Table of contents:
- Moscow does not believe in tears
- Kin-Dza-Dza
- "Operation Y" and all the other adventures of Shurik
- The Incredible Adventures of Italians in Russia
- White sun of desert
- Children's films
Video: "The Great", "Immortal" or "Schizophrenic Mash": What Foreigners Think About Our Cult Films
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The movie titles are Operation Y, Luxurious Cruise for a Psycho, Kidnapping Caucasian Style, or Hello! I am Tsar Ivan”seem absolutely unfamiliar to us. However, behind them are films that we know by heart and love from childhood, and under such unusual names they were released in different years at the box office in other countries. Foreign viewers often perceive cult Soviet films very well, many believe that their level is much higher than Hollywood films. However, some moments that are innocent in our opinion may cause them bewilderment, rejection and even shock.
Moscow does not believe in tears
Released literally a year after the Americans boycotted the Moscow Olympics, this film was unexpectedly able to make a hole in the Iron Curtain. He won an Oscar, but our management was so unprepared for such a turn of events that they did not even let Vladimir Menshov go to the ceremony, and the cherished statuette fell into his hands only eight years later. However, the whole world was surprised to discover that Russians are not insensitive robots, but people whose problems and emotions you can empathize with. American theaters were packed, and the film became a truly beloved overseas. It is interesting that after a while Ronald Reagan revised it specifically before his visit to the USSR, considering this picture as an encyclopedia of Soviet life.
Kin-Dza-Dza
This is another film that usually provokes a strong positive reaction from foreigners. For spectators spoiled by special effects, it seems that the idea that fantasy can be filmed like this - without spectacular shots and brilliant starships dissecting galaxies, seems to be a real revelation. At the same time, the humor, the unusual plot and the ingenious play of the actors completely cover some of the technical shortcomings. The usual epithets of foreigners who first joined our dystopia are: and. Most Americans very much regret that this masterpiece is not well-known in world cinema, although, in fact, at one time the film was shown with great success in the countries of North and South America, Europe, China and Japan.
"Operation Y" and all the other adventures of Shurik
Since there is usually a big problem with the letter "Y" in foreign languages, when translating the name, it is usually replaced with "Y". However, in this case, all the difficulties of perception are exhausted. Our favorite comedy is perceived by the inhabitants of all other countries simply "with a bang." And Alexander Demyanenko rightfully causes considerable surprise - why such a wonderful actor is not known all over the world, because he is. This comparison is often found in reviews.
But when watching "Prisoner of the Caucasus", for example, foreign comrades have the following questions:
The Incredible Adventures of Italians in Russia
Of course, the perception of cinema is a very personal moment, and you can't hang labels here, focusing on the opinions of several viewers, but, nevertheless, Ryazanov's favorite comedy in Russia sometimes irritates the Italians. In their opinion, the film too repeats primitive stereotypes about the mafia and puts Italians in an idiotic light. Probably, critical viewers are better off not showing the song "Uno Momento" performed by Farada and Abdulov.
White sun of desert
"Russian Western" with "Russian Indiana Jones" is very popular with foreigners. Probably, this film has everything that they expect from us - adventure, beautiful girls, a historical background, a very special longing for the Motherland, and incredible depth behind which the whole world is used to finding the “mysterious Russian soul”. The film was released abroad with the light hand of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, who was his fan, and since then is well known all over the world.
Children's films
Here the opinions of foreigners can sometimes disagree with ours, and very seriously. Some Soviet masterpieces are perceived by them perfectly. The Mystery of the Third Planet usually surprises with its incredible art style, which has been compared to. In "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Adventures of Buratino" foreigners are amazed by the intricate plot, the professional play of children-actors and, of course, the incredible beauty of the music. Although difficulties in perception happen here as well:
(opinion of a foreign viewer)
However, one of our fairy tales for some reason caused a very negative reaction from the Americans. Of course, there were those among them who liked the film, but most still speak out about her very harshly. We are talking about "Morozko":
It is strange that a viewer accustomed to horror films took a particularly bad view of
True, it should be noted that such an opinion is expressed precisely by overseas spectators. The inhabitants of Eastern Europe, for example, love a fairy tale as much as we do. They are probably better acquainted with Baba Yaga and Santa Claus.
Read about the peculiarities of foreign film distribution in the review: What are the names under which popular Soviet comedies were published abroad
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