Letter to Brezhnev (1985)

Two Soviet sailors, Peter and Sergei, go ashore in Liverpool to spend one night on the town. Peter can speak a minimal amount of English but it's enough to make contact with two ... See full summary »

Director:

Chris Bernard

Writer:

Frank Clarke

Stars:

Peter Firth, Alfred Molina, Tracy Marshak-Nash

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alfred Molina	...	Sergei
Peter Firth	...	Peter
Tracy Marshak-Nash	...	Tracy (as Tracy Lea)
Alexandra Pigg	...	Elaine
Margi Clarke	...	Teresa
Susan Dempsey	...	Girl in Pub
Ted Wood	...	Mick
Carl Chase	...	Taxi Driver
Sharon Power	...	Charlie's Girl
Robbie Dee	...	Charlie
Eddie Ross	...	Rayner
Syd Newman	...	Dmitri
Gerry White	...	1st Doorman
Pat Riley	...	2nd Doorman
Wendy Votel	...	1st Girl on Bus

Storyline

Two Soviet sailors, Peter and Sergei, go ashore in Liverpool to spend one night on the town. Peter can speak a minimal amount of English but it's enough to make contact with two Liverpudlian natives, Elaine and Theresa. Elaine and Peter immediately fall in love with each other, but the night is short and they must leave with the ship. Elaine can't forget him and writes a letter to Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, asking him to make it possible for them to reunite.

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Plot Keywords:

letter | love | sailor | liverpool | thatcherism | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 May 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bons baisers de Liverpool

Filming Locations:

Shaftesbury Hotel, Liverpool, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films, Palace Pictures, Yeardream

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alexandra Pigg and Peter Firth are married in real life.

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Goofs

Elaine says the British embassy did nothing to help her. It is highly unlikely that that she as a British citizen in Britain would have contacted any British embassy, all of which would, by definition, be in other countries. She would have contacted the Foreign Office, which is the authority dealing with foreign affairs and international matters in Britain. The casual viewer might easily confuse the two, but Elaine, who has recently dealt with them, would not make this mistake.

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Quotes

Elaine: See that? These here are my tickets for freedom. These say I can get on a plane, get out of here and leave. These say I can leave, why can't you?
Mother: I've never put my foot down with you, girl. Never.
Elaine: Mum,I don't care what you say or how you are trying to bully me, but my mind's made up. I'm going and that's that. Sovwhy don't you just sit down, get your wool out and knit yourself an iron curtain?

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Crazy Credits

The end credits roll to the background of a painted Moscow city landscape.

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Connections

References Doctor Zhivago (1965)

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Soundtracks

Always Something There To Remind Me
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Performed by Sandie Shaw
(uncredited)

User Reviews

Lovely lark about Liverpool Loonies

Atmospheric, un-slick, and utterly unique, Letter to Brezhnev captures a slice of the 1980s which seems all the more extraordinary in 1999. Graced by realistic acting, deft camera work, and a superb soundtrack, one is successfully transformed to a period and a place, in this case wonderfully dreary Liverpool in the early 80s - New Wave music and the Cold War are in full swing. Such a movie is hip today but rarely achieved. The story may seem a little far-fetched - Liverpool girl (Pigg) gets Russian guy (Firth) with a little help from no less than the Soviet Premier - but some of us who grew up in the 80s like to think that it could. The 80s were like that. Now, we just have awful, cynical, formulaic pap - Reality Bites and Boys on the Side...whine, whine, whine. Why can't more movies like Letter to Brezhnev be made?