''The Russia House'' is a 1990 American

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...

directed by

Fred Schepisi Frederic Alan Schepisi ( ; Kael, Pauline (1984). '' Taking It All In''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 55. born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director, producer and screenwriter. His credits include '' The Chant of Jimmie ...

and starring

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and popular sex symbols during the 1980s ...

Roy Scheider Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supporting ...

James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', '' The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performan ...

John Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-born American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Frasier'' (1993–2004), and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role in 2000. Mahon ...

Klaus Maria Brandauer Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar. Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in ''The Russia House'' (1990), ''Mephisto'' ...

and director

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...

wrote the screenplay based on

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

's 1989 novel of the same name. It was the first US motion picture to be shot substantially on location in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

Plot

Bartholomew "Barley" Scott-Blair (

), the head of a British publishing firm, arrives in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

on business. At a writers' retreat near

Peredelkino Peredelkino ( rus, Переде́лкино, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈdʲelkʲɪnə) is a dacha complex situated just to the southwest of Moscow, Russia. History The settlement originated as the estate of Peredeltsy, owned by the Leontievs (maternal rela ...

, he speaks of an end to tensions with the West, heard by the mysterious "Dante" (

), who demands that Barley promise to do the right thing if the opportunity arises. A few months later, unable to locate Barley at a trade show, a young Soviet named Katya Orlova (

) asks publisher Nicky Landau (

Nicholas Woodeson Nicholas Woodeson (born 30 November 1949) is an English film, television and theatre actor, and Drama Desk and Olivier award nominee. Early life Woodeson was born in Sudan and lived in the Middle East as a boy. He started performing at prep sc ...

) to give Barley a manuscript. Landau sneaks a look and delivers it to British government authorities. The manuscript is a document detailing the

's capability for waging nuclear war. An investigation reveals "Dante" is renowned Soviet physicist Yakov Efraimovich Saveleyev, author of the manuscript. British intelligence officers track Barley to his holiday flat in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

and interrogate him about his ties to Katya, but realize he knows as little as they do. MI6 realizes the manuscript is also of vital importance to the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

, with both agencies seeking Barley to work on their behalf. British agent Ned (

) gives Barley some fundamental training as a spy. Barley returns to the Soviet Union to seek out Dante and confirm he is a genuine informant. He meets with Katya and is instantly smitten. Through her, he confirms that Dante is indeed Saveleyev, and he also denies to Katya that he is a spy. The British run the operation through its first phase while apprising the CIA of its results. The CIA team, headed by Russell (

), is concerned at the manuscript's description of the Soviet nuclear missile programme in complete disarray and suggests the United States has engaged in a pointless arms race. Katya sets up a meeting with Yakov, going to great lengths to avoid being followed. Barley explains that the manuscript is in the hands of British and American authorities. Yakov feels betrayed, but Barley convinces him that the manuscript can still be published, and is given another volume of the manuscript after assuring Yakov he is sympathetic to the scientist's cause. Impressed by the additional volume, Russell's boss Brady (

) and U.S. military officer Quinn (

J. T. Walsh James Thomas Patrick Walsh (September 28, 1943 – February 27, 1998) was an American character actor. His many films include ''Tin Men'' (1987), ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987), '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), '' Hoffa'' (1992), ''Nixon'' (1995), ...

) interrogate Barley to be certain of his loyalties. Russell states he would help the British operation out of a true ideological belief in , although this would not be good news to his "customers" in the weapons industry, who need an arms race for continued prosperity. Convinced the manuscripts are truthful, the CIA and MI6 create a "shopping list" of questions to extract as much strategic warfare information as Dante can provide. "Russia House" handler Ned senses something is amiss with Barley, but the British-American team continues its plans. Barley returns to the Soviet Union and declares his love to Katya, admitting he is an operative. Katya confesses that Yakov is not acting like himself and fears he may be under KGB observation or control. She gives Barley Yakov's address in Moscow. Under full British-American surveillance, Barley takes the shopping list to Yakov's apartment. Ned suddenly concludes that the Soviets know all about the operation and will steal the list to learn what the British and Americans know, and is convinced that Barley has made a deal to turn over the questions to the KGB. Russell disagrees, and instructs the mission to proceed as planned. The meeting with Yakov is expected to be brief, but after seven hours, Russell admits he was wrong. The team must now pretend the questions were deliberately false. Barley sends a note to Ned explaining that during a pre-arranged phone call to Katya, Dante used a code word to let her know that he had been compromised by the KGB and that her life was in danger. Barley admits he traded the shopping list to the Soviets, in exchange for the release of Katya and her family to the West. He admits his actions might be unfair, but tells Ned, "You shouldn't open other people's letters." Ned visits Barley, who has returned to his flat in

, to wait for Katya. When her ship arrives, Barley greets Katya and her family at the docks, ready to begin a new life with them.

Cast

as Bartholomew "Barley" Scott Blair *

as Katya Orlova *

as Russell *

as Ned *

as Brady *

Michael Kitchen Michael Roy Kitchen (born 31 October 1948) is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in the ITV drama ''Foyle's War'', which comprised eight series betw ...

as Clive *

as Colonel Jackson Quinn'' *

as Walter *

David Threlfall David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In A ...

as Wicklow *

as Dante/Yakov Saveleyev * Mac McDonald as Bob *

as Niki Landau *

Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes Order of the British Empire, OBE Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, comedian, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV (TV network), IT ...

as Brock *

Ian McNeice Ian McNeice (born 2 October 1950) is an English film and television actor. He found fame portraying government agent Harcourt in the 1985 television series '' Edge of Darkness'', and went on to feature in popular films such as ''The Englishma ...

as Merrydew, Embassy Rep. * Colin Stinton as Henziger

Production

''The Russia House'' was filmed from October to December 1989, mostly on location in

and

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. It was the first major American production to be filmed substantially in the

. The film's opening and closing sequences were filmed on location in

, Portugal. The sequence at the safe house was shot on

Bowen Island Bowen Island (originally Nex̱wlélex̱m in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver. Bowen Island is within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust. Located in Howe Sound, it is approximate ...

, near

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. The remainder of the film was shot in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The film was shot using an anamorphic process called Technovision.

Soundtrack

The critically acclaimed music to ''The Russia House'' was composed and conducted by veteran composer

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franc ...

. The score featured a mixture of

Russian music Music of Russia denotes music produced from Russia and/or by Russians. Russia is a large and culturally diverse country, with many ethnic groups, each with their own locally developed music. Russian music also includes significant contributio ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

to complement the nationalities and characteristics of the two main characters. There were four main featured soloists, with only one receiving a card on the opening titles - Branford Marsalis on soprano

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

. Other soloists include a duduk player (an Armenian double reed instrument), pianist Mike Lang and double bassist

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. When he was 12, he bought his first bass and decided on his career. He listened to bass parts in R ...

. A soundtrack album has been released twice. The first edition was released as a film tie in on 11 December 1990 through

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

and features 17 tracks of score (including one piece of

diegetic Diegesis (; from the Greek from , "to narrate") is a style of fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which: # Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narra ...

(source) music at a running time just over 61 minutes. # "Katya" (3:57) # "Introductions" (3:12) # "The Conversation" (4:13) # "Training" (2:01) # "Katya and Barley" (2:32) # "First Name, Yakov" (2:53) # "Bon Voyage" (2:11) # "The Meeting" (3:59) # "I'm With You" (2:39) # "Alone in the World" (4:09) - performed by Patti Austin # "The Gift" (2:34) # "Full Marks" (2:27) # "Barley's Love" (3:24) # "My Only Country" (4:34) # "Crossing Over" (4:13) # "The Deal" (4:09) # "The Family Arrives" (7:38) An expanded CD album of just under 76 minutes was released in December 2017 by Quartet Records, which was remastered by Mike Matessino featuring a number of cues not on the original MCA album, one track of three unused cues and an alternate. The booklet included in the package featured an in depth look at the film and music, by British saxophonist/film music historian/author Dirk Wickenden, incorporating new comments from Mike Lang. Dirk Wickenden dedicated his liner notes to his saxophonist granddad, George Ernest Tallent (1906 - 1976). The limited edition CD sold out within hours of release but luckily for those who missed it first time around, a non-limited CD edition was issued again by Quartet Records, in August 2021. # Katya (4:03) # First Meeting (2:05) - previously unreleased # The Package / London House / We’ve Got Him (1:37) - unused in the film, previously unreleased # Introductions (3:16) # The Conversation (4:17) # Portrait of Katya (0:49) - previously unreleased # Training (2:05) # Katya and Barley (2:35) # Who Is He? (1:32) - previously unreleased # First Name, Yakov (2:57) # All Alone (0:37) - previously unreleased # Bon Voyage (2:15) # The Meeting (4:02) # I'm With You (What Is This Thing Called Love?) (2:42) # The Lie Detector (2:17) - previously unreleased # The Gift (2:38) # Full Marks (2:32) # Barley's Love (3:30) # My Only Country (4:40) # Crossing Over (4:17) # The Cemetery (1:17) - previously unreleased # The Deal (4:14) # The Family Arrives (7:43) # Alone in the World (Vocal by Patti Austin) (4:14) # Barley's Love (Film Version) (3:32) - previously unreleased

Reception

''The Russia House'' received a score of 68% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 19 reviews. Hal Hinson in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote: "Making a picture about the political situation in a country as much in flux as the

can be disastrous, but the post- glasnost realities here seem plausible and up to the minute. ''The Russia House'' doesn't sweep you off your feet; it works more insidiously than that, flying in under your radar. If it is like any of its characters, it's like Katya. It's reserved, careful to declare itself but full of potent surprises. It's one of the year's best films."

Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...

in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' wrote: "At its best, ''The Russia House'' offers a rare and enthralling spectacle: the resurrection of buried hopes." '' Time Out'' less enthusiastically wrote: "Overtaken by East-West events, and with an over-optimistic ending which sets personal against political loyalty, it's still highly enjoyable, wittily written, and beautiful to behold in places, at others somehow too glossy for its own good."

's adapted screenplay was criticised by

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'': "There is evidence of Mr. Stoppard's wit in the dialogue, but the lines are not easily spoken, which is not to say that they are unspeakable. They are clumsy." Roger Ebert held a similar view in the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'': "What's good are the few emotional moments that break out of the weary spy formula: Connery declaring his love for Pfeiffer, or the British and Americans getting on each other's nerves. But these flashes of energy are isolated inside a screenplay that is static and boring, that drones on lifelessly through the le Carré universe, like some kind of space probe that continues to send back random information long after its mission has been accomplished."

was praised for his portrayal of Barley, "bluff, incorrigible, jazz-loving... his finest performance in ages." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "As the flawed, unreliable publisher, Connery is in top form." Peter Travers in ''

'' thought he captured "the 'splendid quiet' that le Carré found in Blair." Hal Hinson in ''The Washington Post'' wrote: "This may be the most complex character Connery has ever played, and without question it's one of his richest performances. Connery shows the melancholy behind Barley's pickled charm, all the wasted years and unkept promises." Desson Howe, also in ''The Washington Post'', wrote: "Sean Connery, like

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...

, takes a role like a vitamin pill, downs it, then goes about his bighearted business of making the part his idiosyncratic own." However, he received criticism from the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', who thought that the "usually magnetic Mr. Connery... is at odds with Barley, a glib, lazy sort of man who discovers himself during this adventure. Mr. Connery goes through the movie as if driving in second gear."

also garnered critical plaudits for delivering "the film's most persuasive performance... Miss Pfeiffer, sporting a credible Russian accent, brings to it a no-nonsense urgency that is missing from the rest of the movie," according to ''The New York Times''. Desson Howe in ''The Washington Post'' wrote: "As Katya, a mother who risks her love to smuggle a document and falls for a Westerner in the process, her gestures are entirely believable, her accent (at least to one set of Western ears) is quietly perfect." Peter Travers in ''

'' wrote that "Pfeiffer, who gets more subtle and incisive with each film, is incandescent as Katya." Hal Hinson in ''The Washington Post'' congratulated her for portraying a rounded character: "Her triumph goes beyond her facility with the Russian accent; other actresses could have done that. She's great at playing contradictions, at being tough yet yielding, cloaked yet open, direct yet oblique. What's she's playing, we suspect, is the great Russian game of hide-and-seek. But Pfeiffer gives it a personal dimension. Katya holds herself in check, but her wariness, one senses, is as much personal as it is cultural -- the result, perhaps, of her own secret wounds. It's one of the year's most full-blooded performances." However, Pfeiffer also had her detractors. ''

'' thought that her "Russian accent proves very believable but she has limited notes to play." '' Time Out'' wrote that "Pfeiffer can act, but her assumption of a role for which her pouty glamour is inappropriate – a Russian office-worker seen rubbing shoulders in the bus queues – is a jarring note."

Awards and nominations

was nominated for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

at the

41st Berlin International Film Festival The 41st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1991. The festival opened with ''Uranus'' by Claude Berri. The Golden Bear was awarded to Italian film '' La casa del sorriso'' directed by Marco Ferreri. The ret ...

was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset * Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestersh ...

, but lost to

Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actor and director. Known for her roles in comedic and dramatic films and television programs, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, includ ...

in '' Misery'' (1990).

Home video release

MGM released ''The Russia House'' on DVD on December 26, 2001. Twilight Time released a limited edition version of the film on Blu-ray on July 12, 2016. The release included booklet notes by Julie Kirgo, a vintage promotional documentary about the making of the film, a trailer and an isolated score ( non diegetic) and source (

) music track. The film was re-released on Blu-Ray by Sandpiper Pictures on June 14, 2022. Their release included the trailer. It was also a single-layer Blu-Ray, where the previous release had contained a larger file size, on a dual-layer Blu-Ray.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russia House, The 1990 films 1990s spy films 1990s thriller drama films American political drama films American political thriller films American romantic drama films American spy films Cold War spy films Films about the Secret Intelligence Service 1990s Russian-language films Films based on works by John le Carré Films directed by Fred Schepisi Films set in Lisbon Films set in Moscow Films set in the Soviet Union Films shot in British Columbia Films shot in Lisbon Films shot in London Films shot in Moscow Films shot in Saint Petersburg Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films with screenplays by Tom Stoppard Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith 1990 drama films Films produced by Paul Maslansky Films about the KGB Films about the Central Intelligence Agency 1990s English-language films 1990s American films