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 "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Magic Voyage of Sinbad (#6.5)" (1993)

Sadko revives ingenuity and freshness to a decadent art

Charming and naive, Alexandr Ptushko's version of Sadko maintains the ingenuity of the fairy tale through the golden touch of imaginative coloring and splendid characters ingrained in the Russian folklore, which at the same time are part of the universal lore. Add to this Rimmsky-Korsakov's magical music, and lo and behold, a dearest masterpiece to feast eyes and endear hearts. Ptushko used to work under stressing circumstances, political as well as cultural, within a government-controlled industry, where ideology ruled over imagination. However, the artist surpassed the militant many times. Sadko concedes to the nationalistic trend in tyrannies proclaiming, in this case, the 'proud of been a Russian", heard as an echo of fascistic hypes on 'selected people or race"; but it is done with such an obvious declarative tone that the imposition of dialogs and lines comes clear to the viewer. Hail to a filmmaker who conceived films as a domain for the illusive and the innocence.