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IMDbPro

Moscow on the Hudson

  • 19841984
  • RR
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
12K
YOUR RATING
Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:20
1 Video
53 Photos
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Romance
A Russian saxophonist visiting New York with a circus troupe suddenly decides to defect from the USSR during a shopping trip to a department store, but he finds adjusting to American life mo... Read allA Russian saxophonist visiting New York with a circus troupe suddenly decides to defect from the USSR during a shopping trip to a department store, but he finds adjusting to American life more difficult than he imagined.A Russian saxophonist visiting New York with a circus troupe suddenly decides to defect from the USSR during a shopping trip to a department store, but he finds adjusting to American life more difficult than he imagined.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
12K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Paul Mazursky
  • Writers
    • Paul Mazursky
    • Leon Capetanos
  • Stars
    • Robin Williams
    • Maria Conchita Alonso
    • Cleavant Derricks
Top credits
  • Director
    • Paul Mazursky
  • Writers
    • Paul Mazursky
    • Leon Capetanos
  • Stars
    • Robin Williams
    • Maria Conchita Alonso
    • Cleavant Derricks
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 59User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
    • 67Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Videos1

    Moscow on the Hudson
    Trailer 2:20
    Moscow on the Hudson

    Photos53

    Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Robin Williams and Cleavant Derricks in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Robin Williams and Maria Conchita Alonso in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
    Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robin Williams
    Robin Williams
    • Vladimir Ivanoffas Vladimir Ivanoff
    Maria Conchita Alonso
    Maria Conchita Alonso
    • Lucia Lombardoas Lucia Lombardo
    Cleavant Derricks
    Cleavant Derricks
    • Lionel Witherspoonas Lionel Witherspoon
    Alejandro Rey
    Alejandro Rey
    • Orlando Ramirezas Orlando Ramirez
    Saveliy Kramarov
    Saveliy Kramarov
    • Borisas Boris
    • (as Savely Kramarov)
    Elya Baskin
    Elya Baskin
    • Anatolyas Anatoly
    Oleg Rudnik
    • Yuryas Yury
    Aleksandr Benyaminov
    Aleksandr Benyaminov
    • Vladimir's Grandfatheras Vladimir's Grandfather
    • (as Alexander Beniaminov)
    Lyudmila Kramarevskaya
    • Vladimir's Motheras Vladimir's Mother
    • (as Ludmila Kramarevsky)
    Ivo Vrzal-Wiegand
    • Vladimir's Fatheras Vladimir's Father
    • (as Ivo Vrzal)
    Natalya Ivanova
    • Sashaas Sasha
    • (as Natalie Iwanow)
    Tiger Haynes
    • Lionel's Grandfatheras Lionel's Grandfather
    Eyde Byrde
    • Lionel's Motheras Lionel's Mother
    • (as Edye Byrde)
    Robert MacBeth
    • Lionel's Stepfatheras Lionel's Stepfather
    Donna Ingram-Young
    • Leanneas Leanne
    Olga Talyn
    • Svetlanaas Svetlana
    Aleksandr Narodetsky
    • Leonidas Leonid
    • (as Alexander Narodetzky)
    Pierre Orcel
    • Young French Manas Young French Man
    • Director
      • Paul Mazursky
    • Writers
      • Paul Mazursky
      • Leon Capetanos
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In preparation for his role, for about a year, lead actor Robin Williams studied Soviet customs and learned the Russian language. Reportedly, Williams spent five hours a day learning Russian and had learned to speak it well within a month. By the time of principal photography, Williams was at a proficiency level where he could carry out a conversation. Williams's teacher was a Russian actor called David.
    • Goofs
      In the USSR of the 1980s even teenagers weren't acquainted with middle finger gesture, let alone an 80-year-old man doing it towards KGB officers.
    • Quotes

      The Judge: Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning. Today you will become citizens of the United States of America. No longer are you an Englishman, Italian, a Pole or whatever, neither will you be a hyphenated American. From this day you are no longer a subject of a governement, but an intergal part of the government, a free man. May you find in this nation the fulfillment of your dreams of Peace and Security, and may America in turn never find you wanting in your new proud role of citizen of the United States. Will the petitioners please rise. Now let us take the oath of allegiance.

    • Alternate versions
      CBS edited 19 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Hard to Hold/Tank/Moscow on the Hudson/Mike's Murder (1984)
    • Soundtracks
      FREEDOM
      Written by David McHugh

      Produced by Chaka Khan and David McHugh

      Performed by Chaka Khan

      Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records

    User reviews59

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    An entertaining and touching seriocomic tale
    My main reason for checking this movie out was because of Robin Williams. After seeing him in so many great films like "Insomnia" and "One Hour Photo" and watching his numerous hilarious talk show appearances, I've become even more curious about checking out the movies on his filmography that I have yet to see. Well, this is more than just a Robin Williams vehicle. Paul Mazursky cleverly combines comedy and drama, and expresses some good morals. He accurately portrays an immigrant's journey to America, and how he/she expects that America is a beautiful place where everyone can run free without any set limitations. It starts out as a fish-out-of-water comedy in which Russian immigrant Williams (who decides he wants to become an American citizen) explores the oddities of New York City and revels in its ambience, no matter how rough the neighborhoods are, no matter how many wackos are running around. Then he slowly learns that freedom has a price. America may be a free country, but that doesn't stop him from getting mugged and having his upstairs neighbors constantly complain about him playing his saxophone.

    One thing that impressed me was rather than have a bunch of American actors don Russian accents, Mazursky actually has the actors speaking Russian to each other. Now, there are certain movies like "Schindler's List" and "K-19: The Widowmaker" in which we do see American actors speaking English and putting on foreign accents and still prove to be good movies, but it's always more engaging to see characters from a certain country speaking their native language. I mean, what if Russia were to make a movie set in America, where all the American characters were speaking Russian in American accents? How goofy would that look? I'm guessing that Williams was the only American actor in the cast, and the rest are actual Russians. I don't speak Russian, so I can't tell whether or not Williams was actually speaking Russian, but it looked convincing to me. But since mainstream American audiences have grown to hate reading subtitles, you probably won't see a movie like this released nationwide.

    Robin Williams gives a terrific performance, totally disappearing into character. I was actually convinced he was a foreigner, as he speaks just like a Russian immigrant, in broken English, not articulating his words one bit. There was no sign of Robin Williams the Comedian in his character. Whenever he gets a laugh, he gets a laugh as Vladimir and not as Robin. Besides, this is one of his more serious roles and he never really plays it for laughs. Maria Conchita Alonso still sounds Cuban, as her Italian character, but she still gives a fine performance. Since I haven't seen her in any recent movies, it's nice to see her pretty face again. She was like the Salma Hayek of the 80's. Williams and Alonso have a good on-screen chemistry.

    The friendship between Williams and his African-American friend, who goes as far as letting him move in with his family, is very touching. Working as a security guard at Bloomingdale's and seeing Williams wreaking havoc around the store, he starts out hating his guts. Before you know it, they're best buddies. The most touching scene is the one in which Williams leaves a jazz club, depressed after being told by a well-known jazz musician that he needs practice. He decides to throw his saxophone away and forget about being a musician altogether. His friend relates to his problem and gives him plenty of encouragement in pursuing his dream of playing the saxophone, as they get drunk and laugh their heads off. The movie stresses the outburst of immigrants in New York City, which is a melting pot society. Almost every character Williams comes in contact with is either a foreigner or a minority. Strange but undoubtedly true, if you were to examine the streets of New York. It's not unlikely to walk across a whole city block, where not one person speaks English.

    The movie has no real plot structure, as it is mainly character-driven. The comedy is subtle, and arises naturally. My favorite quote from the film is when Williams says, "I bought my first pair of American shoes. They were made in Italy." That is a sample of the kind of humor in this film. I definitely suggest people check out this oldie-but-a-goodie.

    My score: 7 (out of 10)
    helpful•29
    5
    • mattymatt4ever
    • Sep 24, 2002

    FAQ2

    • WHY IS THIS THE ONLY REFERENCE POINT FOR Lucia Lombardo

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 6, 1984 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • Moskau in New York
    • Filming locations
      • Munich, Bavaria, Germany
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Bavaria Film
      • Delphi Premier Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $13,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $25,068,724
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $3,536,687
      • Apr 8, 1984
    • Gross worldwide
      • $25,068,724
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 55 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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