Russicum (1987)
Director: Pasquale Squitieri
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
An incompetently directed, incredibly tedious espionage thriller set in Rome. Williams is an American embassy official, Abraham a Jesuit priest, and Aiello the US consul: good actors wasted by the execrable process of dubbing. Although in sync, the line readings are all wrong; heavy pauses in mid-sentence, emphasis misplaced, the voices flat and unnatural. Trying to unravel the incomprehensible plot could be dangerous (despite several lengthy explanatory speeches at the end), but it revolves around a planned visit by the Pope to Russia; an unlikely cue for covert shenanigans from glamorous KGB agents, rough CIA men, worldly carabinieri, and Jesuit computer buffs. It's not nearly so much fun as it sounds, although the Gregorian chants are pleasant.Author: TCh
Cast & crew
Director: Pasquale Squitieri
Producer: Mario Cecchi Gori, Vittorio Cecchi Gori
Cast: F Murray Abraham, Treat Williams, Danny Aiello, Rita Rusic, Luigi Montini, Robert Balchus, Nigel Court, Leopoldo Mastelloni, Rosanno Brazzi full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 112 mins
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