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

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to producer Paul Maslansky, filming at Soviet locations, which began in Leningrad on October 2, 1989, cost up to US$10,000 an hour, excluding the actors' salaries. He estimated the total cost of five weeks' filming in the Soviet Union at US$2.5 million. Maslansky said filming was made possible because of the "glasnost," or openness, policy of President Mikhail Gorbachev. "Under previous leaderships, there would have been a problem filming a le Carre novel," he said. Instead, Maslansky said, there was nothing but cooperation.

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Goofs

When Barley first meets Katya, they're in the big square and he tells her that 3 years ago he was nearly arrested in the same place for suspicion of being a spy. Katya asks "were you?", and Barley replies "of course not" .. He then goes on to explain "a soldier and his girl friend..." followed by a short pause during which Katya smiled satisfactorily, but then Barley continues to explain "..asked me to take a photo of them."! Katya should have waited until Barley finished the whole sentence before smiling (laughing) with satisfaction.

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Quotes

Walter: This is just like school! Dear old, bloody old, school!

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Connections

Referenced in Shirtless: Hollywood's Sexiest Men (2002)

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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

a romance pretending to be a thriller

Maybe I was just in the right mood, but I found this an effective romance. Michelle Pfieffer was even better than her usual terrific self, and the rest of the excellent cast was, well, excellent. It is pretty slow, but I think that this is essential to the conclusion, which I found quite moving. You have to give this movie a chance to grow on you, but if you are patient it is quite accessible. Not bleak at all, as you'd expect from Le Carre.

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