Save your money for something good and enjoyable

ridiculous rating

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Mistaken for a professional contrabandist, a bumbling tourist is given an arm cast full of smuggled goods and inadvertently becomes a government spy after going to the police in this energetic Soviet comedy. Once voted as the funniest Russian comedy of time, 'The Diamond Arm' certainly does an impressive job incorporating various forms of humour. The first five minutes, for example, play out as a dialogue-free silent comedy, but later on there are also pratfalls, sight gags and lines that crack with wit. At its zaniest, the chief smuggler has a red tinted dream in which he is tormented by a laughing black cat (!), though the most amusing moments come from characters narrating their thoughts out loud, whether it be the protagonist's paranoia over a taxi ride or his wife's concern that he is cheating on her. Less successful are the film's attempts at satire - or perhaps this angle is just lost on a western viewer. By some accounts, the film offers a sharp and biting parody of life under the Soviet regime, but ostensibly, it is just an offbeat motion picture about things going incredibly wrong. Yuriy Nikulin (reportedly a former circus clown) does okay as a man out of his depth, wearing the much sought-after cast, but the best moments are had by Andrey Mironov as the actual contrabandist who was meant to be given the cast. Whether it be repeatedly failing to knock Nikulin unconscious during a fishing trip, being kicked in the mouth during a drunken dance or fondling the precious cast, Mironov is simply sensational in a rather thankless role.

After watching "Brilliantovaya ruka" I can well believe that it's with very good reason that it has such a beloved reputation among Russian language comedies. The vibe it generates it of an extremely high level of breezy fun, and it sustains that with supernatural consistency all the way through.Combine that with an abundance of simply good jokes drawing from farce, slapstick, and everything in between. The performances are just the right level of broad to pull the maximum number of laughs. The almost constant underscoring perfectly compliments the fact that the pacing is masterfully timed and the fact that all the location filming simply looks fantastic to make this one of the most all-around fun viewing experiences you could imagine. Moments such as the walking-on-water, the set-up seduction, and the division of the "two parts" are among hilarious moments that also draw in character for their humor and even border somewhat on what might be called "Pythonesque" in style. At the same time, roots in the best of silent comedy, farce, and adventure film are happily evident. I can easily image how this comedy would reward reviewing, which it evidently for many other commentators here.

A regular guy goes on a cruise abroad, gets mistaken for a mafia courier and receives a load of diamonds in the bandage on his broken arm. Mafia tries to return the goods, KGB tries to catch mafia, and our hero struggles in between. Tons of great humor. Many jokes from this absolutely hilarious comedy have made it into everyday language. I would like to invite visitors to see pictures from the movie and watch a detailed trailer at RussArt.com. Those who read Russian can find more materials useful: reviews, actor biographies, articles, etc.Pictures: http://russart.com/?moviepictures&mid=10Trailer: http://russart.com/?movietrailer&mid=10

The last time I saw it was something like 10 years ago. Just recently I watched it again and was tempted to write about it. The physical humor here doesn't stand the test of time very well, and will bring nothing but a smirk to the faces of the young audiences, Russian and non-Russian alike. However, for the older generation, the names of Nikulin and Mironov are rather sacred, so there is no dispute about this film being considered a Soviet classic. Admittedly, the majority of the film's acclaim nowadays rests on the element of nostalgia, but not entirely. The duo of clumsy crooks played by Andrei Mironov and Anatoliy Papanov come off as quite impressive even today. Papanov's character is especially picturesque, delivering loads of caustic one-liners in his one-of-a-kind dialect that are just as hilarious as they were 30 years ago. Well, at least I think so, although I guess it's one of those "you either get it or you don't"-type things. Also, already mentioned by other reviewers Nonna Mordyukova's small role as a hawkish house manager is memorable as well. Unfortunately for foreign audiences, the whole appeal of this movie is of a rather esoteric nature. So, if you are not familiar with the realities of Soviet life or with Russian cultural folklore, you will just shrug your shoulders and ask what one of reviewers below asked: "where is the humor."