RUSSIANS ARE COMING--Dated in 2010 Despite the Talent In It
Added 2/14/2010
I loved this movie as a kid. I just rewatched it. Unlike DR. STRANGELOVE, this does not stand the test of time. The reason I compare the two films is that they are both set during the Cold War and deal with our paranoia about the Russians as our enemies comedically. DR. STRANGELOVE remains a classic satire whereas this film, despite its talented cast and director (Norman Jewison), comes off dated and not even funny. I think the problem is that by today's standards, it is just too heavy handed. It is played so broadly for laughs that the movie seems to schreech, "Laugh at me!"
Alan Arkin plays a Russian submarine commander who gets his sub caught on the reefs outside a New England town. The Russians have to go into town to get the materials to salvage their boat so they can get back to sea. This sets off madcap interactions with the townspeople and the Russians, executed by such talented comedians as Carl Reiner and Jonathan Winters.
We have also become more sophisticated by watching foreign films and tv, which relatively few Americans did back in the 1960s. Thus, it is impossible to believe Arkin and his crew as anything but 100% American.
This just oozes with '50s and '60s sentimentality too, to wit: a budding romance between a Russian seaman and Carl Reiner's daughter plus a little boy falling off a church steeple as a rallying point.
I can't go less than three stars though because despite these problems, you are able to see the developing ability of some of the biggest talents of later decades: Carl Reiner, Norman Jewison, and Alan Arkin, to name just a few. You can see hints of the much, much better things to come in their later films and tv work.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
One of the best
Added 1/30/2010
My wife is Russian and I lived in northern Califorina where it was filmed and it was great to watch for all ages.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Great Gift for Friends
Added 10/25/2009
I purchased this as a gift for friends who were in the area when the movie was filmed so many years ago. They love it. Product arrvived promptly in described condition. Would buy from this seller again.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
The Russians are Coming The Russians are Coming
Added 10/21/2009
Very funny movie. This movies shows that even in a time of crisis (Johnny Whitaker falling from the steeple of the church) we can come together and help one another regardless of our differences and language barrier and that we are all basically the same when it dome right down to it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming
Added 9/5/2009
A very funny movie made at a time when the Cold War was very much on everyone's minds. Alan Arkin was at his best in this movie and the cast of various comedians of that time complemented each other.
My 42 old son had never seen it and we watched it together this summer and he loved it too, so I would say it has stood the test of time very well. He took it back to San Francisco with him to share with his 2 collegues who were both born in the Soviet Union. They had told him they saw it back in the 70s over there and loved it too.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
RUSSIANS ARE COMING--Dated in 2010 Despite the Talent In It
Added 2/14/2010
I loved this movie as a kid. I just rewatched it. Unlike DR. STRANGELOVE, this does not stand the test of time. The reason I compare the two films is that they are both set during the Cold War and deal with our paranoia about the Russians as our enemies comedically. DR. STRANGELOVE remains a classic satire whereas this film, despite its talented cast and director (Norman Jewison), comes off dated and not even funny. I think the problem is that by today's standards, it is just too heavy handed. It is played so broadly for laughs that the movie seems to schreech, "Laugh at me!"
Alan Arkin plays a Russian submarine commander who gets his sub caught on the reefs outside a New England town. The Russians have to go into town to get the materials to salvage their boat so they can get back to sea. This sets off madcap interactions with the townspeople and the Russians, executed by such talented comedians as Carl Reiner and Jonathan Winters.
We have also become more sophisticated by watching foreign films and tv, which relatively few Americans did back in the 1960s. Thus, it is impossible to believe Arkin and his crew as anything but 100% American.
This just oozes with '50s and '60s sentimentality too, to wit: a budding romance between a Russian seaman and Carl Reiner's daughter plus a little boy falling off a church steeple as a rallying point.
I can't go less than three stars though because despite these problems, you are able to see the developing ability of some of the biggest talents of later decades: Carl Reiner, Norman Jewison, and Alan Arkin, to name just a few. You can see hints of the much, much better things to come in their later films and tv work.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
One of the best
Added 1/30/2010
My wife is Russian and I lived in northern Califorina where it was filmed and it was great to watch for all ages.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Great Gift for Friends
Added 10/25/2009
I purchased this as a gift for friends who were in the area when the movie was filmed so many years ago. They love it. Product arrvived promptly in described condition. Would buy from this seller again.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
