Streaming Quick Picks: Alec Guinness (Part Two, 1961-1994)
This week we provide the second of two entries devoted to the work of Sir Alec Guinness. This week’s spotlight, as with Part One, is inspired by the recently completed UW Cinematheque celebration of the Alec Guinness Centennial. If you are left wanting more—and with such breadth and depth of work, why wouldn’t you be—we invite you to check out the Guinness films that were released after 1960.
In looking at the post-1960 work, you will see a combination of familiar roles (Obi-Wan Kenobi and Prince Feisal) and more obscure performances (including turns as Freud and Hitler). In the interests of completeness, we have gathered as many titles as possible, from those where Guinness had a starring role to those where he had a mere walk-on.
In a rare move for us, we have also included two mini-series: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley’s People. If you enjoyed the 2011 version of Tinker Tailor, it’s well worth your time to go back to these late-70’s/early-80’s iterations and savor Guinness’ performances as the brilliant, beleaguered spy George Smiley.
Additionally, in the interests of providing as many films as possible, where streaming resources (courtesy of Netflix, Amazon Instant, and Vudu) were not available, we relied on our friends from the Madison Public Library and Four Star Video Coop.
The Madison Film Forum wants you to stream or rent one great film a week, attend at least one great film a month, and meet people doing the same. If you enjoyed the UW Cinematheque series or have taken a look at some of the Alec Guinness films in these posts, please share your thoughts on the films in the comments below.
