Customer Reviews

Moscow on the Hudson [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Moscow on the Hudson" is not a perfect movie, but it's definitely a more thoughtful, intelligent movie than you might otherwise expect. Robin Williams' performance as a Russian jazz musician defecting to America is sensitive and full-bodied, full of the talent and charm that make him so good to watch. The story is a rollercoaster of moments which reflect the American experience seen through the eyes of someone thrust suddenly in the middle of it all, in the place where it is at its most insane and most wonderful: New York City.

There's a line near the end of the film which struck me as particuarly adroit: "In Moscow, we fight for a crumb of freedom! Here, you s*** on it!" It really can't be said any better than that, and the movie is filled with moments which illustrate what makes America such a great, rich, and sometimes frightening experience, and what makes freedom such an important, and sometimes dangerous, concept.

Freedom is playing "Take the A-Train" on your sax, on a fire escape in New York City in the middle of the day for all the world to hear. Freedom is getting mugged on a city street at 2 AM. Freedom is getting into a stupid fight with your girlfriend, and making up with her later. Freedom is too many brands of coffee at the store, and not knowing which one to choose. Freedom is getting drunk and laughing your head off. Freedom is choosing not to work, even when you could. Freedom is not knowing what comes next.

"Moscow on the Hudson" is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and almost always smartly-observed. Mostly, it's a movie about freedom -- not in the meaningless context that we hear politicians and pundits talk about it, but it the real, everyday sense, the things that showcase the idea of freedom in all its liberating, chaotic, messy glory.

...and it would be worth checking out for that reason alone -- except that it's also a _really good_ movie, too. Aside from one brief nude scene (he and Maria Conchita Alonso are lounging in the bath to cool off), it's also about as wholesome as you're going to get in a film for adults. Maltin pretty much hits the nail on the head: It's a bittersweet story about finding out that the land of your dreams is great, but still not all it's cracked up to be. It could be hard for viewers born after about 1970 to really grasp the finality of the Williams character's decisionm, as he finds himself with no real prospect of ever seeing his home and old friends again.

IMHO, this film is severely under-rated. Most people have never heard of it; yet as far as I'm concerned, it's one of Williams' best roles. This is one of those movies that's about the characters, and they're developed beautifully. Mazursky and his casting people wisely selected veteran character performers to complement Williams and Venezualan soap-opera pro Alonzo. No one, not even Williams, steals their scenes, and that's as it should be in a movie like this.

For many years, I counted Moscow on the Hudson as my favorite film and if you like to be mildy entertained while considering what it means to be free in the USA, you may also love this thoughtful comedy. This was the first film that broke whatever box folks might have been trying to put Robin Williams in (after Mork and Mindy) and added Actor with a capital A to the public perception of him (at least for those who had the chance to see Moscow).

Among my favorite lines in the film is the disenchanted emigree played by Robin in a blue moment saying "When I was in Russia, I loved my misery, because it was mine." I think of this when I meet people whose eyes are closed to how precious our freedom is and the cost we must pay to learn to respect and treasure it.

There are many great scenes worth the wait, such as the final statement scene in the diner where other Russians who have learned how to deal with freedom, set the little Russian straight.

This is not an action filled or laugh filled romp. It is a film that requires a little patience and reflection, but an illumination to those with an open mind. Bravo Mazursky and Williams!

One of Robin Williams Early works and Sadly a Forgotten Gem of him. Sometimes Sad, Sometimes Funny as can be it showed his range and abilities even then. He Plays a Russian Circus Musician Tasked to keep an Eye on his friend who has made "Noises" about defecting when the Circus Travels to NYC. Don't want to ruin the Story or Surprises (If you are surprised) but this is a wonderful Story that will take you from Sad to Happy to Laughing and back again.

If you liked Dead Poets Society you will LOVE this.

It is a good American movie about a Russian emigrant in NYC. Most of the viewers praise Robin Williams. Indeed, he plays very well the character of the Russian musician and there is no doubt - he is a great actor. But in this film, you have got a very rare chance to see the greatest Russian comedian Savely Kramarov (staring as head KGB man ). He died from cancer ten years ago in California. But his art and his films are still alive. Every film in which he took a part was automatically a hit in Soviet times. The tickets were sold out at cinemas and streets were empty during TV-broadcasts of his films. In "Moscow on the Hudson" he created a funny and grotesque image of KGB man (as he did it again in the film "RED HEAT" directed by Walter Hill) and I was enjoying watching his work there. It reminds me his best Russian films. I am sure you will appreciate it too.
The film is not perfect of course. Some stereotypes about Russia are implemented (such as the refrigerator full of vodka instead of food) Robin Willams struggles to speak "bad English" and has it hard to pronounce Russian words properly. But despite these small problems in showing life in Russia, the film gives a very authentic picture of the "Big Apple" and it is really good one.

As someone whose family left Russia for America in the early to mid 70's this movie strikes a cord with me. I was too young to understand when this movie came out what my family felt when they came here. The sense of fear that Robins character feels when he is so close to being able to stay in America but the KGB will not allow him. Their watchful eye at every turn, even in America made Russians in that age feel justifiably paranoid. Robins overreaction in the super market to the choices in different brands of coffee. I found that hilarious as did members of my family but it is a humorous and accurate depiction of what we felt back then. The choices available was incredibly overwheeling. Seeing in that movie the drab lifestyle in communist Russia and the only thing that kept a person sane was idle chatter with ones neighbors. Of course I shouldnt forget the kindness expressed by the average American New Yorker. Also, the justifiable pride in being an American and standing up or someone seeking the safety of our borders. The only thing I would add to this film is maybe fast forwarding 20+ years when the Berlin Wall fell and the Communist Russia imploded. There a collective sigh of relief could be portrayed and Robins character would be reunited with this friends and family.

This is not a great movie but definitely a sleeper. Robin Williams does a fine job as a jazz musician from Russia who deeply desires the freedom--and gets his chance--to play in America. The scene where he and his bandmates are being briefed by the KGB before traveling to New York is priceless, especially where the head agent pronounces Greenwich Village as "green-Vich Ill-yage". But the most priceless scene is where Robin Williams does defect in that greatest symbol of all American democracy and capitalism, Bloomingdales. From there, the movie teeter-totters between a comedy of cultures and some soppy sentimentality. Still, this is a movie well worth seeing, expecially for those of us who remember the dawning of glasnost

This film cathces so many elements of the Russian emigre experience, even the unspoken ones that they keep hidden. I've never seen a Russian watch this without breaking into tears and laughter. Although the ending is a lillte contrived, it's a good time for all who watch it.

In those times of great political changes, where the use of the term Perestroika was very common, this film somehow fostered voluntary or involuntarily, the visible contradictions between West and East, when a musician remains shocked because of the wonders of Bloomingdale's department store. This caustic metaphor lets us to get inside a romantic comedy, plenty of ingenious dialogues. Obviously the direction of this smart director, the talent of Robin Williams and the alluring presence of Maria Conchita Alonso, were fundamental pillars in the striking success of this film, that dated us back to other two similar and winning works: Comrade X (1940) and Ninotchka (1939).

There are plenty of movies with distinctive or amusing characters where, by the time the film is over, it seems that you don't know any of the characters. MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON is not this type of movie. MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON is noted for having at least a half-dozen recurring characters. By the time the film is reaching its conclusion, one feels that one knows all of them.

The story concerns a small Russian circus, and its musical ensemble, about to embark on goodwill visit and performance in New York City. The viewer is treated to a generous dose of the usual Russian stereotypes, e.g., long lines of people waiting to buy humble commodities, paranoia regarding the KGB, dancing bears, and ugly chunky women. A vital point in the introductory hour, is Robin Williams' admiration for American jazz. To untrained ears, his Russian accent sounds authentic.

The circus troupe reaches New York City, and during a stopover at Bloomingdale's, Robin Williams breaks away and tries to defect. He succeeds. As the film moves onward, it becomes a veritable textbook of relationships: (1) Robin Williams and his host family in America, (2) Robin Williams and department store security guard, (3) Host family's strong mother versus host family's jobless father, (4) Robin Williams and ugly chunky girlfriend in Russia, (5) Robin Williams and beautiful and less chunky Italian girlfriend in New York, (6) Robin Williams and his Russian circus clown buddy, (7) Robin Williams and his grandfather in Russia, (8) Italian girlfriend and her Italian family, and (9) Robin Williams and his Cuban attorney. To repeat, I am not sure how the scriptwriter and director did it, but this film establishes a little collection of distinctive relationships, each having its own place in the narrative.

As mentioned above, the first half of the movie takes place in Russia. The second half takes place in New York City, apparently in lower Manhattan. I have toured lower Manhattan several times, that is, the area between the ferry boat terminal and Houston Street, as well as Greenwich Village. I enjoyed the accurate portrayals of the sidewalk vendors.

The movie actually teaches a lesson, namely, the delicate task of severing one's roots, and of the phenomenon of returning to one's roots. The movie is mostly a happy one, and it does have a happy ending.