05 June 23
The Russia House
Today we bring you another Spies’ story: The Russia House (1990).
The Russia House is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré published in 1989. The title refers to the nickname given to the portion of the British Secret Intelligence Service that was devoted to spying on the Soviet Union and, in 1990, a film based on the novel was released, starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer.
In the movie, Sean Connery plays the role of Bartholomew "Barley" Scott-Blair, the head of a British publishing house with business in the post-Glasnost Soviet Union. On a trip to the country, he meets with local writers where he is observed by a man named Dante. Katya Orlova, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, also a Russian publisher, unsuccessfully tries to locate Blair to deliver a manuscript to him and passes it on to a publisher's representative, and he delivers it to the government.
The British secret service locates Blair in Lisbon and interrogates him about the manuscript, but he is unaware of both the document and Katya. He is convinced to return to Russia and confirm the veracity of the manuscript with Dante. He will be monitored by both the British and the CIA in the person of Russell.
Most scenes in Lisbon were shot in the quarter of Alfama: the bar is the restaurant Agulha no Palheiro at Rua do Jardim do Tabaco, Barley’s apartment was in Rua das Escolas Gerais, the group conversation takes place at the viewpoint of Portas do Sol, and the MI6 building where Barley is taken to, is across Alfama, on the hill of Bairro Alto, at Largo da Academia Nacional de Belas Artes.
You can take a look at these scenes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWjITzz1GsY. We also invite you to come to Lisbon and discover how the landscape has changed in all these years!
The British secret service locates Blair in Lisbon and interrogates him about the manuscript, but he is unaware of both the document and Katya. He is convinced to return to Russia and confirm the veracity of the manuscript with Dante. He will be monitored by both the British and the CIA in the person of Russell.
Most scenes in Lisbon were shot in the quarter of Alfama: the bar is the restaurant Agulha no Palheiro at Rua do Jardim do Tabaco, Barley’s apartment was in Rua das Escolas Gerais, the group conversation takes place at the viewpoint of Portas do Sol, and the MI6 building where Barley is taken to, is across Alfama, on the hill of Bairro Alto, at Largo da Academia Nacional de Belas Artes.
You can take a look at these scenes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWjITzz1GsY. We also invite you to come to Lisbon and discover how the landscape has changed in all these years!