''Devil's Bride'' ( lt, Velnio nuotaka) is the first

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

created in 1974 and based on the book by

Kazys Boruta Kazys Boruta (6 January 1905, in Kūlokai, near Marijampolė – 9 March 1965, in Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or ...

''Baltaragio malūnas'' ( en, Whitehorn Mill). Due to its popularity it is sometimes called a Lithuanian ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

. This musical is a joint creation by the director Arūnas Žebriūnas, composer

Vyacheslav Ganelin Vyacheslav (Slava) Ganelin ( he, ויאצ'סלב (סלבה) גנלין , lt, Viačeslavas Ganelinas, russian: Вячеслав Шевелевич Гане́лин; born 17 December 1944) is a Lithuanian–Israeli jazz pianist, composer, and ped ...

and

scriptwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

Sigitas Geda.

Synopsis

A devil, Pinčiukas (Gediminas Girvainis), comes to earth and lands near the mill of Baltaragis (Vasilijus Simčičius). Pinčiukas and Baltaragis conclude a pact: the devil will help the miller in his work and will get him a spectacular wife, Marcelė (Vaiva Mainelytė). In exchange, Baltaragis will let Pinčiukas marry the beautiful daughter he and Marcelė will have. Soon after giving birth to a daughter, Marcelė dies. The daughter, Jurga (played by the same actress interpreting her mother, Vaiva Mainelytė), grows up to become a beautiful woman, and the handsome Girdvainis (Regimantas Adomaitis) falls in love with her. Pinčiukas plays all sort of tricks to separate Jurga from Girdvainis, while Baltaragis regrets his pact with the devil and tries to persuade him to marry instead his not-so-beautiful sister Uršulė (Regina Varnaitė). In the end, the whole village realizes Pinčiukas is a devil and tries to kill him by drowning him in a nearby river, but he is saved by Uršulė, who is secretly in love with him. In the final scene, Jurga is happily riding with Girdvainis, and they pass by Uršulė and Pinčiukas, who also seem happy with their children.

Cast

* Vaiva Mainelytė – Jurga and Marcelė *

Regimantas Adomaitis Regimantas Adomaitis (31 January 1937 – 20 June 2022) was a Lithuanian film and stage actor. He was also active in Russia and Germany. Career Adomaitis was born in Šiauliai. He graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Vilniu ...

– Girdvainis * Gediminas Girdvainis – Pinčiukas * Vasilijus Simčičius – Baltaragis *

Regina Varnaitė Regina Varnaitė (born 19 May 1927) is a Lithuanian actress of film, stage and television. Biography Varnaitė was born on 1927 in Ukmergė. Her father was a villager and her mother a religious Catholic. She grew up together with her brother E ...

– Uršulė *

Bronius Babkauskas Bronius is a Lithuanian masculine given name. It is a shortened name of Bronislovas. Notable people with that name include: * Bronius Kutavičius (1932–2021), Lithuanian composer * Bronius Kuzmickas (born 1935), Lithuanian politician and philo ...

Juozas Meškauskas Juozas is a Lithuanian masculine given name, a shortened version of Juozapas, which in turn is the equivalent of English ''Joseph''. List of people named Juozas *Juozas Adomaitis-Šernas (1859–1922), Lithuanian scientific writer and book smugg ...

Regina Arbačiauskaitė Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * ...

Danutė Krištopaitytė Danutė is quite popular female given name in Lithuania. Women named ''Danutė'' include: *Elzbieta, sometimes also known as Danmila or Danutė (14th century), daughter of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania (see family of Gediminas) *Danutė of ...

Jonas Pakulis Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States People with the name * Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas * Jonas, one of ...

– The Almighty

Reception

''Velnio nuotaka'' was one of the most successful and celebrated movies in the Lithuanian cinema of the Soviet era. Critics have noted influences of Russian movies, but have also praised the originality of “the set and camera movement” that made Arūnas Žebriūnas's style somewhat unique. An “historical Lithuanian movie,” it was also influenced by the “devilish” 1970s, as evidenced by “its portrait of a quite licentious Satanic kingdom on earth.”“Dossier de presse: La Belle”
2018, 4.

References

External links

* 1974 films 1970s musical films Lithuanian drama films Soviet-era Lithuanian films Soviet musical drama films Films based on Lithuanian novels {{musical-film-stub