Neveroyatnye priklyucheniya italyantsev v Rossii (1974)

The mad adventures of the mad Italians, searching for the mad treasures in the mad Russia.

Directors:

Francesco Prosperi (as Franco Prosperi), Eldar Ryazanov

Writers:

Emil Braginskiy, Franco Castellano

Stars:

Andrey Mironov, Ninetto Davoli, Antonia Santilli

Cast

Credited cast:
Andrey Mironov	...	Andrey Vasilyev
Ninetto Davoli	...	Giuseppe
Antonia Santilli	...	Olga
Alighiero Noschese	...	Antonio Lo Mazzo
Tano Cimarosa	...	Rosario Agrò
Evgeniy Evstigneev	...	Lame italian
Olga Aroseva	...	Andrey Vasilyev's mother
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gigi Ballista	...	Dottore (as Luigi Ballista)
Vadim Grachyov	...	Customs officer
Zoya Isaeva	...	Doctor (as Z. Isaeva)
King	...	Lion
Aleksandr Lukyanov	...	Bit part
Yuri Mikhajlov	...	Bit part (as Yu. Mikhajlov)
Ella Nekrasova	...	Bit part (as E. Nekrasova)
Boris Runge	...	Cars for hire employee

Storyline

In Italy, a dying woman tells her granddaughter that she hid her treasure many years ago in Russia, in the city of Leningrad. Other people (who were around when she died) also learn about it. Thus several people arrive in Leningrad trying to find the treasure, each one for himself/herself. What's worse - the only information they have is that the treasure is under a lion - and it's in Leningrad, a city known by its numerous statues of lions. The story gets even more interesting when the soviet militia (police) learns about the whole thing and send an undercover agent...

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Plot Keywords:

lion | detective | red car | lion statue | treasure | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

Soviet Union Italy

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

31 January 1974 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica,Mosfilm,Produzioni Cinematografiche Inter. Ma. Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Dino De Laurentiis was not committed to the film, to such an extent that he tried to cut the living expenses of the large Russian crew while shooting on location in Italy. He also demanded that a very small number of takes be shot to reduce lab bills. This resulted in the crew going on strike. He also vetoed the casting of big name Italian stars such as Alberto Sordi, Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale and Sophia Loren. This decision backfired when the finished film was presented to Paramount for a possible distribution deal. The Paramount bosses told De Laurentiis that the film could have been a great international success if well-known international stars had been cast.

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Connections

Remake of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)

User Reviews

Pretty good Soviet comedy

This is a pretty good Soviet comedy co-produced by Soviets and some Italians (I don't remember exactly the name of the studio). Italians are portrayed as very active and jolly people, although more interested in pursuing material goals such as finding a hidden treasure in the advent of the Russian Revolution. They don't care about Communist ideals. The Russian character is the only positive character in the movie, a kind of Soviet James Bond. He finally conquers the main female character. Otherwise Soviet women are mostly absent from the movie. Clear signs of propaganda are two: 1) Italian hospitals are presented as being overcrowded so that at some point two patients (a man and a woman) have to share the same bed, 2) there is a lot of chaos in Italy and the Mafia stereotype is reinforced by a short Mafiosi.

Otherwise there aren't any references to the Soviet Communist party as far as I recall. Lots of special effects and stunts, so I suppose the Soviets spent a lot of money on the movie.