Ilya Muromets (1956)
January 2, 2025 9:24 AM - Subscribe
[TRAILER]
aka The Sword and the Dragon. Alexander Ptushko's sweeping, visual FX-filled Cinemascope account of Ilya Muromets, the legendary 11th-century hero who defended Russia from monsters and invaders.
Starring Boris Andreyev, Ninel Myshkova, Shukur Burkhanov, Andrei Abrikosov, Georgi Demin, Sergei Stolyarov.
Directed by Aleksandr Ptushko. Written by Mikhail Kochnev. Based on the legend/oral epic. Produced by D. Vyatich-Berejnikh for Mosfilm. Cinematography by Yuli Kun, Fedor Provorov. Edited by M. Kuzmina. Music by Igor Morozov. A Russian language film.
3.4 average rating on Letterboxd.
Currently streaming in the US on Tubi. JustWatch listing.
Starring Boris Andreyev, Ninel Myshkova, Shukur Burkhanov, Andrei Abrikosov, Georgi Demin, Sergei Stolyarov.
Directed by Aleksandr Ptushko. Written by Mikhail Kochnev. Based on the legend/oral epic. Produced by D. Vyatich-Berejnikh for Mosfilm. Cinematography by Yuli Kun, Fedor Provorov. Edited by M. Kuzmina. Music by Igor Morozov. A Russian language film.
3.4 average rating on Letterboxd.
Currently streaming in the US on Tubi. JustWatch listing.
Is this a bad film?
Yes, it's silly mythologizing about a preposterously perfect and beloved hero, such that you could easily call it Ilya Marysueovitch.
Is this good filmmaking?
Also yes. It's a huge, colorful, entertaining spectacle of a film on a scale that calls to mind Alexander Korda's films. This is a huuuuuuuuge production.
So it's a bad movie that is made well. Is it entertaining to watch?
Absolutely. It is simultaneously: enjoyably silly; a sincere technical marvel; a fascinating relic of Russian mythologizing in the USSR days; and entirely ridiculous.
I watched the re-issue/restoration from Deaf Crocodile. As with all of their releases, it is lavish in its presentation and its packaging, with tons of supplemental materials to contextualize the film.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:30 AM on January 2 [1 favorite]
Yes, it's silly mythologizing about a preposterously perfect and beloved hero, such that you could easily call it Ilya Marysueovitch.
Is this good filmmaking?
Also yes. It's a huge, colorful, entertaining spectacle of a film on a scale that calls to mind Alexander Korda's films. This is a huuuuuuuuge production.
So it's a bad movie that is made well. Is it entertaining to watch?
Absolutely. It is simultaneously: enjoyably silly; a sincere technical marvel; a fascinating relic of Russian mythologizing in the USSR days; and entirely ridiculous.
I watched the re-issue/restoration from Deaf Crocodile. As with all of their releases, it is lavish in its presentation and its packaging, with tons of supplemental materials to contextualize the film.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:30 AM on January 2 [1 favorite]
Ptushko is amazing. I haven't seen this one but I've seen one of his others, Sampo, also on a Deaf Crocodile release. (That movie is probably why MST3K made assumptions about Finland; Sampo is based on Finnish folklore.)
posted by Bryant at 10:33 AM on January 2 [2 favorites]
posted by Bryant at 10:33 AM on January 2 [2 favorites]
It's one of the great contradictions of my life that I love dragons so much and never get tired of seeing them slayed by some do-gooder doofus. No matter how silly the dragons or how bland the hero. I don't know what that trope sets off in me, but it goes back further in my than my memory does. I was born loving dragons and dragonslayers equally.
Saw the name come up and had a little Pavlovian perk-up like, "hey doesn't a super goofy dragon get slayed in that?"
It does. Has dragon, 10/10.
Also some extremely inventive imagery, as I recall. It's surprisingly beautiful. Would love to watch the 4k restoration actually.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 1:49 PM on January 2 [1 favorite]
Saw the name come up and had a little Pavlovian perk-up like, "hey doesn't a super goofy dragon get slayed in that?"
It does. Has dragon, 10/10.
Also some extremely inventive imagery, as I recall. It's surprisingly beautiful. Would love to watch the 4k restoration actually.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 1:49 PM on January 2 [1 favorite]
The actor who plays Ilya is awesome, he has this emotive weight to everything he does! It has a great villain too! It's one of my unironically favorite MST movies.
posted by JHarris at 4:05 PM on January 2
posted by JHarris at 4:05 PM on January 2
My favorite is where Ilya meets the other two warriors at the palace, they became friends in about three minutes, then immediately swear a lifetime loyalty oath.
It's like the Russian historical epic version of Stepbrothers. Did we just become best friends?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:34 PM on January 2 [2 favorites]
It's like the Russian historical epic version of Stepbrothers. Did we just become best friends?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:34 PM on January 2 [2 favorites]
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posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:26 AM on January 2 [1 favorite]