The most fondly remembered of Winter's other film roles, in a comedy often compared to 'Mad World'...

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Product Description

When a sightseeing Soviet commander runs his submarine aground off the New England coast, the crew's attempts to find a boat to dislodge them almost start WWIII! Alan Arkin leads an all-star castincluding Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Brian Keith and Jonathan Wintersin this riotous, uproarious [and] side-splitting (Cue) comedy! Russian Lt. Rozanov (Arkin) and his crew hit the beaches of Massachusetts unaware of the panic they're about to start. Despite the Russians harmless intentions, the folks in town think a full-scale Soviet invasion has been launched! What's worse, theirpolice chief (Keith) has left his hysterical assistant (Winters) in charge and the one man who knows the truth (Reiner) is only stirring up more chaos!

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3832 in DVD
• Brand: MGM HOME VIDEO (UNDER FOX)
• Released on: 2002-10-15
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 126 minutes

Features

• When a sightseeing Soviet commander runs his submarine aground off the New England coast, the crew s attempts to find a boat to dislodge them almost start WWIII! Alan Arkin leads an all-star cast including Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Brian Keith and Jonathan Winters in this riotous, uproarious [and] side-splitting (Cue) comedy! Russian Lt. Rozanov (Arkin) and his crew hit the beaches of Massachu

Amazon.com essential video
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming looks overly cute now, but really, it was pretty hip for 1966. The cold war was in full deep-freeze when this well-meaning comedy tried to thaw things out a little: a Soviet submarine beaches on the New England coast, sending the locals into a paranoid frenzy. The chief pleasure of the film is Alan Arkin as the sub captain; this was Arkin's first major film role, and he had already mastered his exasperated, slow-burning frown (to say nothing of mastering his Russian dialogue). Arkin snagged an Oscar® nomination, with the movie receiving nominations for best picture, adapted screenplay, and editing--nods that reflect the film's smashing success at the box office. Somewhat dated now, the movie still has its place in the roster of raucous, American small-town comedies; seen in childhood, it will linger nicely as a depiction of foolish grown-ups. --Robert Horton

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Customer Reviews

The Laughs are coming, the Laughs are coming !
I have watched this movie more times than I can count, and each time I find myself laughing until I cry. When a Russian submarine accidentally runs aground of a sleepy little island summer town, the people literally go nuts. Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner, Brian Keith and Jonathan Winters are just a few of the many fine actors who make this movie a laugh a minute. When the bumbling Russians tie up and gag the elderly Post-Mistress "Muriel Everitt" and sit her on top of the refrigerator - you will laugh until your sides ache when her nearly deaf husband eats breakfast 2 feet from her and never realizes she's behind him struggling to get his attention. The sight of Carl Reiner tied up face to face with the hefty town operator and their efforts to hop down a steep flight of steps, (ending, naturally, with the heavy woman falling on top of Carl Reiner and passing out ) is more than I could take with out laughing until I cried. Please rent this movie and have the entire family watch it with you. It's in the genre of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and you will enjoy every moment !

An Alan Arkin / Theodore Bikel masterpiece
Forget the American characters, the story here is the Russians, led by Theodore Bikel as the Russian sub captain who just wants to get a closer look at the enemy and Alan Arkin as his long-suffering first officer. (As well as John Phillip Law as a young and innocent Russian sailor.) And yes, Arkin's wonderful line "Everybody to get from strit" has long been a family favorite.

As for the nostalgia for "simpler days" of the sixties, let's remember that this film was made in 1965/66, which means it was written no later than 1964. Deep, dark, scary days. It was released only three years after the murder of President Kennedy, four after the Cuban missile crisis, a year at most after the Tonkin Gulf incident that provided the US with a convenient excuse for committing troops to Vietnam, a short ten years after the Mau Mau massacres in the Congo, another short ten years after the Russians sent tanks into Hungary, and a very short twenty years after World War II.

There was nothing simple or innocent about those days. The world was tired and aching. Can anyone be blamed for making films that featured a simpler context: a small town where everyone really does know everyone else, where people take care of each other despite their differences, and where a few people from opposite sides of the cold war can work together? "The Russians Are Coming. . ." belongs to a genre of peace films that reached their zenith in the fifties and sixties, climaxing, of course, with "Dr. Strangelove, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb." Others in this genre include "The Day the Earth Stood Still," a long-forgotten sci-fi film called "The 37th Day," "Fail Safe," and "The President's Analyst" which, like "The Russians Are Coming. . ." seems dated now but still wears well.

If it seems quaint and innocent now, bear in mind that all times but our own seem quaint and innocent, simply because we're not involved in them. We don't have to pick up the paper every day and wonder about whether we really should behead the king or put a bomb shelter in our back yard (yes, I had friends who had them). Like beauty, quaintness and innocence are often in the eye of the beholder.

But above all, the film is driven by Alan Arkin's brilliant performance as a man who understands only too well the full import of the situation in which he's trapped. His growing desperation as the situation becomes at once funnier and more dangerous is set against the insane and inane kneejerk patriotism of both the Americans and the Russians and mark him as the only sane man in the asylum. For all the film's innocent silliness, its message is much darker: how does a sane man survive in a world gone mad? By doing the best he can in his little part of it.

a light hearted view of the Cold War
This movie takes a different approach to the Cold War than did Kubrick's classic Dr. Strangelove, playing on the hysteria in a more conventional way. There is no end to the mirth in this one as the Russians find themselves stranded off Cape Cod, and go in search of help. Soon the whole town is in a panic, with forces mobilized against the red peril. Jewison makes the most of the situation, creating so many amusing scenes anchored by excellent performances. Alan Arkin is the straight man in this farce, which spins wildly out of control, before being brought back down to earth when a boy is found hanging by his finger nails to a roof eave. I imagine Jewison got into some hot water for portraying Russians as human. This movie was made at the height of the Cold War when Americans could only see Russians as the evil menace. The movie has held up well over time thanks in large part to the many fine performances.