The Diamond Arm

Starring:Yuri Nikulin, Nina Grebeshkova, Andrei Mironov, Anatoli Papanov, Stanislav Chekan, Vladimir Gulyayev, Nonna Mordyukova, Svetlana Svetlichnaya, Roman Filippov, Grigori Shpigel, Igor Yasulovich, Leonid Kanevsky, Maksim Nikulin, Aleksandra Lisyutina, Aleksandr Khvylya, Nikolai Romanov, Andrei Fajt, V. Ostrovskaya, Lev Polyakov, Nikolai Trofimov
Director: Leonid Gaidai
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Description

One of the most beloved Russian comedies, this eccentric farce from celebrated director Leonid Gaidai (based on a newspaper article) concerns a criminal operation which smuggles gold and diamonds inside a plaster arm cast. Modest economist Semyon Gorbunkov and a swindler named The Count embark on a wild series of smuggling adventures, peppered with comic dialogue which spawned several popular catchphrases.

Customer Reviews:

The funniest russian movie ever!.......2006-10-07

This movie may be unfamiliar to American viewers, who watch american movies only. But this is a very humorous movie, starring some of Russia's best comedians - Yuri Nikulin and Andrei Mironov.
In Bulgaria, they used to show it on every New Year's day.

The plot is like this: A russian turist (Nikulin) in Istanbul slips and falls and says "Chort Poberi" (which means something like "damn", or "hell", or "go to the devil" in russian language.)
This happens to be a password for some bandits, who await their man (Mironov) to smuggle diamonds in the cast of his would-be broken arm. Without realizing what is happening, Nikulin's character smuggles the diamonds. Then he has encounters both with the russian police and with the bandits. And there is a happy end...

Watch this film, I'm sure you will enjoy it. In Bulgaria, you can legally buy it on a DVD for just $2.

A nam vsyo ravno!.......2006-07-19

An hilarious movie about mistaken identity, the Russian mafia, the KGB and an unsuspecting nice guy in the middle of it all!

Nikulin is hilarious as usual, and what can you say about the peerless Mironov?

I watched this movie back in St.P some 14 years ago, and even when my Russian was just in the basic stage I could still follow it. Once my Russian progressed, I grasped all the very funny word play and situational humour.

If you like enjoying yourself - buy this movie!

A Russian Classic Comedy........2006-01-27

I have read one negative review about this film and I would like to clarify the statements made in it. I am Russian so, obviously, I like this film. It has typical Russian humor, it is a farce, so do not look for higher meanings in the jokes, it makes fun of the social standards of the Soviet regime as well as the people who served it so well. It features some of the best Russian actors that we love seeing and acting; they sing in the movie and it is lovely as well. If you are a tough judge of movies, then please make sure you know Soviet history a bit and understand that the humor differs from what you see in American movies before you call it crap.
I do not see why there should be a problem with characters not talking for the first ten minutes of the movie. In fact, it is just a few minutes during which you are shown the premise of the movie. And as for cyrillic letters not making sense: this is a Russian movie and you are bound to see everything written in our gibberish alphabet. Besides, the movie begins with a cruise in a foreign country (it was shot in Baku, Azerbajan but is supposed to be Turkey). The language spoken by the locals as well as the signs on buildings are gibberish - it was made up specially for the movie.

That said, I want to say a few words about the plot. Semen Semenovich is a diligent Russian economist goes on a cruise, where he gets acquainted with a mafia mob's right hand, Kozodoev, whose assignment is to pick up diamonds from the supplier and deliver it back to Moscow via a cast on his arm. During one of the last stops, Semen Semenovich gets mistaken for Kozodoev and ends up with a cast and jewels inside it. As he returns to Moscow, Semen contacts the police. Now, he has to pose as bait and escape the traps elaborately planted by the mafia.

As I already said, the movie is fantastic. Just remember that it is a farce. And no, there is not slapstick humour. Be open-minded and enjoy! Oh, and by the way, all the jewelry you will see on the screen is authentic. It's mentioned in the beginning that the film crew would like to thank all Soviet individuals who lend their gems for the filming.

The classic comedy.......2005-04-04

This movie is the greatest classic comedy ever. Don't listen to the lady, who gave this movie only 2 stars, she doesn't know what she is talking about. Only person with the limited sence of humor may not like this film. Believe me it's wonderfull.!!!!!

Did we see the same movie?.......2005-02-17

Every review I've read about this movie pops and fizzes with praise and I just don't get it. No one speaks until practically 10 minutes into it, and by then you're so confused by the random scenes thrown together and the cyrilic letters, it makes it hard to enjoy what comes next. If you like extremely BROAD slapstick humor and find that totally charming, then I guess I can see the appeal. Everyone talks about how this movie spawned so many catch phrases. I have to wonder what they could be: "Damned Melon!" or "I passed out when I broke my wrist, and when I woke up, the cast was already on!"??? I will say listening to the dubbed english and having the english subtitles on at the same time does add some humor, because they say completely different things, or omit speech altogether. In sum, don't waste your time.

Average customer rating:

Worth it just for the first film
Wrong!

I Bury the Living/The Severed Arm

Manufacturer: Diamond Ent. Corp.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( I ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0000B1A69
Release Date: 2003-01-01

Customer Reviews:

Worth it just for the first film.......2007-03-19

I picked up this low-price DVD because "I Bury the Living" was recommended to me, and the small price was well worth the good quality of this 1958 suspense/horror movie. Although in B&W, the picture quality is very good, as is the sound, and the entire film has all the earmarks of a high standard production such as good use of lighting and shadow, various visual effects, professional actors and a clever, well-planned script. The story moves along at a good pace as it escalates in suspense, and Richard Boone is very effective in portraying the psychological turmoil his character experiences when faced with a situation reminiscent of sticking pins into a voodoo doll. The idea is quite brilliant and would surely appeal to viewers who prefer an intelligent horror/thriller/supernatural theme without gory and gruesome scenes, but with enough strangeness to stretch the imagination. In this story, the pins are put into a cemetery map to denote people: black pins for the dead, and white ones for those who have purchased a cemetery plot but are still living. The suspense begins as soon as Boone, the new cemetery director, puts black pins into the map instead of white, resulting in the sudden death of those people. The viewer relates to his anguish as he becomes convinced that he has some supernatural powers causing these deaths and begins to wonder if replacing black with white pins will bring those ones back to life. Just on the verge of desperation and suicide, there is a twist that many of you won't see coming, and it may be satisfying or disappointing - depending on your expectations. In any case, this is a refreshingly good, clever and well-made horror/suspense film worthy of 4 stars, but together with the other film, "The Severed Arm" this DVD only averages 3 stars.

In total contrast to "I Bury the Living" in every aspect, "The Severed Arm" was obviously made on a very small budget in 1973 and is quite simply the worst film I've seen in a long time. It is mediocre at best, extremely dull and flat with poor lighting and even poorer script delivered by average actors. Even the sound seems to be of rather low quality, and there is very little suspense in this predictable plot, even though the ending does have a bit of a twist. I can imagine that the story itself could be salvaged with a much better script and more inventive directing, making it a psychological thriller about the long-term effects of a desperate act to cut off and eat a man's arm after a group of men were trapped in a cave-in for over a week and were starving to death. Some years later, a mysterious axe-wielding attacker takes revenge on the members of that party by chopping off their arms, but the climax shows that things are not as they seem. Nevertheless, the twist at the end doesn't save the film from barely rating 2 stars, and it seems a shame to have this low quality budget movie on the same DVD as "I Bury the Living" unless it serves only to show by contrast just how good the latter film really is! For such a low-priced DVD it still has some extra features and is overall pretty good quality, so it is definitely worth the few dollars just for a good film like "I Bury the Living".

Wrong!.......2004-08-30

I recently purchased this DVD based on the other reviewer's recommendation and especially for the "Saturday night at the movies" mode that he/she talks about. Well I got news for ya - there is no Saturday night at the movies mode. I have no idea what the reviewer was watching, but it was definitely not this DVD. Just a heads up.

The Diamond Arm / Brilliantovaya Ruka (Kr. p.)

Average customer rating:

So Funny!

The Diamond Arm / Brilliantovaya Ruka (Kr. p.)

Manufacturer: Krupny Plan
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
ASIN: B000AA4MNQ

Product Description

RUSSIAN SOUNDTRACK ONLY; Format: Widescreen, 16:9, Color Genre(s): Comedy Director: Leonid Gajdaj Script: Leonid Gajdaj, Moris Slobodskoj Camera: Igor' Chernykh Music: Aleksandr Zatsepin Cast: Yurij Nikulin, Anatolij Papanov, Andrej Mironov, Svetlana Svetlichnaya, Nonna Mordyukova

Customer Reviews:

So Funny!.......2007-05-08

This is an amazing russian comedy. With the twisting plots all the dramatic irony keeps you laughing and hooked. It is definatly a must see.

DVD:

DVD List

DVD

DVD

The Queen Mother: A Royal Century

Suture

Bride of Re-Animator

DVD: Drinking and Driving: The End of the Road

Hänsel und Gretel