September 14, 2020

The Hunt for Movie Russian


The Hunt for Movie Russian
What time does Sean Connery go to Wimbledon? Tennish. IMDb, "The Hunt for Red October." Screenshot by the author.

I was all set for movie night this past weekend. On the docket: Hunt for Red October, the classic thriller about the captain of a Soviet submarine (the Red October, referring to the 1917 revolution) that goes rogue and tries to defect to America, with the help of hero Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin). My wife and I plopped down, popcorn in hand, ready for some great Cold War naval sequences.

And then Sean Connery opened his mouth.

I have nothing against the guy; gotta love the classic, unapologetic 007, but his way of speaking Russian… Yikes.

I’m not one to “Um, actually,” but the use of Russian in this film is definitely subpar. So I thought I'd take a look and see exactly where it diverges from the everyday Russian language we all know and love.

I guess we should have been warned in the title card:

The title card of "Hunt for Red October."
More than one language in a title card; ambitious. | Paramount Pictures; screenshot by the author.

A title in (kind of) Cyrillic letters appears, then proudly shifts into the title of the film, in English: “THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.” The implication being that the Cyrillic means “Red October.” Except it doesn’t.

The first word is fine: /krasniy/, red. The second, though, is a mess.

The Russian word for October is октябрь (Oktyabr’). But here that word is made up of Cyrillic and Latin letters to create a pastiche mildly reminiscent of the English word “October.” 

This reminds me of a meme:

A meme making fun of Russian letters used as English equivalents.
Shegg Ueb, vtst dsttsdggu io! | Facebook user Steve the vagabond and silly linguist

Back to Sean Connery. In the opening scene, Captain Ramius (Connery) and an officer are on the top of the ship’s conning tower. The shot starts on his eyes before panning out. His comrade says, “It’s cold this morning” (the way we know is the subtitle, not necessarily the dialogue). Connery responds with a grunt, before saying some Scottish-sounding word that I’ve never heard among Russians. It’s translated as “Very cold.” The classic "Ochen' kholodna" probably would have worked just fine.

Fortunately (mercifully?), the action onboard the Russian sub switches to English-language. However, the Russian returns when our American heroes come face-to-face with the Russian crew, leading to one of the most awkward sequences in the film in terms of faux-Russian-ness.

A climactic scene of the film.
Captain, prepare for poor Russian pronunciation off the port bow! | Paramount Pictures

Connery's character notices the handgun displayed on the hip of one of the Americans, and quips flatly, "Kakov nipudt pakaru," which doesn't mean anything. I interpret the intended meaning as "Kakoi-nibud' bakaru?," loosely translated as "some kind of cowboy." But why the word "kovboi," Russified "cowboy," wasn't the go-to is beyond me.

Regardless, this leads Jack Ryan to break the ice by commenting on how the captain thinks the American is "some sort of cowboy." In response, Ramius says, "New pa ruhsskey."

What exactly this means, or even its intention, is tough to pin down. I assume the writing was aiming for "Nu, po-russki?" meaning "Well, in Russian?" Or maybe the idea would have been better conveyed with a "Vi govorite po-russki?": "You speak Russian?"

And don't even get me started on the intonation.

With all that said, Hunt for Red October is an excellent movie that you should definitely, definitely watch. And it's far from the only film in which Russian is treated with goofy abandon. Action films are just another reason to learn the language.

You Might Also Like

Spycraft Through Film
  • January 01, 2006

Spycraft Through Film

It would be hard to overestimate the cultural impact of film on Russian culture. We plumb the depths of this phenomenon in this year’s Study Russia section.
The First Master of Russsian Film
  • February 01, 1998

The First Master of Russsian Film

Maxim Gorky once called film "the Kingdom of Shadows." Sergei Eisenstein was one of the earliest kings of this realm.
Spetsluzhb Goes to the Movies
  • November 01, 2006

Spetsluzhb Goes to the Movies

The FSB (heir to the KGB) has been influencing Russia’s recent film releases. Propaganda is new again.
Imagining the Enemy
  • November 01, 2008

Imagining the Enemy

Where we consider how Russians have been portrayed in American film over the past century – from Marlene Dietrich to Sean Connery. It turns out this may tell us more about America than about Russia.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
The Best of Russian Life

The Best of Russian Life

We culled through 15 years of Russian Life to select readers’ and editors’ favorite stories and biographies for inclusion in a special two-volume collection. Totalling over 1100 pages, these two volumes encompass some of the best writing we have published over the last two decades, and include the most timeless stories and biographies – those that can be read again and again.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
PO Box 567
Montpelier VT 05601-0567

802-223-4955