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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Terrific & Intelligent Spy Thriller & Love Story!, July 8, 2000
Like the other movies originating from the unchallenged master of the intelligent spy thriller John LeCarre, this one is a really a sophisticated thriller exposing the hidden, complicated, and conflicted corners of an individual's human heart. "The Russia House" represented a formidable new challenge for LeCarre, so suddenly deprived of the spy-thriller heaven of the cold war he had built his career describing. But here he has mined fresh new tunnels of insight into the cunning, deceit, and betrayal that is the stuff of real-life espionage. At the same time, this movie also weaves a quite memorable love story in the spaces squeezed between the two sides. Barley Blair (Sean Connery), the failing boozehound scion of a collapsing British publishing house with a love for everything Russian, happens by drunken though eloquent happenstance to inspire a famous Soviet scientist into attempting to sneak his manuscript detailing the real sorry state of Russian ICBM capabilities into the hands of the West in order to foster a recognition of the folly of the arms race and to end what he calls "the great lie". The scientist attempts to contact Blair, but through a series of mishaps rivaling the deeds of the keystone cops winds up landing the manuscript in the hands of the British Secret Service. So they soon want Barley to intercede with the Russian contact point (Michelle Pfeiffer) to find out who the author of the manuscript is and thus determine its authenticity. So Barley pursues the beautiful but conflicted contact, an idealistic angel of mercy who soon sparks Barley's love interest and paternal concern. The game is afoot. The movie is gorgeously photographed on a number of locations throughout Russia, and the travelogue-like tour through Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Minsk is spellbinding. Likewise, the acting is top notch, with Roy Scheider, James Fox, and a whole welter of distinguished British actors lending presence and gravity to this intelligent thriller. As is usual, the plot takes off slowly but builds to a mind-boggling series of intertwining activities one has to pay attention to understand. Before long we recognize the familiar murderous games set into motion with deadly earnest by the Brits, the Americans, and the Russians, none of whom give a rattler's damn about Barley, the contact, or the scientist. This is a stunning, suspenseful, and somewhat rueful tale of what unfolds when we discover that there is a real possibility that the so-called Soviet ICBM threat is a sham, that the missiles cannot escape their silos, that their ability to achieve trajectory or destroy targets with any accuracy is vastly over-rated. And as one can expect from LeCarre's shadowy and complex geopolitical world of espionage and power, there are no simple answers or easy foregone conclusions. This is a wonderful movie, which in my opinion is quite under-rated. It has the ring of more real-life veracity and worldly wisdom than one can easily find on the non-fiction side of the movie theater aisle. Enjoy!
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A welcome change from overwrought missions impossible, February 15, 2001
When the rusty Iron Curtain disintegrated during Gorbachev's glasnost, Hollywood filmmakers finally got access to the image-rich expanse of Mother Russia for location shoots. Whereas before, when scenes of "Moscow" or "Leningrad" were actually filmed in, say, Helsinki, now American theatergoers can gaze upon the real thing. On viewing THE RUSSIA HOUSE for the first time, I was thrilled to see the onion domes and other architectural glories of Moscow and Suzdal, which I had seen in person several years before. Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer are Barley and Katya in the screen adaptation of John le Carré's novel of the same title. Barney is the world-weary and alcoholic London publisher to whom a book manuscript is smuggled by the Russian Katya, a woman Barley claims most emphatically not to know. Since the document is actually a survey of the status of Soviet defense weaponry, the British Secret Service, which intercepted the manuscript, views Barley's disclaimer as tepid at best. After intense questioning, and a call upon his loyalty to Queen and Empire, Barley is persuaded to return to Moscow to meet Katya, and determine her source of information. The latter turns out to be Dante, a well-respected physicist embedded in the Soviet defense establishment, who is known to British intelligence and is also Katya's boyfriend. Finally realizing the identity and potential value of the contact, MI6 approaches the CIA with a proposal for a continuing joint operation using Barley as the field agent. The moneyed Americans, of course, insist on playing the dominant mission controller, relegating the Brits to the role of interested observer. A criticism of this film was that it's too boring. Not so, if one accepts and understands that le Carré's plots are not action oriented by design. Rather, they revolve around character evolution and relatively subtle confrontations that are more intellectual and psychological than physical. Le Carré's books are, admittedly, an acquired taste, and not for the shallow-minded. The filmed version of THE RUSSIA HOUSE is true to its literary roots. There are here no feats of 007-like derring-do confounding the evildoers on missions impossible. The storyline unfolds at a comparatively sedate, realistic pace. The casting was perfect. Veterans Connery and Pfeiffer are magnificent together. The latter's portrayal of a Slavic damsel-in-distress is especially convincing. James Fox as the urbane, gentlemanly MI6 controller serves as the perfect foil to the abrasive, take-no-prisoners (stereotypically Yank) attitude of his CIA counterpart, played by Roy Scheider. Klaus Brandauer as Dante is appropriately enigmatic. The location cinematography is visually sumptuous. After awhile, one gets weary of the steady diet of action spy thrillers that rampage across the silver screen. As a change of gait, THE RUSSIA HOUSE is supremely satisfying, especially the bittersweet ending. I loved it.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Russia House -->Terrific!, October 14, 2001
This review is from: The Russia House (DVD)
Although I have not seen the DVD (it hasn't been released yet) I have watched the VHS version at least 40 times. A spy movie set during the Cold War, The Russia House stars Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer. Connery is a British publisher, Barley Scott Blair, who is sent manuscripts by a Russian woman named Katya (Pfeiffer). However, the manuscripts are intercepted by British intelligence and are analysis of the Soveit Empire's nuclear capabilities. Blaire is convinced to play the role of spy for the British, and he must befirend Katya in order find the author of the manuscripts (the mysterious Dante.) As the story unfolds, Blaire and Katya grow closer to each other, and Blair soon finds himself trapped between the loyalties he has to his mother country and to Katya. This is an extremely terrific movie, but is also very confusing. I had to watch it 7 times before the plot really made sense to me, but once I understood what was going on, it was a joy to watch it over and over again. This is not one of Connery's most famous works, but it is certainly one of his best. Reprising his role as spy, Connery does a much better job of it than as James Bond. Michelle Pfeiffer is similary convincing as Katya, who is caught in between the politics of Russia and Britan. I whole heartedly recommend this movie, but I do caution anyone who has not seen it before to rent it first. A DVD version is long overdue and still the features the DVD will have are only subtitles and widescreen, which is perfect for some of the beautiful landscape scenes in Russia.
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