The Russia House (1990)

An expatriate British publisher unexpectedly finds himself working for British intelligence to investigate people in Russia.

Director:

Fred Schepisi

Writers:

John le Carré (novel), Tom Stoppard (screenplay)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roy Scheider

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	Barley
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Katya
Roy Scheider	...	Russell
James Fox	...	Ned
John Mahoney	...	Brady
Michael Kitchen	...	Clive
J.T. Walsh	...	Quinn
Ken Russell	...	Walter
David Threlfall	...	Wicklow
Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Dante
Mac McDonald	...	Bob
Nicholas Woodeson	...	Niki Landau
Martin Clunes	...	Brock
Ian McNeice	...	Merrydew (as Ian McNiece)
Colin Stinton	...	Henziger

Storyline

Three notebooks supposedly containing Russian military secrets are handed to a British publisher during a Russian book conference. The British Secret Service are naturally keen to learn if these notebooks are the genuine article. To this end, they enlist the help of the scruffy British publisher Barley Blair, who has plenty of experience with Russia and Russians. Barley, an unconventional character who doesn't respond well to authority, finds himself in a game more complex than he first thought when he digs into the origin of the notebooks.

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Plot Keywords:

east west | british intelligence | unsubtitled foreign language | moscow russia | mi6 | 

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Taglines:

From John Le Carre's Best-Selling Thriller

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

21 December 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

John le Carré's The Russia House

Filming Locations:

Novospassky Monastery, Moscow, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

$21,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,435,650, 25 December 1990

Gross USA:

$22,997,992

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$22,997,992

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Star Partners III Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mike Nichols was once attached as director. During his tenure, playwright Tom Stoppard was brought into do the screenplay.

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Goofs

During Blair's "start the avalanche" speech, Dante is seen at the end of the table. As the camera pans around the table during the speech, Dante disappears from the end of the table, and then reappears.

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Quotes

[Russell produces a stack of reports on the analysis of Dante's material]
Clive: And is there a conclusion?
Russell: Clive, there is a conclusion: drop it down the toilet.
Ned: And is that what you think, Russell?
Russell: Well, expert opinion has that this notebook was written very quickly... or very slowly. By a man, or a woman. The writer was right-handed, or he was left-handed. What I think? For "experts," there's no toilet deep enough.

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Connections

Featured in Omnibus: Inside the Russia House (1991)

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Soundtracks

Ain't Misbehavin'
Written by Fats Waller (as Thomas "Fats" Waller), Harry Brooks & Andy Razaf
Published by Bienstock Publishing Co. & Filmtrax

User Reviews

Slow Pacing - James Bond This Is Not

Interesting adaptation of John Le Carre's spy novel. As with Mr. Le Carre's writing the movie is slow and deliberately paced, letting the plot slowly sink in, and not explode in your face. The casting is dead-on with a frumpy Connery playing a middle-aged British book publisher whose love of Russia draws him in to a very high-stakes espionage caper at the end of the Cold War. Michelle Pfeiffer is also well cast as Katya, his Russian counterpart, i.e., a non-professional also drawn into the spy game. The movie does have a problem in moving the plot along through the all-to-frequent scenes of guys sitting around talking about espionage stuff. But if you like this kind of slow-paced, heavily romantic, thinking man's thriller then give this movie a try.