The Russia House
Unclear and Present Danger
Jamelle Bouie
4.7 • 660 Ratings
🗓️ 19 February 2022
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John talk the 1990 John Le Carré adaptation “The Russia House,” starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer. They discuss the social base for intelligence work during the Cold War, the period of glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union, the politics of nostalgia and the film’s excellent wardrobe. You can rent “The Russia House” on iTunes or on Amazon.
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Links from the episode!
The New York Times for December 25, 1990
Wikipedia article for glasnost and perestroika
John D. Skrentny’s “The Minority Rights Revolution” on the impact of the Cold War on liberal reforms in the United States.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Moscow again. |
| 0:06.0 | If the Cold War is over, I receive the manuscript. |
| 0:10.0 | You're going too fast. |
| 0:12.0 | Russia has no time. |
| 0:13.0 | What is happening? |
| 0:15.0 | It is very dangerous for you. |
| 0:17.0 | In the Russia House. |
| 0:18.0 | They're watching us. |
| 0:19.0 | Your side and my side. He's trust over. |
| 0:21.9 | Trouble. |
| 0:22.6 | Sean Connery, Michelle Fyfer. |
| 0:25.2 | You are my only country now. |
| 0:27.3 | The Russia House. |
| 0:29.0 | Starts Friday at a theater near you. |
| 0:30.9 | Check local listings. The |
| 0:40.3 | The Welcome to Episode 9 of Unclear and Present Danger, a podcast about the political and military thrillers of the 1990s and what they say about the politics of that decade. |
| 1:11.3 | I'm Jemelle Bowie. I'm a columnist for the New York Times opinion section. |
| 1:15.8 | I'm John Gans. I'm a columnist for Gawker. I write a substack newsletter called On Popular Front, |
| 1:22.2 | and I'm working on a book about American politics in the early 90s. |
| 1:26.2 | Today we are finally talking about the Russia House, |
| 1:31.9 | 1990 film directed by Fred Shapese, |
| 1:35.4 | screenplayed by Tom Stoppard, |
... |
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