A Russian saxophonist visiting New York City with a USSR circus troupe suddenly decides to defect in Bloomingdale's.A Russian saxophonist visiting New York City with a USSR circus troupe suddenly decides to defect in Bloomingdale's.A Russian saxophonist visiting New York City with a USSR circus troupe suddenly decides to defect in Bloomingdale's.
- Awards
- 2 nominations
Saveliy Kramarov
- Boris
- (as Savely Kramarov)
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)
Eyde Byrde
- Lionel's Mother
- (as Edye Byrde)
Aleksandr Narodetsky
- Leonid
- (as Alexander Narodetzky)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn 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.
- GoofsIn 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
Vladimir Ivanoff: [confronting a stranger following him down the street] FBI?
Gay Man on Street: FBI? No.
Vladimir Ivanoff: KGB?
Gay Man on Street: No. G-A-Y.
Vladimir Ivanoff: Gay? Oh, no, no.
Gay Man on Street: Sorry. You have a nice face. I thought we had a "moment" back there.
- Alternate versionsCBS edited 19 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.
- SoundtracksFreedom
Written by David McHugh
Produced by Chaka Khan and David McHugh
Performed by Chaka Khan
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records
Featured review
This movie is the story of a Russian immigrant to America. We can all relate to it in that we all have had dreams and then lived them only to discover that our dream may not have been all it was cracked up to be. The movie is all Robin Williams, it is an excellent showplace for his many talents. He is very much like Charlie Chaplin and Red Skelton in that they can be very funny and also very sad, often at the same time. The movie is set in New York City, but everyone is from somewhere else in the world, all trying to make a new life there. Williams' character is very multi-level and rich. He is not merely a clown, you really do get under his skin and understand his motives. The movie can strike some as sad in that Robin's character has a deep sense of melancholy about him, from his days as an unhappy Russian musician to his days as a "free" american. We sense his deep sadness behind the laughs. Recommended if you are a fan of Robin Williams or just need a pickup. This would make a good Fourth Of July tradition movie to watch.
- Schlockmeister
- May 26, 2001
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Moskau in New York
- Filming locations
- Munich, Bavaria, Germany(city: Moscow)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- 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
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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