Saw this one years ago and, not having been overly impressed, recently re-viewed it in order to "give it another chance", (motivated, not least, by a renewed interest in the screen career of Alec Guinness). Verdict? Guinness, (as the British spy-master in 1960s Berlin), is superb. His appearances, as the pompous, bureaucratic manipulator, are the real high points of the film. His character is so rich, (you can imagine his whole career being built on knowing when to "kiss and when to kick"), that you long for more. Also superb is the camera work and lighting. You REALLY feel this is how Berlin MUST have looked in the depths of the Cold War and the use of actual locations, (such as the view from Guiness' "headquarters" in the highrise building overlooking the centre of West Berlin), is great. Whenever I re-read a John Le Carre novel set in that period, it will no doubt be the images from THIS film that come to mind. Which brings me to the downsides of the film. Number one, oh how you LONG for a Le Carre-quality script! As it is, what you get, (Neo-Nazis and a "love story", which is boring from the word go), is dime novel stuff. Segal and Berger do not make for convincing leads and the whole thing lacks pace and vitality. I imagine the director was aiming at some kind of "framework" story in which the audience is invited to "fill in the pieces", (e.g. is Berger's Head Teacher really 'one of them' or not?), but, as it is, I got the feeling, "If you cannot be bothered to fill it out, neither can I!" Conclusion: it will be at least another decade or so before I bother to re-view again. (OR to replay the theme song. Talk about OVER-use! It begins to crop up in EVERY scene! Was the WHOLE of West Berlin, Europe, human kind just re-playing "Tuesday's child" in 1966???) 6/10