Ruslan and Ludmila (Not Opera)

Rating:
Summary: I love Russian fairy tale films!!!
Review: I wish I could get everyone I know who's into really wild cinema a copy of this film!! Alexander Ptushko's truly deserves the reputation he has in Russia. You may have seen dubbed versions of his work on MST3K (The Day the Earth Froze, Magic Voyage of Sinbad) His work is brilliant and totally original, comparable with other fantasy filmakers of the 50s & 60s such as Karel Zeman in the Czech Republic, Inoshiro Honda in Japan or Ray Harryhausen in the US. At any rate this film (his last) is a fine introduction to his films. Expect lots of colorful characters, bizarre in camera effects (split screen, reverse camera) great color and more. Specifically you have giant talking heads, flying bearded midgets, magic crystaline ice caves and plenty more.

Rating:
Summary: A treat for kids
Review: This DVD presents an ambitious adaptation of a well-known fairy tale by Pushkin. (Note that this is a feature movie, not a production of a famous opera based on the same poem.) I would recommend this DVD for any family with kids (ages 5-12). Disney lovers should not be disappointed.

The story quickly unfolds as a mighty sorcerer steals Lyudmila from Ruslan just a moment before they plunge into their wedding night bed (Pushkin's fantasy is amazing). Lyudmila's father, a king, is mad at Ruslan for he had not protected his beloved child and vowes to give Lyudmila's hand to anyone who finds and saves her. Ruslan and two rivals immediately depart for a long and treacherous jorney... All sorts of witches, enchanted forests, castles, knight fights, big battles, and anything else you wish for in a fairy tale.

Ptushko (an experienced master of fairy-tales: "Sadko", "Stone Flower", "Viy", the first two won some prises at Cannes in 50s) directed "Ruslan and Lyudmila" in early 70's and achieved a very nice cinematic effect overall. Great costumes. Nice special effects (esp. given the age of the movie). I liked this fairy-tale movie a lot when I was a kid myself and I still enjoyed it when I recently watched this DVD with my kid. However, as an adult viewer I can add that the movie may look pretentious at times and the actors "overplay" a bit. (Remember that this movie is mainly for kids and don't expect treats like Marfushenka, Churikova, in "Morozko".) Violence in some battle scenes is somewhat grotesque,... which might (?) be acceptable for a fairy tale.

The Russian dubbing tries to follow the lines/rhymes of Pushkin. In many places the original lines of the poem are altered to fit the movie script. These changes are not too bad, but it is still obvious that they were not made by Pushkin. I am not sure what happens with English, French, and other dubbings also present on this DVD. Anyways, subtitles are also available.

The movie (sound and picture) is restored and the technical quality of this DVD is good. Interesting bonus materials are included. RUSCICO prepared this DVD for Image Enterteinment release in the US.