Chuck Norris vs. Communism (2015)

July 9, 2018 1:04 PM

In mid-1980s Romania, under the nose of the Securitate, Ceaușescu’s secret police, thousands of Hollywood films were smuggled into the country by an underground operative named Zamfir, and they were all covertly dubbed by Irina Nistor, a courageous translator whose distinct voice captivated the nation and became a symbol of freedom. Chuck Norris vs. Communism is a documentary, a thriller, and a comedy.
posted by DirtyOldTown (9 comments total)

I have a lot of thoughts on this movie, related to my love of film, my love of history, my nostalgia for the questionable action films of the period, and my spouse being a Romanian who grew up under Communism (and me, as a consequence having spent a bunch of time in Romania).

But before I get around to that, let me just say that this movie, even if you don't necessarily share my various enthusiasms and personal connections to the material, is SO MUCH FUN. So interesting and SO MUCH FUN.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:20 PM on July 9, 2018

Looks like it's streaming on Netflix US. I'll admit the title makes me groan somewhat (because of the Chuck Norris meme-adjacency) but the subject sounds intriguing. It's going in the queue!
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:45 PM on July 9, 2018

Only five reviews on RT, but FWIW, they're all glowing and it has a 100% fresh rating.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:08 PM on July 9, 2018

Is this all in Romanian?
posted by porpoise at 8:57 PM on July 9, 2018

All subtitled, yes. It's a really easy, breezy watch, even so.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:19 PM on July 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

This film reminded me of another documentary, though not as good as this one but still an interesting story - Slaughter Nick for President. Canadian actor, Rob Stewart (you might remember him on Suits or Killjoys but really he's appeared in many Canadian shot TV productions) discovers that a show and character he had done in the early 90's (Sweating Bullets / Tropical Heat) had been an enormous hit & source of strength for its viewers in Serbia during the war. A documentary team follows him as he travels there to find out why.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:48 PM on July 11, 2018

I watched this on the strength of DirtyOldTown's enthusiasm, and it lives up to it. What a great story. Well worth a watch and I never would have heard of it without this post.
posted by figurant at 10:02 PM on July 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the recommendation! Good flick
posted by eustatic at 12:05 PM on July 21, 2018

I watched this again and it's still awesome.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:57 AM on September 17, 2020