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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Studio Trite
Not part of a collection.
Their love was as dangerous as the secrets they kept.
Barley Scott Blair, a Lisbon-based editor of Russian literature who unexpectedly begins working for British intelligence, is commissioned to investigate the purposes of Dante, a dissident scientist trapped in the decaying Soviet Union that is crumbling under the new open-minded policies.
kevin2019
Sep 17, 2026 · via TMDB
"The Russia House" amply illustrates that the global bestselling author John le Carre wasn't just marvellous at creating intriguing central ideas which would no doubt send both the American and British Security Services into a salivating frenzy (as it does here), but he was also perfectly capable of developing such terrific ideas into convincing novels. This film is based upon his 1989 novel of the same name and it spends a lot of time wrangling extensively over the disputed central issues at hand with a lot of incredibly delicate and realistic negotiating ensuing all of which is absolutely fascinating. The film is also immeasurably helped by Jerry Goldsmith's excellent romantic noir score and by the fact the ending is a very mature and satisfying one which is completely character based and not reliant upon the more simplistic action oriented approach.
CinemaSerf
Dec 8, 2024 · via TMDB
Sean Connery at least looks like he's having some fun in this otherwise rather dry adaptation of the John Le Carré tale of Cold War espionage. He's "Barley", a publisher who is recruited by MI5 to investigate a secret document sent from the USSR purporting to itemise their nuclear arsenal. Needless to say both the British and their CIA counterparts are wetting themselves at the very thought of this being real, but that needs to be verified - and that's where they recruit "Barley". He travels to Moscow to meet the author, codenamed "Dante" (Klaus Maria Brandauer) and it's whilst there he becomes increasingly distracted by his "editor" (Michelle Pfeiffer) - a woman whom his source claims never to have met! As the plot develops, it becomes clear that strings are being pulled but also that "Barley" is beginning to think on his own, and not necessarily with his brain either. Will he stick to the plan or will he throw a spanner in the works of his Western handlers? It's a solid enough story but it's padded out far too thinly. There's no chemistry between the characters from Connery and Pfeiffer (and her ropey accent) and though there are plenty of red herrings to fuel the intrigue, that's all delivered in a remarkably sterile and disjointed fashion. Le Carré's stories always focussed on detail and this film rather skirts over that in favour of developing the burgeoning romance, and that rather neuters the sense of suspense that's also not really helped by the blandness of James Fox and Roy Scheider. It's watchable, but nobody's finest two hours.
Wuchak
Dec 16, 2020 · via TMDB
_**Artistic production with Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, but uninteresting spy story**_ A few years before the fall of the Soviet Union, a boozy English publisher named Barley (Sean Connery) is sent a mysterious manuscript via a beautiful Russian editor named Katya (Michelle Pfeiffer), but it’s intercepted by British intelligence and Barley is coerced into going to Moscow & Leningrad to meet with Katya and the writer of the documents (Klaus Maria Brandauer), which contain technical data that calls into question the quality of the Soviet defense weaponry. Meanwhile both British and American agents (Roy Scheider, James Fox, et al.) surveil Barley’s activities. Based on John le Carre's novel, "The Russia House" (1990) is a spy drama/romance and NOT an action thriller in the mold of James Bond. Its considerable attributes include spectacular (and rare) on-location work in Russia (shot just a couple years before the fall of the USSR), Jerry Goldsmith's sumptuous jazzy score with Branford Marsalis playing soprano sax and, of course, the notable cast. The film is aesthetically pleasing and the love story is effective, especially its culmination, but the spy yarn didn’t interest me. This may because I didn’t utilize the subtitles and therefore missed a lot of the highly accented verbiage, which is a mistake when a movie is dialogue-driven, like this one. The depiction of intelligence work is presumably realistic (as opposed to 007), but static, boring, cynical and with little human decency. Next time I watch it I’ll be sure to use the subtitles. The film runs 2 hour, 3 minutes, and was shot in Moscow & Leningrad and points nearby; as well as Lisbon, Portugal (Barley’s flat); Bowen Island, British Columbia (American Intelligence 'safe house'); and London (book fair & jazz concert), as well as nearby Pinewood Studios. GRADE: C+/B-
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Fandango At Home
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Sean Connery
Bartholomew 'Barley' Scott Blair
Michelle Pfeiffer
Katya Orlova
Roy Scheider
Russell
James Fox
Ned
John Mahoney
Brady
Michael Kitchen
Clive
J.T. Walsh
Colonel Quinn
Ken Russell
Walter
David Threlfall
Wicklow
Klaus Maria Brandauer
Dante
Mac McDonald
Bob
Nicholas Woodeson
Niki Landau
Martin Clunes
Brock
Ian McNeice
Merrydew
Colin Stinton
Henziger
Denys Hawthorne
Paddy
Peter Marinker
U.S. Scientist
Nikolai Pastukhov
Uncle Matvey
Jason Salkey
Johnny
Christopher Lawford
Larry
Mark LaMura
Todd
Blu Mankuma
Merv
Tuck Milligan
Stanley
Jay Benedict
Spikey
Fyodor Smirnov
Watcher
Pavel Sirotin
Watcher
Martin Wenner
Scientist - Whitehall
Simon Templeman
Psychoanalyst - Whitehall
Raisa Ryazanova
Russian Guest
Kate Lock
Jacky
Charlotte Cornwell
Charlotte
Craig Crosbie
Technician
Michael Fitzpatrick
Hoover
Rob Freeman
Hoover
Aleksandr Yatsko
Russian Writer
David Ryall
Colonial Type
Nikolay Dik
major of KGB
Alexei Jawdokimov
Arkady
Constantine Gregory
KGB Interviewer
Jonty Reason
Delegate (uncredited)
Vladimir Kuznetsov
company representative (uncredited)
Vladimir Sidorov
an officer of the Leningrad police
Ian Baker
Director of Photography
Simon Finney
Second Assistant Camera
Fred Schepisi
Director
Adam Somner
Third Assistant Director
Perry Evans
Gaffer
Fred Schepisi
Producer
Leonid Vereshchagin
Producer
Nikita Mikhalkov
Producer
Branford Marsalis
Musician
John Patitucci
Musician
Jerry Goldsmith
Original Music Composer
John le Carré
Novel
Tom Stoppard
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Dec 21, 1990
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can we call?
2022
The Millerson Case
1947
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
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