leplatypus The LeCarré novel is among the best cold war book ever written because it has everything: a wonderful romance, an acid but true analysis of international relations...This movie adaptation is a real winner because it pushes the audio and visual elements to high levels: the cast is wonderful between old, grumpy Connery, cute Pfeiffer and cool British / excited, falcons American players... Goldsmith score is romantic as well as thrilling and wraps the scenes like a glove! And for sure, the real Russian locations are a must and give us the perfect feeling of what USSR was about!So for me, this is a perfect movie, even if two things have always bother me: the casting of Brandaeur: since i saw him playing the lecherous in the Colette movie, i just can't stand him! Next the jazz score is a poor choice for a movie played between Lisbona, London and Moscow…At last, a bit like this movie/novel who deals about finding the golden goose, i was sure that LC was an amazing writer: his next novel (Our game) was as good but all the others i try to read it was just horrible, thus my title ...

Tweekums A Soviet author known only as 'Dante' wants his book to be published in the west; to this end he has asked his friend Katya to deliver his manuscript to publisher Bartholomew 'Barley' Blair. Barley in meant to be attending a book fair in Moscow but he isn't there and Katya passes the manuscript on to his 'friend' Niki Landau. She tells him how important it is that this book is published but rather than passing it to Barley he reads it and hands it to MI6. They contact Barley to discover what he knows about Katya and Dante; he has no knowledge of Katya but had met Dante at a party some time earlier. The manuscript suggests that the Soviet military poses far less of a threat than was previously thought… of course until they learn more about Dante they have no idea whether he is real or not.Barley is sent back to Russia to learn more about him. Once there he meets Katya and as he learns more details about Dante he develops feelings for Katya. As the operation progresses control is passed over to the CIA and it soon becomes apparent that they are not too pleased with the contents of the manuscript… one would think a less dangerous Soviet Union would be a good thing but if that danger is suddenly seen to be rather low the vast amounts of money being spent on intelligence and military equipment is harder to justify… something those in that world do not want to see.If you are expecting 'James Bond' style thrills you will be disappointed; there are no exciting stunts, chases or explosions to be seen. In fact there is little real tension as we never really think Barley or Tanya is about to be grabbed by the KGB. That doesn't make the film boring though; the story unfolds in an interesting way. We gradually learn more about Dante while also watching the growing closeness between Barley and Katya. Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer put in fine performances in the lead roles and are supported by an able cast of well-known actors including Roy Scheider, James Fox, Michael Kitchen and J.T. Walsh… as well as a young Martin Clunes in a small but amusing role. It is clear that the makes wanted to take full advantage of being one of the first western films to be made in the Soviet Union; many of the scenes in Moscow and Leningrad looked as though they were picked to showcase some of the most impressive parts of those cities. The ending has a nice little twist that doesn't seem overly forced… we are also treated to a happy ending that is far from guaranteed with films based on the works of John le Carré. Overall a solid, gently told espionage story that will disappoint anybody expecting a thrill-ride.

Matthew_Capitano I read John LeCarre's book and I never thought a movie version could be as boring, but somehow, it was.Sean Connery is expectedly appealing, but one can tell he only did this movie so he could get a free trip to Russia. Michelle Pfeiffer is cute, though she appears to have bitten off more than she can chew here. Nice Russian cityscapes, but the musical soundtrack drones on endlessly in the background. It would be difficult to recommend this film over LeCarre's novel - both are convoluted. One of those flicks where you can fall asleep for 10 minutes and then wake up with the feeling that you haven't missed anything. Snooze City.

patrick powell By chance this is the second of two spy films I watched in as many days and, essentially, they couldn't be more different. The other was The Good Shepherd, a long, subtle and nuanced portrayal of loyalty, trust, the lack of it and betrayal, all framed by an account of the genesis of the CIA and a fictionalised account of the life of James Angleton up until the Bay of Pigs fiasco when the CIA tried to get rid of Cuba's Fidel Castro. It stars Matt Damon and was directed by Robert De Niro, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys good, intelligent films which are the antithesis of so many shoot-em-up, wham-bam and gung-ho military and spy films we are all too often served up these days. And it has to be said the, by comparison, The Russia House pales rather, although that reflects on how good The Good Shepherd is rather than any shortcoming of The Russia House. That is the much more conventional film the two, a film of John le Carre's novel of the same name and, I must add, better than some of its kind. Both it and The Good Shepherd examine betrayal and how a loyal citizen might be tempted to betray his country, but at the end of the day The Russia House is more of a love story than a spy story. Although, a la le Carre, there are apparent ethical dilemmas and a convincingly detailed view of how spy agencies work - though I am in no position to vouch for the accuracy - it is very much the tale of how a 'decent human being' who drinks rather too much and has a dishevelled romantic past finally finds true love. Its side theme of how, when push comes to shove, the West - and especially the US military/industrial machine - is making rather too much good money from the arms race to be as interested in an end to the Cold War than it claims, is intriguing, but that theme is somewhat cursorily examined (in the novel as well) and were that to have been the film's driving force, it would have been very different and, I suspect, in other hands rather better than The Russia House. But I seem to be damning with faint praised and I don't mean to. From Sean Connery and James Fox to Roy Scheider and John Mahoney, not forgetting Michelle Pfeiffer as the love interest, there are strong performances and the film rattles along very nicely. Incidentally, the hero is an amateur though gifted jazz saxophonist and one rather attractive stylistic device is that the film as two different styles of score: a jazzy, bass-driven one when the action deals with the spying and a lush romantic character when we get to the lovey-dovey stuff. And at the end of the - disappointingly obligatory happy end - those two kinds of score are skilfully interweaved. If this kind of film is your bag, go for it. It is better than many, and you won't be disappointed. But if you want a more subtle and more satisfying outing, try The Good Shepherd. You won't be disappointed with that, either. And you might be even more enthused.