelligence and the CIA. These agencies want his character, Barley, to investigate a vital manuscript that contains details about Soviet bomb-making.
Michelle Pfeiffer plays the Russian woman Barley falls in love with, Katya, who is also his main informant. While pretty standard fare for a spy film, The Russia House contains some extra splashes of life thanks to the screenplay by Tom Stoppard.
The Tailor Of Panama (2001) - 77%
Pierce Brosnan, another Bond, plays a morally questionable British spy in The Tailor of Panama. After being banished to Panama for having an affair with an ambassador's mistress, Brosnan's character Andy targets a corrupt tailor with access to Panamanian intelligence.
Geoffrey Rush plays the titular tailor, and Jamie Lee Curtis co-stars as his alluring wife. Theatrical, satirical, and comical, The Tailor of Panama is the kind of 2000s thriller that doesn't take itself very seriously.
The Constant Gardener (2005) - 83%
The overtly political, anti-imperial The Constant Gardener isn't just a public service announcement about the crooked nature of the pharmaceutical industry; it's a very human story about a British diplomat whose pregnant wife is murdered for getting too close to the truth. Ralph Fiennes stars as the diplomat, Justin Quayle; Rachel Weisz co-stars as his radical wife, Tessa, who hopes to uncover the truth behind suspicious drug trials in Kenya.
In the wake of the loss, Justin decides to unveil the truth about Tessa's research and try to bring those responsible for her death to justice - even if it means losing his own life in the process. The genuine love demonstrated between Weisz's and Fiennes's characters keeps The Constant Gardener from becoming overwhelmed by the far-reaching implications of its plot.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) - 83%
Perhaps the most well-known novel by Le Carré, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a Cold War melodrama about one MI6 agent's attempt to find a mole within his ranks. This ensemble spy film stars Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt, and Ciarán Hinds - to name a few.
Oldman stars as one of Le Carré's famed characters, George Smiley, who is forced out of semi-retirement to sniff out the double-crossing agent. What ensues is a dark dive deep into the heart of British bureaucracy.
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965) - 87%
The oldest film on this list, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold is a chilly, gritty examination of one British spy's latest mission: to pose as an embittered, jobless alcoholic in hopes of being recruited by the East German Intelligence Service. Richard Burton plays the bestubbled agent whose plot lands him right in the hands of his enemies.
Instead of the handsome, sharp-featured hero, the titular spy, Alec Leamas, is a brooding anti-hero who doesn't offer much in the way of charm. But what he lacks in looks he makes up for with intelligence.
A Most Wanted Man (2014) - 87%
With its star-studded cast and politically charged themes, A Most Wanted Man demonstrates Le Carré's ability to weave together intimate character studies up until the end of his life. In the film, Philip Seymour Hoffman (in one of his final roles) plays a German intelligence officer who runs a covert agency that recruits informants with ties to Islamic terror cells.
Hoffman's character Gunther hopes to find a new enlistee with Issa, a Chechnyan refugee played by Grigoriy Dobrygin who enters Germany without proper documentation. Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, and Robin Wright round out the cast of this thoughtful thriller.