Moscow on the Hudson (1984)

When a Russian musician defects in Bloomingdale's department store in New York, he finds adjusting to American life more difficult than he imagined.

Director:

Paul Mazursky

Writers:

Paul Mazursky, Leon Capetanos

Stars:

Robin Williams, Maria Conchita Alonso, Cleavant Derricks

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	Vladimir Ivanoff
Maria Conchita Alonso	...	Lucia Lombardo
Cleavant Derricks	...	Lionel Witherspoon
Alejandro Rey	...	Orlando Ramirez
Saveliy Kramarov	...	Boris (as Savely Kramarov)
Elya Baskin	...	Anatoly
Oleg Rudnik	...	Yury
Aleksandr Benyaminov	...	Vladimir's Grandfather (as Alexander Beniaminov)
Lyudmila Kramarevskaya	...	Vladimir's Mother (as Ludmila Kramarevsky)
Ivo Vrzal-Wiegand	...	Vladimir's Father (as Ivo Vrzal)
Natalya Ivanova	...	Sasha (as Natalie Iwanow)
Tiger Haynes	...	Lionel's Grandfather
Eyde Byrde	...	Lionel's Mother (as Edye Byrde)
Robert MacBeth	...	Lionel's Stepfather
Donna Ingram-Young	...	Leanne

Storyline

A Russian circus visits the US. A clown wants to defect, but doesn't have the nerve. His saxophone playing friend however comes to the decision to defect in the middle of Bloomingdales. He is befriended by the black security guard and falls in love with the Italian immigrant from behind the perfume counter. We follow his life as he works his way through the American dream and tries to find work as a musician.

---

Plot Keywords:

city name in title | musician | circus | saxophone | russian immigrant | 

---

Taglines:

America is sometimes a strange place even for Americans. Let alone for Vladimir Ivanoff, a Russian defector with a black roommate, a Cuban lawyer, and an Italian girlfriend. Who's learning to live with Big Macs, cable TV, hard rock, softcore, unemployment and a whole new wonderful word for him. Freedom.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

6 April 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Moscú en Nueva York

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,536,687, 8 April 1984

Gross USA:

$25,068,724

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,068,724

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film, Columbia Pictures, Delphi Premier Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The New York filming locations in the USA included Bloomingdale's, Times Square, Central Park, Lincoln Center, Greenwich Village, Harlem, Brooklyn, the Bowery and Brighton Beach.

---

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

french man on bus: [first lines]
french man on bus: Excuse me, sir. Does this bus go to the Lincoln Center?

---

Alternate Versions

CBS edited 19 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.

---

Connections

Featured in Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018)

---

Soundtracks

PEOPLE UP IN TEXAS
Written & Performed by Waylon Jennings
Courtesy of RCA Records

User Reviews

An experience of a Russian immigrant to America

As a Russian immigrant myself, I related the story to myself and liked the movie a lot. For those who never had such an experience, you may start to understand how hard it is to adapt to a new culture and why do people want to migrate in the first place. Also, for those who don't get the Russian culture, this might be kind of an introduction to it. Robin Williams is great as always, and I like especially his comedic style in a semitragic movie, which makes it so much easier to watch. If you have something against new immigrants to America and don't get why they come here at all, watch this movie and you'll understand why.