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Released by: Twilight Time Releasing
Released on: July 26th, 2016.
Director: Fred Schepisi
Cast: Sean Connery, Roy Scheider, James Fox, Michelle Pfieffer, John Mahoney, Klaus Maria Brandauer, J.T. Walsh
Year: 1990
Purchase From Screen Archives
The Movie:
Bartholomew 'Barley' Scott-Blair (Sean Connery) is a British man snagged by British intelligence while visiting in Moscow. He's a publisher by trade and the reason the agents want to talk to him is because they know that a beautiful Russian woman named Katya Orlova (Michelle Pfeiffer) tried to get him a manuscript. This in and of itself isn't particularly suspicious, except that the piece was written by a man once known as 'Dante' (Klaus Maria Brandauer). This man wants his writing published and brought to the world so that the truth about the U.S.S.R.'s military can be exposed.
What Barely doesn't realize, at least not initially, is that he already knows Dante, which obviously becomes more important as the storyline plays out. The agents show him a picture of Katya and he doesn't make a connection, he's never met her. He'd like to, however, as she's gorgeous. They ask him to work for them, undercover, to bring them to Dante so that they can try to ascertain the truth about what is in the manuscript. To do this, they put him in touch with Katya, whom he quickly falls fast in love with. While Barley is doing what he can to help his country, American agents - Russell (Roy Scheider), Quinn (J.T. Walsh) and Brady (John Mahoney) - begin to take on a more active role, not entirely sure that they can trust Barley to finish the mission.
Based on the John le Carré novel of the same name, The Russia House is deliberate in its pacing and slow to find its resolution, but that doesn't mean it's any less compelling than it should be. This is a very dialogue heavy movie, the kind that demands viewers pay close attention. It's devoid of superficial thrills and anything even close to an action set piece, instead letting its clever story unfold by way of tightly scripted conversations between its cast of interesting characters.
In the hands of a lesser cast, this might prove dull, but here, it works exceedingly well. Connery is fantastic here, his character is obviously put into a situation that is not only dangerous, but pretty much completely out of his element. As tensions rise, his performance takes on appreciable nuance, making his character quite believable even under these unpredictable circumstances. He has good chemistry with Michelle Pfieffer and despite the age difference between the two, they have a certain sort of charm between them that is quite appealing. She's also quite believable as a Russian, she does fine work in this part. Supporting parts from Scheider, Walsh and Mahoney (could you ask for a better trio of actors from this generation to play these parts?) are also great and help to round out the cast of characters quite nicely.
Production values are strong across the board. Jerry Goldsmith's score is fantastic, adding all the emphasis and weight you could hope for to various scenes of drama, tension and wry humor. This is one of only a tiny handful of American films to have been shot behind the Iron Curtain before the Soviet Union was dissolved. The cinematography employed here does a fantastic job of capturing these locations, without looking overly glossy or stylized.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Russia House debuts on Blu-ray from Twilight Time framed at 2.35.1 widescreen in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer. Detail is improved not just in the close up shots but in pretty all of the wider angle compositions as well, but there are inconsistencies. The first few minutes show a bit more minor print damage than some will want, and some shots look a bit noisy (though others don't show any noise at all). Colors look very strong here, while skin tones look nice and lifelike. Black levels are good if short of reference quality, but there are no problems with any compression artifacts. There isn't any evidence of noise reduction or edge enhancement. This isn't a perfect image, but it is certainly a noticeable upgrade over what fans have had in the past.
Audio chores are handled by an English language DTS-HD 2.0 Stereo track. The score from Jerry Goldsmith has very strong presence and considerably more noticeable range here than you might anticipate. Dialogue stays clean, clear and very audible and there are no problems to note with even a trace of hiss or distortion. Optional subtitles are provided in English.
The main extra on the disc is a vintage making of piece that is entitled Building The Russia House. This nine minute featurette includes some interview clips with Connery, Pfeiffer and Schepisi as well as some behind the scenes footage shot on set during the production of the film. We also get a trailer for the feature, the film's isolated score in DTS-HD 2.0 format, a slideshow of other Twilight Time releases, static menus and chapter selection. Additionally, inside the Blu-ray keepcase we get a full color insert booklet containing a set of liner notes on the film by essayist Julie Kirgo that offer up some thoughts on the film's effectiveness, its cast and some general trivia about the history of the film. This piece, well worth reading, is complimented by a selection of stills and some archival poster artwork.
The Final Word:
The Russia House offers intelligent dialogue, a thought provoking script and smart characters in place of the typical spy movie action tropes, but it's a better film for it. Connery, Scheider and Pfieffer are all great here, the movie is very nicely put together and Twilight Time's Blu-ray, if light on extras, offers a reasonable upgrade over past DVD editions. Recommended!
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
