Moscow on the Hudson

1984
R
1h 55m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

14K

YOUR RATING

Robin Williams, Maria Conchita Alonso, and Cleavant Derricks in Moscow on the Hudson (1984)

Play trailer2:20

2 Videos

99+ Photos

Comedy Drama Romance

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.

Director
- Paul Mazursky
Writers
- Paul Mazursky
- Leon Capetanos
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

14K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Paul Mazursky
Writers
- Paul Mazursky
- Leon Capetanos
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 nominations

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

Olga Talyn

Svetlana

Aleksandr Narodetsky

Leonid
(as Alexander Narodetzky)

Pierre Orcel

Young French Man

Director
- Paul Mazursky
Writers
- Paul Mazursky
- Leon Capetanos
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
In 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.

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

Connections
Featured in At the Movies: Hard to Hold/Tank/Moscow on the Hudson/Mike's Murder (1984)

Soundtracks
Freedom
Written by David McHugh
Produced by Chaka Khan and David McHugh
Performed by Chaka Khan
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records

User reviews66

Review

Featured review

A brilliant movie with disturbing accuracy.

Robin Williams truly shows his amazing acting skills in this film. This movie is more of a drama than a comedy which is to be expected when you hear the plot of the story. Williams's Russian is quite convincing and the over all acting from the cast must be a 10 out of 10. It is easy to feel for Vladimir and the journey brings you along. The accuracy is stunning for those who lived through those kinds of situations. Vladimir finds that life is not perfect anywhere but he is sure happy to live in the land of opportunity, the land that gave him `Freedom'.