The Day the Earth Froze (1959)

Based on Finnish mythology, this movie traces the exploits of Lemminkäinen as he woos the fair Annikki and battles the evil witch Louhi. Louhi kidnaps Annikki to compel her brother to build... See full summary »

Director:

Aleksandr Ptushko

Writers:

Viktor Vitkovich (screenplay) (as Viktor Vitkovitsh), Grigori Yagdfeld (screenplay) (as Grigori Jagdfeld)

Stars:

Urho Somersalmi, Anna Orochko, Ivan Voronov

Cast

Credited cast:
Urho Somersalmi	...	Väinämöinen
Anna Orochko	...	Louhi (as Anna Orotshko)
Ivan Voronov	...	Ilmarinen
Andris Osins	...	Lemminkäinen (as Andris Oshin)
Ada Vojtsik	...	Mother of Lemminkäinen (as Ada Voitsik)
Eve Kivi	...	Annikki
Georgiy Millyar	...	Sorcerer (as Georgi Milljar)
Mikhail Troyanovskiy	...	Soothsayer (as Mihail Trojanovski)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anatoliy Barantsev	...	(as A. Barantsev)
Vladimir Boriskin	...	(as V. Boriskin)
Valentin Bryleev	...	(as Valentin Brylejev)
Anneli Haahdenmaa	...	Annikki (voice)
Maikki Hako	...	Kalevan kansaa
Hilkka Helinä	...	Lemminkäinen's mother (voice)
E. Hippeläinen	...	(as Emma Hippeläinen)

Storyline

Based on Finnish mythology, this movie traces the exploits of Lemminkäinen as he woos the fair Annikki and battles the evil witch Louhi. Louhi kidnaps Annikki to compel her brother to build for her a Sampo, a magical device that creates salt, grain, and gold. When Lemminkäinen tries (and fails) to recover the Sampo, Louhi steals the sun, plunging the world into frozen darkness.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | russia | folk tale | mythology | magic | 

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Taglines:

The Most Chilling Terror Ever Experienced

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was riffed on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Season 4, Episode 22.

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Quotes

Troll: [Ilmarinen hammers a viking ship out of molten iron, greatly distressing Louhi's trolls] What is to become of us?

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Alternate Versions

Four versions of this film were filmed at the same time: with Finnish and Russian dialogue and with normal and anamorphic optics. The Finnish version was subsequently edited to exclude some scenes that were considered to be unorthodox compared to "Kalevala", the original epic. Also most of the dialogue in the Finnish version was dubbed in verse form unlike the version that was filmed.

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Connections

Featured in Rock Suomi: Raskassarja (2010)

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Soundtracks

Nouse sotka soutimilta, alli airoilta ylene
Written by Igor Morozov / Väinö Kaukonen
Performed by hääväki

User Reviews

Films that make you go "What th'..."

Directed by Russian fantasy film maker Alexander Ptushko, so you can count on striking visuals and lots of in-camera effects (lots of dissolves, split screens etc.) Despite cheesy dubbing this film still holds much of its fantastical charm. It has a look similar to German expressionist works like Fritz Lang's 'Siegfried' or Murnau's 'Faust'. It also strikes me as possibly inspirational to Guy Madden's films such as 'Tales of the Gimli Hospital' or 'Careful'. (Its antiquated appearance is only enhanced by the poor faded color present in the prints I've seen. Definitely worthy of a Ruscico DVD restoration/release) After watching my non MST3K'O'd copy, I just can't get that crazy harp theme from the film's climax out of my head. One of the most persistent tunes since "In Heaven" from Eraserhead. "SAMPO...SAMPO...SAMPO!"

Details

Country:

Finland Soviet Union

Language:

Finnish

Release Date:

April 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Day the Earth Froze

Filming Locations:

Heinola, Finland

Box Office

Budget:

FIM1,000,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Suomi-Filmi, Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (English version) 4-Track Stereo (original version)

Color:

Color (Sovcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1