Opening

87% Star Trek Into Darkness May 16
24% Erased May 17
91% Frances Ha May 17
44% The English Teacher May 17
42% Black Rock May 17
77% Pieta May 17
—— Populaire May 17
21% 33 Postcards May 17

Top Box Office

78% Iron Man 3 $72.5M
50% The Great Gatsby $50.1M
47% Pain & Gain $5.0M
37% Peeples $4.6M
77% 42 $4.6M
56% Oblivion $4.1M
69% The Croods $3.6M
98% Mud $2.5M
8% The Big Wedding $2.5M
60% Oz the Great and Powerful $1.1M

Coming Soon

—— The Hangover Part III May 23
77% Fast & Furious 6 May 24
—— Epic May 24
94% Before Midnight May 24

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966)

tomatometer

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 2
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 1

audience

71

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 4,548

My Rating

Movie Info

Just because The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming was vastly overrated by contemporary critics does not make it any less amusing. The story gets under way when a Soviet submarine accidently gets lodged in a sandbar on the coast of a New England town. In his feature film debut, Alan Arkin plays the sub's second-in-command, who is ordered by commander Theodore Bikel to free up the sub and skeedaddle before an international incident erupts. Hoping to secure a power boat to tug the sub

Unrated,

Classics, Comedy

William Rose

Oct 15, 2002

MGM

Cast

ADVERTISEMENT

All Critics (18) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (3) | DVD (8)

Arkin, in his film bow, is absolutely outstanding as the courtly Russian who kisses a lady's hand even as he draws a gun.

August 8, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

More memorable for its title than for anything else.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Inexplicably nominated for Best Picture Oscar, Norman Jewison's situation comedy is mildly amusing, benefiting from a catchy title and allowing Alan Arkin to sport a Russian accent as sailor of a Soviet submarine.

March 14, 2008 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

Though the film is more than two hours long, the pace is always quick, thanks to the fine editing done by Williams and future director Ashby.

October 31, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Sweet and charmingly funny in many places, this is dated but entertaining.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine

It skewers hawkish reactionism and mob militancy, and its sympathetic portrayal of the beached Russians -- not to mention the panicky buffoonery of the Americans -- probably gave the more rabid Commie-haters conniptions.

April 5, 2006 Full Review Source: DVDJournal.com
DVDJournal.com

MGM's DVD release delivers a good transfer (2.35:1 anamorphic) from a clean and colorful source-print. The audio is fine, but rather thin, in monaural DD 2.0. Extras are the engagingly oddball original theatrical trailer and a 23-minute interview...

April 5, 2006 Full Review Source: DVDJournal.com
DVDJournal.com

A true classic Cold War comedy told with wit, slapstick, and paranoia.

February 18, 2006
Video-Reviewmaster.com

Now terribly quaint (just look at the title!) and not nearly as funny as film historians would lead you to believe.

April 29, 2004 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com
Filmcritic.com

Fabulously funny!

June 19, 2003
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

At the foundation of this movie is a great script.

June 5, 2003 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide
Apollo Guide

The cast is great and the scene in which Carl Reiner and vaudeville vet Tessie O'Shea are lashed together is unforgettably funny.

March 10, 2003 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle

Cold war hysteria hits a peak in this clever satire.

February 14, 2003
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

The serious side feels simplistic (we're all just humans) and the comedy feels overstated.

February 2, 2003 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

...whether or not it's great is beside the point. A measure of the film's success was how fast its two hours went by.

November 10, 2002
Movie Metropolis

...a disarming send-up of Cold War paranoia.

November 10, 2002
Movie Metropolis

Audience Reviews for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming

Over the top send-up of the Cold War has its moments wherein the paranoia of the times makes for some amusement as Russian sailors "invade" Cape Cod. Arkin is the reason to see this, altho Winters, Keith and Ford aid in the effort. A dated piece however.
January 7, 2013
UniversalDreamer

Super Reviewer

An intriguing look into the Cold War's true impact on American life, a bewildered Carl Reiner and an equally misplaced Alan Arkin made for a barrel full of laughs.
December 9, 2008
FrizzDrop

Super Reviewer

    1. Fendall Hawkins: Don't fire until you see the whites... Get out of the way! It's Agnes Grill!
    – Submitted by Ellen M (5 months ago)
    1. Muriel Everett: [looking out window at Russians trying to steal a car] It's those damned high school kids again!
    – Submitted by Ellen M (5 months ago)
    1. Norman Jonas: We've just GOT to get organized!
    – Submitted by Ellen M (5 months ago)
    1. Russian Captain: I am wounded in dignity only.
    – Submitted by Ellen M (5 months ago)
    1. Link Mattocks: Emergency Emergency, Everyone is to get from street.
    – Submitted by Ray C (11 months ago)

Discussion Forum

There are no discussion threads for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming yet.

Foreign Titles

  • The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming (1966) (DE)
  • The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming (1966) (UK)
Help | About | Jobs | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Mobile