Ruslan and Ludmila (1972)

Just perfect...

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Disappointing Continuation

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Hailed as Walt Disney of the Soviet Union, this epic fantasy is Ptushko's swan song (he passed away in 1973) and unequivocally his most ambitious work. Based on Pushkin's poem, RUSLAN AND LUDMILA runs 150 minutes, which allows Ptushko to mould an extensively lavish set to minutely fabricate the fairy tale, in a children-friendly fashion. Ruslan (Kozinets), a valiant knight, is going to marry Ludmila (Petrova), the prepossessing daughter of Prince Vladimir of Kiev (Abribosov), but in their wedding night, Ludmila is abducted by an evil dwarf wizard, Chernomor (Fyodorov) who is in alliance with a vengeful witch Naina (Kapnist), so Ruslan is on his way to rescue her, together with three other rivals who are also yearning for Ludmila, they are Rogdai (Mokshantsev), a sully-looking warrior, Ratmir (Akhmetov), a young Khazar Khan and Farlaf (Nevinnyy), a portly gourmand.As a master of stop-motion filmmaking, four decades later, Ptushko's sleights of hand are all the same enthralling to appreciate prominently as a novelty before CGI-era, crude but fantastic, Naina's witchcraft, Chernomor's magic beard, the giant slumbering human head, the wizard's hat which can make people invisible, a crafty juxtaposition of labouring giants and normal-size humans, and the combat between Ruslan and Chernomor in the soaring sky, all can effortlessly take the audience's breath away at that time.Unfortunately, the momentum slumps in the last half-hour, where Kiev is under siege from its barbaric attackers, here, so obvious that Ptushko is not competent to command the large scale of action sequences, the battle scenes are generically haphazard, extras are playing house, and shoddy models are ubiquitous. All the more, the acting, is the simplest type which leaves no trace of subtlety or empathy, fairly straightforward to the degree that every toddler can feasibly comprehend who is good and who represents evil, Ruslan is the invincible hero and Ludmila is the fearless heroine, who can single-handedly fend off Chernomor and his minions with all the pillows on the bed, Naina is the source of evil and Chernomor is merely a jester. It all can be subsumed as the standard Disney franchise, but unfortunately it becomes ever so distracting from adult's eyes. With all due respect to Ptushko and his screw for their laborious effort, a 6/10 is my conscientious vote for this one.

Ruslan and Ludmilla's (not to be confused with the great Glinka opera of the same name) only downsides are some dialogue that feels on the contrived side and the final twenty-five minutes or so, with its grotesquely violent nature and the villains disappearing and being forgotten it suddenly feels like a completely different film. This is only one part of the film though, the rest is absolutely magical and close to perfect. It looks wonderful, from the ice gardens to the Russian palaces the settings are very handsomely mounted while the colours are bright and the costumes evocatively beautiful. The special effects are fine on the whole(weird at times but in a wonderful way), appropriate for the genre and when the film was made, likewise with the make-up, while the film is beautifully shot also. The music positively sweeps in authentic Russian folk song flavour and rousing grandeur, while there is enough wit and charm in the dialogue to make up for those contrived moments and the battle sequences are on the whole vividly choreographed(the one in the final twenty-five minutes was the only notable exception). The story is very Russian and very-fairy-tale-like, it is one of those stories that sucks you in and never lets go, and it's told to thrilling effect while never losing the fantastical element of it. The characters are equally colourful, and while a little stagy the actors are noble and very into their roles, especially Natalya Petrova's spunky Ludmilla. All in all, magical and will enthral audiences whatever age. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Just want to say to everyone: SEE THIS MOVIE!It is funny & imaginative.For people who love fantasy movies, this is a real good way to spend a saturday evening.This is the russian "lord of the rings", in a more funny way.It is based on a poem, so everyone speaks in poetry, but the subtitles are normal so for western people it is normal. First you think it is a nice child movie, with some singing... baby-explaining way. Later you see people get beheaded by barbarians etcetra, and some blood. So it really turns upside down!GO SEE IT!

Wow. What a film. The more I see of Ptushko's work, the more I admire his wild imagination. There are beautiful visuals throughout such as the wizard's crystal garden or the upside down ceiling mounted fountains spewing multicolored water. There are also bizarre scenes such the gigantic head that advises Ruslan or the climactic duel where Ruslan hangs from the 30 foot long beard of a flying midget. A must-see for any fan of The Day the Earth Froze (Sampo) or Magic Voyage of Sinbad (Sadko) This came highly recommended to me by a friend who'd seen it at a film festival, and I was not disappointed.