Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 10, 2015

The mid-sixties were not exactly a time of burgeoning detente between the Soviet Union and the United States, and that tended to spill over into cinematic depictions of the simmering conflicts between the two superpowers. Though it had an obviously satiric edge, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’s subtext was decidedly apocalyptic, managing to make a trenchant joke out of Mankind’s seemingly unquenchable thirst to destroy itself. The black humor on display in Kubrick’s 1964 masterpiece set it somewhat apart from grittier filmic portrayals of this era, outings that tended to be darker and more dramatically angst ridden. Films like 1965's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold offered a bleaker view of the interplay between the two most dominant nation states of the time, with a kind of more “intimate” apocalpyse on display than that offered in Dr. Strangelove. Cutting against the general dramatic grain in a comedic way completely different from Dr. Strangelove is Norman Jewison’s ebullient 1966 farce The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming, a film which wonderfully lampoons not just the absurdities of Cold War interaction but the foibles of humans themselves, no matter what nationality they may claim as their own. Deftly written by the always reliable William Rose, The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming is often raucously amusing in its portrayal of a (fictional) island off the coast of Massachusetts thinking it is being overrun by invading Russians when a Soviet submarine runs aground in a shallow seabed and the desperate crew goes ashore to try to get a little help to return to international waters.

The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming’s ad copy offered a charming orthographic representation of the conflict at the core of the film, with the title of the film featuring the Cyrillic letter "ya" which looks like a backwards “R” and a “G” that was reshaped to resemble the iconic Soviet hammer and sickle. That same playfulness is on hand in the film’s opening montage which “pits” an American flag against a Soviet one while Johnny Mandel’s impish score similarly ping-pongs from traditional American to Soviet themes and back again. Somewhat unexpectedly (at least for a comedy), the opening scenes set aboard the Soviet sub offer all dialogue in Russian (or what I assume to be Russian) without subtitles. Some 1966 audiences may have wondered if they had wandered into a so- called Art Film by mistake.

That opening scene leaves it to the audience to infer what exactly is going on, but it appears there’s a bit of a conflict between the captain (Theodore Bikel) and his second in command, Lieutenant Yuri Rozanov (Alan Arkin, Academy Award nominated for this performance). The captain has obviously misjudged the depth of the waters and soon enough a cumbersome Soviet sub called the Octopus is grounded off the shore of Gloucester Island. Yuri puts together a reconnaissance team with the ostensible goal of “borrowing” some motor boats to help pull the sub back out to sea.

That brings the Russian crew into contact with harried New Yorker Walt Whittaker (Carl Reiner), who is attempting to wrap up his summer vacation on Gloucester Island with his wife Elspeth (Eva Marie Saint) and their bratty son Pete (Sheldon Collins) and adorable little girl Annie (Cindy Putnam). When Yuri arrives at the Whittaker’s screen door claiming to be a “Norwegian” (which he pronounces with a hard “g”), little Pete starts goading his father into asking them if they’re Russian. Things only go from bad to worse from that point, with the Whittakers ultimately being held at gunpoint by Alexei Kolchin (John Phillip Law).

Yuri and his cohorts end up stumbling through a farcical array of misadventures on Gloucester Island as they attempt (largely in vain) to try to find a way to rescue the sub. Within just a few minutes, several other townspeople have gotten swept up in an increasing hysteria, to the point that finally laconic police chief Link Mattocks (Brian Keith) is roused from sleep to address the growing panic. Chief among the panickers is Mattocks’ own personal “Barney Fife,” his bumbling, almost always hysterical, deputy Norman Jonas (Jonathan Winters). Ultimately a militia headed by blustering Fendall Hawkins (Paul Ford) is put together to protect the island from these supposed “invaders.”

It’s to screenwriter William Rose’s credit that it’s the Americans who come off as the bigger fools in The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming. Yuri and his crew may be bumbling idiots, but they’re arguably comparatively rational, at least when held up to the frenzied townsfolk of the village, most of whom go from zero to sixty in about a second, absolutely certain that World War III has washed up on their sleepy little shores. The best thing about the film, however, is the pure, character driven humor that erupts from a bunch of spunky (if obviously misguided) Americans mistakenly thinking they’re doing their patriotic duty, when what they’re really doing is making fools of themselves.

The film is perhaps a little too pat and predictable in its other major plot arc, which sees Alexei falling for comely babysitter Alison (Andrea Dromm), while also becoming a “Russian uncle” of sorts to little Annie. That somewhat hackneyed element is more than offset by the incredibly ebullient cast of character actor icons, which includes everyone from Ben Blue as the town drunk to Tessie O’Shea as the busybody phone operator. Norman Jewison paces things perfectly, building comedic momentum out of a series of miscalculations, misunderstandings and culturally driven preconceptions.

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber Studio Classics with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. There's a variability in the color space throughout this presentation that might be somewhat akin to a "glass half full, glass half empty" situation. At times, colors are nicely vivid and fairly accurate looking (given an understanding of minimal fade toward the brown end of things). But at others, the color space seems too cool, with unconvincing flesh tones and a kind of drab overall appearance. The bright outdoor scenes (of which there are many) offer better clarity and pop, generally speaking. Grain is quite heavy at times, especially in the longish opening credits sequence and (as should be expected) in opticals. Elements have about the expected amount of age related wear and tear, with scratches, dirt and white flecks cropping up with fair regularity. There are no issues with image instability.

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 which nicely supports Johnny Mandel's fun, brass and piccolo inflected, score, as well as the sometimes manic dialogue. Fidelity is fine throughout this presentation and dynamic range is rather wide for this sort of comedy. There are no issues of any kind to report.

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making of Featurette (480i; 23:00) has some good interviews with Jewison and lots of clips of the film.


• Original Theatrical Trailer (480p; 4:29) contains a funny fake interview of Arkin's character conducted by a "journalist" played by Reiner.

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming actually bears a 1965 copyright during its credits, despite the fact that it was released in mid-1966. That puts it squarely in the timeframe of grittier Cold War dramas like the aforementioned The Spy Who Came in From the Cold or somewhat similar films like The Ipcress File. How refreshing, then, that this film should be played for laughs, and for such smart laughs at that. A near perfect combination of farce and character driven hilarity, The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming manages to bolster the idea that we can indeed "just get along," at least if there's a child hanging precariously from a nearby church tower. Video quality here is occasionally variable, but overall The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming comes Recommended.