Rousslan et Ludmilla

Those who order this film expecting faithfulness to the Pushkin mock folk-epic should be aware that the structure owes more to the ancient bylina tradition than to Pushkin's sophisticated play with language and literary tradition. Here Ludmila is the daughter of Prince Vladimir of Kiev, and Ruslan is a more successful version of Prince Igor of the medieval tale. While it is a good "also-ran" in the folk-tale- fairytale film market, it is a long way from capturing the kind of following that, say, the "Wizard of OZ" has in film. A modern viewer will find it difficult to overlook the dated techniques of the film's special effects.

What is this? Only six reviews on the Internet Movie Database for this work of art? It only goes to show how few of the eastern classics got attention in the rest of the world, even to this day. This is based on the works of the legendary epic poet Alexander Pushkin. I admit I don't know a lot about Pushkin, other than that he is a precursor to Gogol and his short stories which have the mien of dark folk tales, and this film reflects a similar kind of storytelling.

Mind you, this isn't terribly accessible to a non-Russian audience, in one sense. But, I think, if you are able to really sink into the mood of things, and maybe if you have a background in some of the more fantastic realms of 18th/19th century literature, you will be able to enjoy this elaborate, musical, grandiose tour de force. It's like a massive fantastical opera. Think Mozzart's The Magic Flute, maybe. Everyone is larger than life, and always declaiming, and wearing exuberant, wild costumes. There are ice palaces, sorcerers, evil dwarves, wild carousing, violence, the kind of passionate, wailing love you'll only see in stories, drunkenness. You'll find this has the logic of a fairy tale. It is huge and epic and absurd, and looks beautiful, and although it doesn't rock or swing or have the funk, the music is really cool.

Even the english subtitles seem to be doing their best to contribute to the madness. Watch as the translators scramble and twist themselves into all sorts of contortions to make the text rhyme in some semblence of the original poetry. I swear if you watch this with your loved one, you'll be uttering bizarre exclamations and phrases in public for months afterwards, and everyone will be completely nonplussed. Seriously, I'm not really adequate to describing what this thing is like. Just give it a try.

Just want to say to everyone: SEE THIS MOVIE!

It is funny & imaginative.

For people who love fantasy movies, this is a real good way to spend a saturday evening.

This is the russian "lord of the rings", in a more funny way.

It is based on a poem, so everyone speaks in poetry, but the subtitles are normal so for western people it is normal. First you think it is a nice child movie, with some singing... baby-explaining way. Later you see people get beheaded by barbarians etcetra, and some blood. So it really turns upside down!

GO SEE IT!

Wow. What a film. The more I see of Ptushko's work, the more I admire his wild imagination. There are beautiful visuals throughout such as the wizard's crystal garden or the upside down ceiling mounted fountains spewing multicolored water. There are also bizarre scenes such the gigantic head that advises Ruslan or the climactic duel where Ruslan hangs from the 30 foot long beard of a flying midget. A must-see for any fan of The Day the Earth Froze (Sampo) or Magic Voyage of Sinbad (Sadko) This came highly recommended to me by a friend who'd seen it at a film festival, and I was not disappointed.

Ruslan and Ludmilla's (not to be confused with the great Glinka opera of the same name) only downsides are some dialogue that feels on the contrived side and the final twenty-five minutes or so, with its grotesquely violent nature and the villains disappearing and being forgotten it suddenly feels like a completely different film. This is only one part of the film though, the rest is absolutely magical and close to perfect. It looks wonderful, from the ice gardens to the Russian palaces the settings are very handsomely mounted while the colours are bright and the costumes evocatively beautiful. The special effects are fine on the whole(weird at times but in a wonderful way), appropriate for the genre and when the film was made, likewise with the make-up, while the film is beautifully shot also. The music positively sweeps in authentic Russian folk song flavour and rousing grandeur, while there is enough wit and charm in the dialogue to make up for those contrived moments and the battle sequences are on the whole vividly choreographed(the one in the final twenty-five minutes was the only notable exception). The story is very Russian and very-fairy-tale-like, it is one of those stories that sucks you in and never lets go, and it's told to thrilling effect while never losing the fantastical element of it. The characters are equally colourful, and while a little stagy the actors are noble and very into their roles, especially Natalya Petrova's spunky Ludmilla. All in all, magical and will enthral audiences whatever age. 8/10 Bethany Cox