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:

russkies | notebook | russian | russia | british intelligence | 

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Taglines:

A Spy Story . . . A Love Story . . . A Story to Cross all Boundaries.

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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, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$22,998,000

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

The second American movie production to film in Russia. The first had been Red Heat (1988).

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Goofs

Near the end of the movie, at the American control center, when an assistant hands Ned a cup of coffee, he tips it enough that you can see the cup is empty.

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Quotes

Clive: Do you believe this nonsense?
Bartholomew "Barley" Scott Blair: I don't know. I believe it when I say it. But you've got to be there: you're taking a leak in some filthy public urinal and the man in the next stall leans across and asks you about God or Kafka or freedom versus responsibility; so you tell him because you know, because you're from the West. And before you've finished shaking your dick you think:"What a great country!" That's why I love them... and they're very fond of me.

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Connections

References Breathless (1960)

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Soundtracks

The Sheik Of Araby
Written by Ted Snyder (as T. Snyder), Francis Wheeler (as F. Wheeler) & Harry B. Smith (as H. B. Smith)
Published by Bienstock Publishing Co. & Filmtrax

User Reviews

musically, an interesting film

i wish to opine merely on the film-scoring aspects of this feature. Jerry Goldsmith wrote a compelling and sexy set of themes which are used to great effect in this film. it surprised me, having watched the movie for probably the 5th time the other night, how integrated and present the music is. now, to a large degree this is normal with a modern hollywood feature. but i found that objectively viewing the film from outside the story itself, the music carries a greater weight than in most films of its genre. this is perhaps the choice of the director or the producers, but in either case, Goldsmith (and Marsalis in performace) does a wonderful job of lifting an otherwise lethargic script (as do Connery's and Pfeiffer's performances). the film itself could have been 20% better, but it would most certainly have come at the expense of the musical score and soundtrack, which really shine in this rendering.