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The Russia House
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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780792851714
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 0792851714
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Languages: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 StereoFrench (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 StereoEnglish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
MPN: 1002963
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code: 1
Release Date: December 26, 2001
Running Time: 123 minutes
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: December 19, 1990
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Editorial Review:
Intelligent casting, strong performances, and the persuasive chemistry between Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer prove the virtues in director Fred Schepisi's well-intended but problematic screen realization of this John Le Carré espionage thriller. At its best, The Russia House depicts the bittersweet nuances of the pivotal affair between a weary, alcoholic London publisher (Connery) and the mysterious Russian beauty (Pfeiffer) who sends him a fateful manuscript exposing the weaknesses beneath Soviet defense technology. Connery's Barley is a gritty, all-too-human figure who's palpably revived by his awakening feelings for Pfeiffer's wan, vulnerable Katya, whose own reciprocal emotions are equally convincing. Together, they weave a poignant romantic duet.
The problems, meanwhile, emanate from the story line that brings these opposites together. Le Carré's novels are absorbing but typically internal odysseys that seldom offer the level of straightforward action or simple arcs of plot that the big screen thrives on. For The Russia House, written as glasnost eclipsed the cold war's overt rivalries, Le Carré means to measure how old adversaries must calibrate their battle to a more subtle, subdued match of wits. Barley himself becomes enmeshed in the mystery of the manuscript because British intelligence chooses to use him as cat's paw rather than become directly involved. Such subtlety may be a more realistic take on the spy games of the recent past, but it makes for an often tedious, talky alternative to taut heroics that Connery codified in his most celebrated early espionage role.
If the suspense thus suffers, we're still left with an affecting love story, as well as some convincing sniping between British and U.S. intelligence operatives, beautifully cast with James Fox, Roy Scheider, and John Mahoney. Veteran playwright Tom Stoppard brings considerable style to the dialogue, without solving the problem of giving us more than those verbal exchanges to sustain dramatic interest. --Sam Sutherland
A filmmaking tour de force and 'the year's most sophisticated, suspenseful and sexy entertainment (Cosmopolitan), The Russia House stars OscarÂ(r) winner* Sean Connery and OscarÂ(r) nominee** Michelle Pfeiffer as two people caught in a web of spies and politics, whose love could prove fatal to them both. When Katya (Pfeiffer), a beautiful Russian book editor, attempts to send British publisher Barley Blair (Connery) a manuscript written by a noted Soviet scientist, she unwittingly draws them both into a world of international espionage. The manuscript, which contains information that could alter the balance of world power, is intercepted by the West's spy-masters who then send Blair to Russia to gain more information on the mysterious document. But when Blair meets Katya, he finds himself torn between his mission and the woman whose passion for her countryand for Blairknows no bounds.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Tough to rate....
Ok, here goes:
This movie is a bit of a tough watch, and a tough one to rate. The positives are the acting - Connery, Pfeiffer, Brandenauer, etc all play their parts very well. And the settings were good - Russia looked like what we (American point of view, here) imagine it to be, and the same for Portugal...
I'd like to give it more than 3 stars, just for the above reasons and the fact that I personally liked the theme.
Unfortunately, the plot is tedious a ... Read More
Rating: - russian house
great movie...shows russian life and living conditions as they are in the real world...been there done that....james
Rating:  - boring
I am not trying to be witty here but this is probably the worse movie I have ever seen. Yes, I am experienced with watching a lot of movies. I have even taken a film class. Now my grade in film is not important and don't ask what it is. The point is...this is the worse movie ever. It's as if the director woke up and took out his bottle and said let me think... No neurons firing! Well if you watch it...do it at your own risk. You are sure to be bored.
Or maybe the movie was so good that ... Read More
Rating:  - Checking Out The Cracks in Glasnost
The movie "Russia House," starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, is based on the spy novel of the same name, by that master spy-meister, the British John LeCarre. It's a very acute look at Russia, just as their "Glasnost," policy of openness begins to end --but not quite-- the cold war. The talented British playwright Tom Stoppard adapted the script, largely faithful to the novel. The respected director Fred Schepisi helmed. Like most of the movies adapted from LeCarre's oeuvre, it reflects ... Read More
Rating: - The Russia House
Great movie. Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer play very convincing parts. It is a very believable story.
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