''Sadko'' (russian: Садко) is a 1953 Soviet

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

fantasy film directed by

Aleksandr Ptushko Aleksandr Lukich Ptushko (russian: Александр Лукич Птушко, – 6 March 1973) was a Soviet animation and fantasy film director, and a People's Artist of the USSR (1969). Ptushko is frequently (and somewhat misleadingly) referr ...

and adapted by Konstantin Isayev, from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's eponymous

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, which was based on a Russian ''

bylina A ( rus, были́на, p=bɨˈlʲinə; pl. ) is an Old Russian oral epic poem. Byliny narratives are loosely based on historical fact, but greatly embellished with fantasy or hyperbole. The word derives from the past tense of the verb ' ...

''(epic tale) with the same name. The music is Rimsky-Korsakov's score. The film saw release in the Soviet Union by

Mosfilm Mosfilm (russian: Мосфильм, ''Mosfil’m'' ) is a film studio which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's film monopoly, its output inclu ...

in January 1953. It was distributed in the USA by

Artkino Pictures Nicola Napoli, was the President of Artkino Pictures, Inc., the primary distributor of Soviet films in the United States, Canada, Central America and South America from 1940 to 1982. Napoli was a double agent Soviet Spy for the United States. In 19 ...

with English subtitles later in 1953, and in 1962 was English-dubbed by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

's The Filmgroup Inc. and distributed as ''The Magic Voyage of Sinbad''.

Plot summary

This tale is based upon the legends told of ancient times in the old Russian city of Novgorod (the capital of

Novgorod republic The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...

). Novgorod's merchants are feasting in a gorgeous palace. A young

gusli ''Gusli'' ( rus, гусли, p=ˈɡuslʲɪ) is the oldest East Slavic multi-string plucked instrument, belonging to the zither family, due to its strings being parallel to its resonance board. Its roots lie in Veliky Novgorod in Novgorodian Ru ...

player named Sadko is bragging that he can bring to their land a sweet-voiced bird of happiness. The merchants mock him for his bravado, and tell him his quest is impossible. Nevertheless, Sadko sets off on a travel to bring the bird of happiness to Novgorod. He is offered help by the daughter of the Ocean King - she is mesmerized by Sadko's singing and is in love with him. Sadko visits many lands in his search of the bird, including India, Egypt and other countries. Sadko is unable to capture the bird of happiness, and returns empty handed. But on his return to Novgorod, Sadko realizes that there is no better land than his homeland, and there is no need to go far in search of one's happiness.

Cast

Sergei Stolyarov Sergei Dmitrievich Stolyarov (russian: Серге́й Дми́триевич Столяро́в; – 9 December 1969) was a film and theater actor. The winner of the Stalin Prize of the first degree (1951). People's Artist of the RSFSR (1969). Mem ...

as Sadko * Alla Larionova as Lyubava *

Ninel Myshkova Ninel is a given name. It is feminine in the former Soviet Union and masculine in Romania. In many Soviet cases, it is often considered to be derived from reversing the surname Lenin. It may refer to: * Ninel Aladova (born 1934), Belarusian archit ...

as Princess of Lake Ilmen * Boris Surovtsev as Ivashka the boy * Mikhail Troyanovsky as Trifon * Nadir Malishevsky as Vyashta the Giant *

Nikolay Kryuchkov Nikolai Afanasyevich Kryuchkov (russian: Никола́й Афана́сьевич Крючко́в; 6 January 1911 – 13 April 1994) was a Soviet and Russian film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1932 and 1993. Selected fi ...

as Omelyan Danilovich *

Ivan Pereverzev Ivan Fyodorovich Pereverzev (russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Переве́рзев; 3 September 1914 – 23 April 1978) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1975). Filmography * '' The Convey ...

as Timofey Larionovich * Yuri Leonidov as Kuzma Larionovich

Awards

''Sadko'' won the "Silver Lion" award at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

in 1953, and festival judges included lead actor

in a list of the world’s best actors in the 50-year history of film.

''The Magic Voyage of Sinbad''

''Sadko'' was first shown in the USA in 1953 with English subtitles, distributed by Artkino Pictures Inc. The film was re-released in the United States in 1962 in an English-dubbed and slightly modified form by

Filmgroup The Filmgroup was a production and distribution company founded by filmmakers Roger Corman and Gene Corman in 1959. Corman used it to make and distribute his own movies, as opposed to ones he was making for American International Pictures. (The rea ...

under the title ''The Magic Voyage of Sinbad''. It retains the plot structure of ''Sadko'' but includes several changes: the total running time is reduced from approximately 85 to 79 minutes (most of the deleted footage consists of scenes in which songs are performed, though one song is retained and sung in English), voice-over narration is added, the protagonist "Sadko" is renamed "Sinbad," and other characters and places are renamed to disguise the film's Russian origin and transform the film into a story about Sinbad the Sailor (perhaps most significantly, the city of Novgorod is renamed "Copasand"). In fact, the opening narration makes direct references to

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mi ...

’s 1958 hit film

The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' is a 1958 Technicolor heroic fantasy adventure film directed by Nathan H. Juran and starring Kerwin Mathews, Torin Thatcher, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer, and Alec Mango. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures ...

, namely the battle with the Cyclops and the giant two-headed Roc bird, in an apparent attempt to cast this unrelated film as a direct sequel. The English dubbing in this version arguably gives the film a slightly "campier" tone than the original version, in which the dialogue has a more polished and literate tone. Cast and credits were also altered to made-up "American-sounding" names. The "Script Adaptor" for this version of the film, uncredited, was a young Francis Ford Coppola. This version of the film was featured in Season 5, Episode #505 of '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' in 1993, despite the fact that Kevin Murphy, voice of

Tom Servo Tom Servo is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Tom is one of two wise-cracking, robotic main characters of the show, built by Joel Robinson to act as a com ...

, has professed a love for the "breathtaking" visual style of this and other films by Aleksandr Ptushko in multiple interviews.Nikki Tranter
Enjoying The Squirm: A Moment with Kevin Murphy

Popmatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

, 2002-12-26

Paul Chaplin Paul Chaplin (born Paul Schersten) is an American writer and comedian, known for his work on the television series ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'', for which he wrote and played the recurring characters of an Observer, Ned the Nanite, Pitch th ...

, another writer of the show, has also expressed admiration elsewhere, but not regrets for the mockery.

DVD release

The original Russian version of ''Sadko'' is available on DVD from RusCiCo. The English dubbed version ''The Magic Voyage of Sinbad'' is available on DVD from Retromedia, in a double-feature with ''The Day The Earth Froze'', the English-dubbed version of Ptushko’s later fantasy epic '' Sampo''. The ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' treatment of the film's English-dubbed version was released on DVD as part of the 20th four-film box set of series episodes, through Shout! Factory on March 8, 2011. In some sets the DVD is mislabeled as the film ''

Project Moonbase ''Project Moonbase'' (a.k.a. ''Project Moon Base'') is a 1953 independently made black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Jack Seaman, directed by Richard Talmadge, and starring Ross Ford, Donna Martell, Hayden Rorke. It co-stars Larry ...

''.

References

External links

* *
''Sadko''
online at official

site (with English subtitles) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sadko (Film) 1953 films 1950s children's fantasy films 1950s fantasy adventure films Russian children's fantasy films Russian epic films Russian fantasy adventure films Soviet epic films Films directed by Aleksandr Ptushko 1950s Russian-language films Films based on Slavic mythology Films with underwater settings Films set in India Films set in Russia Films shot in Moscow Oblast Films shot in Crimea Mosfilm films Films based on fairy tales Soviet children's films