Few careers are as dangerous and exciting as that of a spy. Agents in charge of going behind enemy lines, uncovering secrets, and toppling empires from the inside hold the keys to stories best-selling authors can only dream of. Now Errol Morris is investigating one of the greats for a new documentary. Today, Apple Original Films unveiled The Pigeon Tunnel trailer, a stirring portrait of the master of espionage fiction, John le Carré.
In The Pigeon Tunnel, “Morris pulls back the curtain on the storied life and career of former British spy David Cornwell—better known as John le Carré, author of such classic espionage novels as “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The Constant Gardener,” says the documentary’s official press release. “Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Cold War leading into the present day, the film spans six decades as le Carré delivers his final and most candid interview, punctuated with rare archival footage and dramatized vignettes. The Pigeon Tunnel is a deeply human and engaging exploration of le Carré’s extraordinary journey and the paper-thin membrane between fact and fiction.”
In The Pigeon Tunnel trailer, John le Carré explains the criteria for recruiting a spy into the Secret Service, saying, “It’s terribly difficult to recruit for the Secret Service. You’re looking for somebody who’s a bit bad but, at the same time, loyal. There’s a type, and I fitted perfectly.” The enigmatic author then explains how the MI6 division wasn’t enough to satiate his thirst for darkness and danger. To add to the experience, he created a fictional world filled with people who fascinated him. The stories birthed a world outside his own, made up of events that could have happened, but we’ll never truly know.
The Pigeon Tunnel is produced by Fourth Floor Production’s Errol Morris and The Ink Factory’s Dominic Crossley-Holland, Steven Hathaway, Simon Cornwell, and Stephen Cornwell, and executive produced by Hossein Amini, P.J. van Sandwijk, Michael Lesslie, Joe Tsai, Arthur Wang, Michele Wolkoff and Katherine Butler.
Are you intrigued by Apple’s The Pigeon Tunnel trailer? Do you have a favorite John le Carré novel? Let us know in the comments below.
The Pigeon Tunnel premieres globally on Apple TV+ on October 20, 2023.