Aleksandr Ptushko’s Ruslan and Ludmila is a technical triumph, boasting an eye-popping array of costume and set designs, some impressive special effects work to rival the low-budget wizardry of Mario Bava, and color cinematography of considerable sumptuousness that was the combined effort of two DPs. That’s not to say that Ptushko’s final film only catches the eye. The fantastical story, based on an epic narrative poem by Alexander Pushkin from 1820 that was in turn inspired by old Russian folktales, is replete with earthy humor, dramatic incident, and even its fair share of charming musical numbers.
The narrative opens in 10th-century Kiev with the nuptials of the heroic knight Ruslan (Valeri Kozinets) and the beautiful Ludmila (Natalya Petrova). The consummation of their marriage is rudely interrupted, though, when Ludmila is abruptly spirited away by the magical forces of evil wizard Chernomor (Vladimir Fyodorov). Angry at Ruslan’s inability to protect his daughter,...
The narrative opens in 10th-century Kiev with the nuptials of the heroic knight Ruslan (Valeri Kozinets) and the beautiful Ludmila (Natalya Petrova). The consummation of their marriage is rudely interrupted, though, when Ludmila is abruptly spirited away by the magical forces of evil wizard Chernomor (Vladimir Fyodorov). Angry at Ruslan’s inability to protect his daughter,...
- 7/4/2024
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
Sampo
Blu ray
Deaf Crocodile/Vinegar Syndrome
1959 / 2:35:1 / 91 Min.
Starring Anna Orochko, Andris Ošiņš, Eve Kivi
Written by Väinö Kaukonen, Viktor Vitkovich, Grigori Yagdfeld
Directed by Aleksandr Ptushko
Mosfilm’s Sampo, a Russian fantasy from 1959, and Paramount’s White Christmas, a Yuletide bauble released in 1954, were both state of the art products of a big studio system. But each were Cold War entertainments driven by very different agendas: White Christmas was a gung ho military musical prettified by candy canes, VistaVision and Technicolor. Sampo was a movie out of time—a gravely beautiful folktale set in a bone-chilling winter wasteland. In short, America ladled on the optimism while Russia served up existential dread with a little popcorn on the side.
Mosfilm, aka “Russian Hollywood”, was a monolithic entity with the combined creative juice of MGM, Universal, and Paramount under one roof—established in 1920, the studio was a dream factory...
Blu ray
Deaf Crocodile/Vinegar Syndrome
1959 / 2:35:1 / 91 Min.
Starring Anna Orochko, Andris Ošiņš, Eve Kivi
Written by Väinö Kaukonen, Viktor Vitkovich, Grigori Yagdfeld
Directed by Aleksandr Ptushko
Mosfilm’s Sampo, a Russian fantasy from 1959, and Paramount’s White Christmas, a Yuletide bauble released in 1954, were both state of the art products of a big studio system. But each were Cold War entertainments driven by very different agendas: White Christmas was a gung ho military musical prettified by candy canes, VistaVision and Technicolor. Sampo was a movie out of time—a gravely beautiful folktale set in a bone-chilling winter wasteland. In short, America ladled on the optimism while Russia served up existential dread with a little popcorn on the side.
Mosfilm, aka “Russian Hollywood”, was a monolithic entity with the combined creative juice of MGM, Universal, and Paramount under one roof—established in 1920, the studio was a dream factory...
- 8/2/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
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