Sadko (1953)

Director:

Aleksandr Ptushko

Writers:

Konstantin Isayev (writer)
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (libretto)

Release Date:

1962 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

All the Magic of "Stone Flower". All the Power of "Alexander Nevsky". All the Artistry of "Grand Concert"

Plot:

An oddly Russian Sinbad seeks to bring happiness to his people - first by trying to give money and goods to the poor...

Plot Keywords:

Sea | Mythological | MST3K | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sergei Stolyarov	...	Sadko
Alla Larionova	...	Lyubava
Yelena Myshkova	...	Princess of Lake Ilmen (as Y. Myshkova)
B. Surovtsev	...	Ivashka the boy
Mikhail Troyanovsky	...	Trifon
Nadir Malishevsky	...	Vyashta the Giant (as N. Malishevsky)
Nikolai Kryuchkov	...	Omelyan Danilovich
Ivan Pereverzev	...	Timofey Larionovich
Yuri Leonidov	...	Kuzma Larionovich
Lev Fenin	...	Varangian Leader (as L. Fenin)
Mikhail Astangov		(as M. Astangov)
Lidiya Vertinskaya	...	The Phoenix (as L. Vertinskaya)
Stepan Kayukov	...	Neptune
Olga Vikland	...	Neptuna (as O. Vikland)
Sergei Martinson	...	The Monk

Also Known As:

Садко (Soviet Union: Russian title)
The Magic Voyage of Sinbad (USA) (dubbed version)

Runtime:

Argentina:80 min | USA:79 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Color (Magicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Mosfilm

Trivia:

Spoofed as "The Magic Voyage of Sinbad" in "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (1988) episode #505, first aired August 14, 1993.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Sinbad sings, his singing voice is quite a bit different from his speaking voice. (U.S. dubbed version titled "The Magic Voyage of Sinbad")

Movie Connections:

Featured in Atlantis: In Search of a Lost Continent (1997) (TV)

Iconic adventure fantasy

Sadko (not Sinbad, ugh) is a hunk of a poet with a harp. He's got two girls in love with him: one is a nice village girl with a weird pigeon habit, and the other is the Princess of the Sea.... Clearly the thing to do is get out of town quick, so Sadko trades 3 goldfish for 3 boats (they were magic goldfish) and sets sail to find the Bird of Happiness. Along with a small army are Uncle Klepto, Big John, and Timmy the brash young mascot of the group -- these are not their actual names but they might as well be. The heroes are so cliché they're almost iconic.

Sadko and Co. spend the rest of the movie traveling to exotic places and getting into trouble with the locals. They battle Vikings, and play chess with the King of India. They bet a laughing horse for the Bird of Happiness and discover her true nature is not what they thought. They fight and are heroic, and on the return trip a storm threatens to sink the ships, so Sadko goes to the bottom of the sea to soothe an argument between King Neptune and his wife by entertaining them with his harp. Although the Princess loves Sadko she knows he prefers the pigeon girl. She helps him get home again on a speedy seahorse.

This is a very nice looking film. The story is fantastical without being too familiar. There is plenty of Russian flavor to make it semi-exotic to American tastes, and the Russian folk dancing is amazing. The special fx are charming and obvious, like stage tricks. When Sadko lifts a magic fish the light rays emitting from it are actually hundreds of metal wires sticking out of the fish! Most of the exotic locations are drawings, but the India sequence is full of elephants and dancing girls and over the top temples. The Bird of Paradise is satisfyingly surreal in a way that just wouldn't happen now with CGI. The final act in Neptune's Kingdom is a campy delight.

I rate it 8 out of 10. I'd originally seen the Sinbad version and I had to turn the sound down. It was that bad, and obvious the visuals were from a better movie. I'm glad I saw the restored Russian version because the visuals are much clearer and the original soundtrack is pleasant with strong music and the deep serious voices of the men. The story also made a lot more sense. Highly recommend! Would love to see more of this kind of film.