MovieChat Forums > Meteor (1979) Discussion > Did Natalie Wood know how to speak Russi...

Did Natalie Wood know how to speak Russian?

posted 17 years ago by dcornella
13 replies | jump to latest

I do not speak Russian but Ms. Wood's diction sounded accurate. Did she learn her lines phonetically or did she know the language? Thanks. Duane

[–] whisperhog 17 years ago

Yes; Natalie Wood, who was born Natalia Nikolaevna Zahkarenko to Russian immigrant parents, spoke fluent Russian. Check out her bio on IMDB.

[–] vpilutis 17 years ago

She also speaks some Russian in "The Great Race"

[–] Air America 16 years ago

That line in "The Great Race" was "Kak pazhybyyu druzhee" or "Hello good friends."

The dialogue coach did a fine job on Brian Keith's Russian lines.

[–] DrakeStraw 15 years ago

"Kak pazhybyyu druzhee"

Closer transliteration is "Kak pozhiváyetye druzyá"
Closer translation is "How are you friends?"

--
Drake

FYI

[spoiler][/spoiler]

[–] horsenbuggy 15 years ago

Natalie Woods' Russian was so good I had to come on here to verify that it was actually Natalie Woods and not some Russian actress who happened to resemble her. I didn't realize that Natalie Woods was Russian.

Also, while Brian Keith's Russian was noticeably worse than Natalie's, it was significantly better than Sean Connery's weak attempt in "The Hunt for Red October." Mr. Keith's dialog coach (and probably Ms. Woods herself) did a fine job helping him out.

Having said that, it's too bad they didn't just cast Yul Brynner and have two native Russian speakers in those roles. But maybe Brynner was too sick by then.

[–] mail-2775 15 years ago

I don't know. I do know that she definitely did not know how to act.

[–] emncaity 15 years ago

>> I don't know. I do know that she definitely did not know how to act. <<

Of course she didn't. That's how she had a decades-long career and was praised by so many.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] emncaity 15 years ago

Really? Last Married Couple isn't available? That really surprises me...

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] tamarenne 13 years ago

Bless you. Natalie Wood was aptly named because her acting style was about as wooden as you can get.

She had a charming personality, and she was lovely, and yes, a big star because she had tons of charisma. But her acting was so weak that if she was not given proper direction, ie in movies like Meteor, her acting goes from merely wooden to absolutely pathetically bad. Marilyn Monroe bad.

[–] richard.fuller1 10 years ago

I wouldn't say Natalie Wood goes Marilyn Monroe bad, but yea, she's an acquired taste, but was she deserving of all that recognition and nominations and what-have-you? I wouldn't think so, but the Hollywood of today still plays this game of overly promoting unworthy persons. Just check out any awards show for proof of that.

[–] tamarenne 10 years ago

Agreed entirely. Ninety percent of today's stars would be lucky to get jobs as bit players in the Golden Age of movies.