Ruslan and Ludmila (1972)

Based on Russian poet Alexander Pushkin's fairy tale poem of the same name. In the midst of the wedding party of Prince Ruslan and Ludmila, Ludmila is kidnapped by an evil sorcerer. Her ... See full summary »

Director:

Aleksandr Ptushko

Writers:

Alexander Pushkin (poem) (as A. S. Pushkin), Aleksandr Ptushko (as A. Ptushko)

Stars:

Valeri Kozinets, Natalya Petrova, Vladimir Fyodorov

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Valeri Kozinets	...	Ruslan
Natalya Petrova	...	Lyudmila
Vladimir Fyodorov	...	Chernomor the Wizard
Mariya Kapnist	...	Naina the Witch (as Mariya Kapnist-Serko)
Andrei Abrikosov	...	knaz Vladimir (as A. Abrikosov)
Igor Yasulovich	...	Finn (as I. Yasulovich)
Vyacheslav Nevinnyy	...	Farlaf (as V. Nevinnyy)
Oleg Mokshantsev	...	Rogdai (as O. Mokshantsev)
Ruslan Akhmetov	...	Ratmir (as R. Akhmetov)
Sergey Martinson	...	Ambassador (as S. Martinson)
Nikandr Nikolayev	...	(as N. Nikolayev)
Nikolay Kutuzov	...	Ambassador (as N. Kutuzov)
Shavkat Gaziyev	...	(as Sh. Gaziyev)
Viktor Shulgin	...	Golova (as V. Shulgin)
Eve Kivi	...	Rybirka (as E. Kivi-Antson)

Storyline

Based on Russian poet Alexander Pushkin's fairy tale poem of the same name. In the midst of the wedding party of Prince Ruslan and Ludmila, Ludmila is kidnapped by an evil sorcerer. Her father seeks help from his people, but of course Ruslan is the only one able to save her.

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Plot Keywords:

wizard | witch | test of love | test of character | sorcery | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The director, Aleksandr Ptushko, was a master of stop-motion film-making in the Soviet Union. This was one of his most ambitious films.

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Connections

Version of Ruslan and Ludmila (1938)

User Reviews

A wild fantasy

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.

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

1 January 1973 (Soviet Union)

Also Known As:

Ruslan and Ludmilla

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Sovcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1