IMDb > The Twelve Chairs (1970)
The Twelve Chairs
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The Twelve Chairs (1970) More at IMDbPro »

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The Twelve Chairs (1970) -- Open-ended Trailer from CBS/fox

Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   1,698 votes
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Up 17% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Ilya Ilf (novel) and
Yevgeni Petrov (novel) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for The Twelve Chairs on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 October 1970 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
A wild and hilarious chase for a fortune in jewels. more
Plot:
A treasure hunt. An aging ex-nobleman of the Czarist regime has finally adjusted to life under the commisars in Russia... more | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(13 articles)
Mel Brooks' Classics Debut In Hi-Def DVD Collection
 (From iCelebz. 23 December 2009, 3:12 AM, PST)

DVD Playhouse--December 2009
 (From The Hollywood Interview. 19 December 2009, 3:11 PM, PST)

User Reviews:
The Brooks no one remembers.... more (31 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Ron Moody ... Ippolit Vorobyaninov

Frank Langella ... Ostap Bender

Dom DeLuise ... Father Fyodor
Andréas Voutsinas ... Nikolai Sestrin
Diana Coupland ... Madame Bruns
David Lander ... Engineer Bruns
Vlada Petric ... Sevitsky
Elaine Garreau ... Claudia Ivanovna
Robert Bernal ... Curator
Will Stampe ... Night Watchman
Bridget Brice ... Young Woman
Nicholas Smith ... Actor in play
Rada Djuricin ... Actress in play
Branka Veselinovic ... Natasha
Miodrag 'Mladja' Veselinovic ... Peasant (as Mladja Veselinovic)
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The 12 Chairs (USA) (alternative spelling)
more
Runtime:
94 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Finland:K-3 (cinema release) (1983) | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | UK:U | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:G
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Mel Brooks had problems with Yugoslavian extras who did not speak English. Some extras playing museum guards were to walk through the museum ringing a bell and shouting, "Closing time! Closing time!" The extras misunderstood and walked through the scene shouting "Cloakie Bye! Cloakie Bye!" Brooks decided "Cloakie Bye" was funnier, so he left it in the movie. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: The chairs are supposed to be walnut which is a medium to dark-brown wood, but when they're broken a very pale wood is exposed. more
Quotes:
Father Fyodor: Oh, God! You're so strict! more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "Unscripted: (#1.5)" (2005) more
Soundtrack:
Hope for the best, expect the worst more

FAQ

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful.
The Brooks no one remembers...., 14 September 1999
8/10
Author: George Litman from Marietta, OH USA

A long time ago, Mel Brooks had a subtle side.

Hard to believe, isn't it? The man responsible for such guffaw-fests as "Blazing Saddles", "Silent Movie", "High Anxiety" and such.... SUBTLE?

In "The Twelve Chairs", he does get laughs out of the story of a Russian nobleman searching for jewels sewn into one of twelve of his family's chairs that have been sold with the rest of his family's possessions. But not the way we're use to seeing Mel earn them.

This, time, he gets them through character study, human nature, individuals' reactions to certain embarrassing situations and, of course, good old-fashioned greed. And the laughs are there, to be sure.

I'm actually surprised that I liked this as much as I did. I'm used to Mel up there with the lampshade on his head, yucking it up with wild abandon. This film, subtle as it is, makes me laugh.

Of course, for purists, there's always good old DeLuise as another conniver searching for the same jewels. He makes with the wildness and insanity that makes a Mel Brooks film a Mel Brooks film, and he's a joy to see.

The others, Moody and Langella in particular, play regular human beings who see a situation, assess it and act as (nearly) anyone else would. More humorously, of course.

Seek out "The Twelve Chairs". Rare as it is, a rose by any other name....

And you know the rest.

Eight stars. Hey! Hey, hey, hey!

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Twelve Chairs (1970)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
An undiscovered trasure. stalzz64
Hope for the best expect the worst losun
Top 7 Mel Brooks Films! MrWhiskers_III
Frank Langella valjeanlover
completely forgotten stevfins13
Is this the movie where... harrybon92
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