Alexander Ptushko and Karel Zeman

[MikeBSG]

Last night, I watched "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" on DVD. It inspired me to start this thread on Eastern Bloc fairy tale/fantasy films.

"Tale of Tsar Saltan" was superb. It isn't my favorite fairy tale by any stretch, but the movie zipped by quickly and had delightful humor and visual style. Alexander Ptushko was the director, and he had quite a career making fairy tale movies in the Soviet film industry.

I had only seen another Ptushko film, "Viy," based on the Gogol story that also inspired Mario Bava's "Black Sunday." "Viy" has more of a humorous, folk tale quality than the Bava work, and while "Viy" is fun, I think "Tale of Tsar Saltan" was much better.

Karel Zeman was a Czech director who made stop-motion fantasy and science fiction films. I haven't especially liked the two movies of his that I've seen: "The Invention of Destruction" was an adaptation of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" that struck me as slow moving. "Baron Munchhausen" alienated me by constantly belittling Munchhausen in favor of an astronaut. The Zeman films had good visual style but not much else.

What films of this nature have you seen? Who do you prefer?

[MikeBSG]

I recently watched the 1956 Soviet film "Ilya Muromets," which was directed by Alexander Ptushko.

I was disappointed. I sat there and thought "Wow, what beautiful photography." That's all there was to admire in this film. The problem was that the hero, Ilya Muromets, was always right and invincible. He was as exciting as a brick. The film also was oddly plotted. An impressive three-headed dragon showed up, only to be defeated in under three minutes. On the whole, "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad" is a far better movie. ("The Tale of Tsar Saltan" is far better than "Ilya Muromets" as well.)

I think I read that some American producer bought footage from "Ilya Muromets" and incorporated it in a film called "Sword of the Dragon" which had Basil Rathbone as an evil wizard. Has anyone seen that film?

[jdb1]

I recently watched the 1956 Soviet film "Ilya Muromets," which was directed by Alexander Ptushko.

I was disappointed. I sat there and thought "Wow, what beautiful photography." That's all there was to admire in this film. The problem was that the hero, Ilya Muromets, was always right and invincible. He was as exciting as a brick. The film also was oddly plotted. An impressive three-headed dragon showed up, only to be defeated in under three minutes. On the whole, "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad" is a far better movie. ("The Tale of Tsar Saltan" is far better than "Ilya Muromets" as well.)

I think I read that some American producer bought footage from "Ilya Muromets" and incorporated it in a film called "Sword of the Dragon" which had Basil Rathbone as an evil wizard. Has anyone seen that film?

I believe that I saw Ilya Muromets being parsed on Mystery Science Theater 3000. I thought the movie deserved every barb they threw at it. Dreadful.

[MikeBSG]

I recently watched "Amphibian man," a Soviet science fiction movie from 1962. It is about a teenage boy who can breathe underwater thanks to a life-saving experiment by his father. The story takes place in Latin America.

I see influences of "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and "Forbidden Planet" in the visual style of the film. it is quite enjoyable, my 14 year old son got a bang out of it. It is something like a Soviet "Edward Scissorhands" if that isn't too mind-bending.

[MikeBSG]

Yesterday I watched the Alexander Ptushko movie "The Tale of Time Lost," a fantasy from 1964.

This is one of the most enjoyable Soviet films I've ever seen. It is about a group of wicked sorcerers who try to steal time from lazy children so they can become young again. It is very, very funny. (Apparently it is based on a story by Evgenny Shvartz, who wrote "the Dragon," a very famous puppet drama that is performed in the US a lot.) Definitely worth a look.

[moira finnie]

Mike, where do you find these films? I've only heard of them from you and a few other cosmopolitan people. The only one I've ever seen is Amphibian Man which I liked quite a lot. The fairy tale quality of the story took some time to get used to, but that was part of its appeal in the end. I enjoy hearing about these, since they are off the beaten path. Thanks for bringing these to our attention.

I found that Viy (1967) is on youtube in a very beautiful print with good subtitles. I didn't realize that the music was by Aram Khachaturyan's nephew Karen. It sounded so reminiscent of Khachaturyan's Stalinist era themes. Here is the beginning of Viy:

[youtube][/youtube]

[MikeBSG]

I've been renting these from Facets Multimedia, which is like Netflix but only has one office in Chicago. They have a pretty good selection of films from eastern Europe.

I suppose I had a problem with "Viy" in that I had always heard it was the scariest film ever made. It isn't. It doesn't even try to be a horror film in the Western sense.

I love "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors," a 1964 Ukrainian film made by Sergei Parajanov. That has a real folkloric feel (at least to me.)

[moira finnie]

I've been renting these from Facets Multimedia, which is like Netflix but only has one office in Chicago. They have a pretty good selection of films from eastern Europe.

I suppose I had a problem with "Viy" in that I had always heard it was the scariest film ever made. It isn't. It doesn't even try to be a horror film in the Western sense.

I love "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors," a 1964 Ukrainian film made by Sergei Parajanov. That has a real folkloric feel (at least to me.)

Thanks, Mike. I'm familiar with Facets in Chicago and the range of films they offer. I didn't think that Viy was very horrifying at all (especially compared to the average gorefest of today's commercial cinema). Please forgive me if this seems like prying, but are you a Russian or Ukrainian speaker, making these films even more directly enjoyable?

Here's a lovely clip of a scene from Parajanov's Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.

[youtube][/youtube]

[MikeBSG]

I've studied the Russian language and speak it very badly. I was once told that I spoke Russian like "a stupid Fritz." (German)

I'm sure my study of the language and the history has helped me get more out of the films. But I also think that Americans do themselves a disservice by thinking "Oh, it's Russian (or any of the Slavic nationalities), so I can't understand it/it will be depressing or propaganda, etc." A knowledge of the history helps some films (such as "And Quiet Flows the Don," which is terrific and leaves David Lean's "Dr. Zhivago" in the shade) but films like "Amphibian Man" and "Tale of Time Lost" are just fun.

[ziggy 6708]

Wow! Had a heckuva time trying to login in for some reason. Finally had to get a magic new PW via e-mail.
ANYWAY, just wanted to thank Mike & moira for mentiong "Viy" and supplying that link.
Pretty cool flick. Would have been great for Halloween. This is just the type of info I love getting, especialyy re. sci-fi, horror & fantasy.
I've always felt we cheat ourselves so much in this country by stressing only films from the U.S. and western Europe, and not having more outlets and attention paid to what's going on with film in the rest of the world. This is just one example.
There's a big world out there with aheckuvalot of creative people and great ideas. Thank god for the internet which keeps us connected and aware of what's happening, creatively AND politically, all over the world.
Keep up the good work!

[Ollie]

I have been battling with my local Russian friends who have resisted my spells to force them to divulge all of the Soviet '50s atomic-monster films. "There weren't any!" they keep saying. Blast. Ya mean, there was a Monster Movie Gap at the time?!! Jeepers... it really is odd, though, and I'm looking forward to snagging some of these DVDs. Thanks for list - now I can berate my comrades and maybe they'll phone home for them! ha ha

[MikeBSG]

Just watched a terrific, moody, black-and-white Russian fairy tale film from 1939, "Vasilissa the Beautiful." Directed by Alexander Row, it is barely over an hour long, but has some very funny humor (with some really nasty potential brides) and surprisingly grim magic scenes. (The dragon slaying here is actually rather gory.) Parts of the look of the magic scenes might have been inspired by Lang's "Die Niebelungen." Baba Yaga, the evil Russian witch, is played by a man here. Highly recommended.

[SSO Admins]

I believe that I saw Ilya Muromets being parsed on Mystery Science Theater 3000. I thought the movie deserved every barb they threw at it. Dreadful.

The MST3k version is on YouTube. Part 1 is below.

[youtube][/youtube]