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
out to sea, Arkin and his men call upon vacationing TV writer Carl Reiner, passing themselves off as Norwegians. When this ruse fails, Arkin is reluctantly compelled to force Reiner at gunpoint to fetch his motorboat, while gentle-natured Russian sailor John Philip Law is left behind to guard Reiner's wife Eva Marie Saint and pretty neighbor girl Andrea Dromm (yes, love blooms). The plot thickens when the locals, notably bullnecked sheriff Brian Keith and superpatriot Paul Ford, spread the word that the Russians have "invaded" their little community. Several slapstick complications later, the Russians and the locals face each other down in the center of the village, weapons at the ready. Fortunately, World War 3 is averted when the Russians and the villagers band together to rescue young Johnny Whittaker from falling to his doom. Enormously popular upon its first release, The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming still works on a slick sitcom level. The film was based on a novel by Nathaniel Benchley, the son of humorist Robert Benchley and the father of Jaws author Peter Benchley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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.
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.
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...
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.
A cold war comedy that was nominated for best picture in 1966. Tells the story of 9 Russian sailors whose submarine runs a ground on a small Massachusetts resort Island (not unlike the Island in Jaws). They try to get a boat to de-ground their sub, but word gets around that they?re on the Island and it causes a full
scale panic. There are a lot of amusing moments here, it wasn?t an all out laugh fest, but still very amusing. Alan Arkin is great as the Russian captain, and Brian Keith is really good as the rational town sheriff. The film depicts the tensions between America and Russia in a humorous way, but in the end it?s just Dr. Strangelove Lite, really Lite. It also could have used about fifteen minutes in trimming, but for the most part it was pretty amusing.
March 29, 2008
MJS MJS
Super Reviewer
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