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

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

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) was a Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Ba ...

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

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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 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 Sigitas Geda (full name - Sigitas Zigmas Geda; 4 February 1943 – 12 December 2008) was a Lithuanian poet, translator, playwright, essayist, critic and a member of the Lithuanian independence movement, Sąjūdis, and of the Lithuanian parliament, ...

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 Gediminas ( la, Gedeminne, ; – December 1341) was the king or Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death. He is credited with founding this political entity and expanding its territory which later spanned the area ranging from ...

– Pinčiukas * Vasilijus Simčičius – Baltaragis * Regina Varnaitė – Uršulė * Bronius Babkauskas * Juozas Meškauskas * Regina Arbačiauskaitė * Danutė Krištopaitytė * Jonas Pakulis – 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