It was hard to expect too much out of this apparently low-budget production filmed in 1970 Yugoslavia. The script is loosely based on a novel in Russian which originally did not center on treasure hunt but rather on the picturesque characters surrounding the three losers who could not fit in the new life.
I decided to watch this as the only Mel Brooks film never seen before. Unfortunately I had nearly memorized the novel... and in my eyes the movie only reflected about 2% of the potential laughs, while I believe about 40% could be funny if it could make it in the script. The original material was not without flaws but it was mostly satire and drama, which was totally left out of this film.
Seeing Dom DeLuise and Frank Langella 40 years younger was a surprise! They actually account for 50% of the fun, while the remaining half belongs to the brilliant acting by Andréas Voutsinas in the two minutes of screen time! Mel Brooks wrote the title song for the film, and the score is OK, but the scenery is out of place and dress designer had no clue about any Russian clothes.
So, it's far from an average Mel Brooks film. Overall, I would still give it 5 out of 10, mostly for Andréas Voutsinas.
I decided to watch this as the only Mel Brooks film never seen before. Unfortunately I had nearly memorized the novel... and in my eyes the movie only reflected about 2% of the potential laughs, while I believe about 40% could be funny if it could make it in the script. The original material was not without flaws but it was mostly satire and drama, which was totally left out of this film.
Seeing Dom DeLuise and Frank Langella 40 years younger was a surprise! They actually account for 50% of the fun, while the remaining half belongs to the brilliant acting by Andréas Voutsinas in the two minutes of screen time! Mel Brooks wrote the title song for the film, and the score is OK, but the scenery is out of place and dress designer had no clue about any Russian clothes.
So, it's far from an average Mel Brooks film. Overall, I would still give it 5 out of 10, mostly for Andréas Voutsinas.