MovieChat Forums > The Russia House (1990) Discussion > I like everything except the music score

I like everything except the music score

posted 17 years ago by mbphilly
6 replies | jump to latest

The acting is great, particularly by the two leads, the storytelling it sharp and has a subtle but tangible intrigue, and the dialogue and character developments are rich and stylish. A beautiful cinematography in each scene and situation. However, I never got into the jazzy romance music. Still, a very fine, intelligent film. Connery and Pfieffer are top-notch, and they have great support from Klaus Marie Branduer, Roy Schieder, and James Fox. It's one of the smarter espionage/intrigue movies I have seen in a long time.

www.actblue.com/page/pro_action

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] garyahampton 17 years ago

I actually thought the soundtrack was very good. The scene where Connery and Pfeiffer talk about "Dante" in the bell tower of the Russian orthodox church was beautiful, the gentle, haunting music underpinning the chemistry between the two actors. As she reveals her tragic and doomed first love, as the story of her broken heart unfolds, the aching, mellifluous music seems to betray for us the love that is stirring between the two characters. Jerry Goldsmith's score here put me in mind of Bernard Herrmann, how some of his music informs us about the pain of obsession and doomed love in the slower, reflective scenes in such films as Psycho and Vertigo.
I agree with a lot of posts for this film - it's an unsung masterpiece in the spy canon, up there with The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Ipcress File.

[–] padzok 17 years ago

The soundtrack was very noticeable - which is usually a bad thing.

However, I remember thinking that it was the best thing about this dull movie - especially over the montages of Moscow & Leningrad.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] HelloTexas11 17 years ago

I don't think the music was always appropriate to what's taking place onscreen. There were times I wondered if was I watching 'Tootsie.' Something a bit darker and foreboding would have been better.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]