In the pirated version of the Oscar-winning film, Margaret Thatcher, played by Meryl Streep, tells parliament: “Crush the working class, crush the scum, the yobs.”
Thatcher and members of the cabinet are shown as part of a world conspiracy, controlled by shadowy leaders.
You might conclude it’s not far off the former prime minister’s real intention, but on the whole, the Russian version takes it too far.
Funnily, one of Russia’s most notable film critics, not realising the script had been subject to some rather pointed changes, gave the film a glowing review.
In a scene from the original film, two Conservative advisers tell Thatcher that she needs to soften her image after they watch her being interviewed on television. In the Russian version, which has been dubbed to have her say that she would crush the working class, an adviser responds: “Of course you went a bit over the top … One of them [the workers] could be literate and have a television and see everything and tell all the rest,” he says, “and then rumours would spread that you are a pitiless, heartless bitch.”
Dubbing in pirated films is common in Russia. A translator, only known as Goblin, became famous for making highly entertaining versions that were deemed better than the original.
