Sadko (film)

1953 film by Aleksandr Ptushko

Sadko

Original Russian poster

Directed by| Aleksandr Ptushko
Written by| Konstantin Isayev
Based on| Sadko
by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Starring| Sergei Stolyarov
Alla Larionova
Yelena Myshkova
Cinematography| Fyodor Provorov
Music by| Vissarion Shebalin

Production
company

Mosfilm

Distributed by| Filmgroup (US)

Release date

* 5 January 1953 (1953-01-05)

Running time

| 85 minutes
Country| Soviet Union
Language| Russian

Sadko (Russian: Садко) is a 1953 Soviet adventure fantasy film directed by Aleksandr Ptushko and adapted by Konstantin Isayev, from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's eponymous opera, which was based on a Russian bylina (былина 'epic tale') with the same name. The music is Rimsky-Korsakov's score.

The film saw release in the Soviet Union by Mosfilm in January 1953. It was distributed in the USA by Artkino Pictures with English subtitles later in 1953, and in 1962 was English-dubbed by Roger Corman's The Filmgroup Inc. and distributed as The Magic Voyage of Sinbad.

## Plot summary

[edit]

This tale is based upon the legends told of ancient times in the old Russian city of Novgorod (the capital of Novgorod Republic). Novgorod's merchants are feasting in a gorgeous palace. A young gusli 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 Sea Tsar; 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

[edit]

* Sergei Stolyarov as Sadko
* Alla Larionova as Lyubava
* Ninel Myshkova as Princess of Lake Ilmen
* Boris Surovtsev as Ivashka the boy
* Mikhail Troyanovsky as Trifon
* Nadir Malishevsky as Vyashta the Giant
* Nikolay Kryuchkov as Omelyan Danilovich
* Ivan Pereverzev as Timofey Larionovich
* Yuri Leonidov as Kuzma Larionovich

## Awards

[edit]

Sadko won the "Silver Lion" award at the Venice Film Festival in 1953, and festival judges included lead actor Sergei Stolyarov in a list of the world’s best actors in the 50-year history of film.

## The Magic Voyage of Sinbad

[edit]

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 Roger Corman's Filmgroup 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’s 1958 hit film The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, 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, has professed a love for the "breathtaking" visual style of this and other films by Aleksandr Ptushko in multiple interviews.[1][2] Paul Chaplin, another writer of the show, has also expressed admiration elsewhere, but not regrets for the mockery.

## DVD release

[edit]

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.

## See also

[edit]

* Sadko, the Russian bylina (epic tale) upon which the film and opera are based
* Sadko (musical tableau), a symphonic poem by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
* Sadko (opera), an opera by Rimsky-Korsakov.
* Rimsky-Korsakov is a film also from 1953 that presents fragments of the opera.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ The MST3K Review
2. ^ Nikki Tranter. Enjoying The Squirm: A Moment with Kevin Murphy, Popmatters, 2002-12-26

## External links

[edit]

External videos

Sadko with English subtitles, released by the official Mosfilm YouTube channel

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sadko (1952 film).

* Sadko at IMDb
* Sadko at AllMovie
* Sadko online at official Mosfilm site (with English subtitles)

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Venice Film Festival Silver Lion (1953–1994)

1953–1957|

* Little Fugitive / Moulin Rouge / Sadko / Thérèse Raquin / Ugetsu / I Vitelloni (1953)
* On the Waterfront / Sansho the Bailiff / Seven Samurai / La Strada (1954)
* Le Amiche / The Big Knife / Ciske the Rat / The Grasshopper (1955)
* Le Notti Bianche (1957)

1988–1994|

* Landscape in the Mist (1988)
* Recollections of the Yellow House / Death of a Tea Master (1989)
* Raise the Red Lantern / The Fisher King / J'entends plus la guitare (1991)
* Luxury Hotel / Jamón jamón / A Heart in Winter (1992)
* Kosh ba kosh (1993)
* Heavenly Creatures / Little Odessa / The Bull (1994)

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Films by Aleksandr Ptushko

* The New Gulliver (1935)
* The Golden Key (1939)
* The Stone Flower (1946)
* Sadko (1952)
* Ilya Muromets (1956)
* Sampo (1959)
* Scarlet Sails (1961)
* Tale about the Lost Time (1964)
* The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1966)
* Ruslan and Ludmila (1972)

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* e

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

List of compositions

Operas|

* The Maid of Pskov (1872)
* May Night (1879)
* The Snow Maiden (1881)
* Mlada (1890)
* Christmas Eve (1895)
* Sadko (1896)
* Mozart and Salieri (1897)
* The Noblewoman Vera Sheloga (1897)
* The Tsar's Bride (1899)
* The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1900)
* Servilia (1901)
* Kashchey the Immortal (1902)
* Pan Voyevoda (1903)
* The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya (1904)
* The Golden Cockerel (1908)

Opera excerpts|

* "Flight of the Bumblebee"

Film adaptations|

* The Snow Maiden (1952 film)
* Sadko (1953 film)
* The Tsar's Bride (1965 film)

Orchestral works|

* Capriccio Espagnol
* Fantasy on Serbian Themes
* Suites (2) from Mlada
* Russian Easter Festival Overture
* Sadko
* Scheherazade
* Suite from The Golden Cockerel
* Suite from The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya
* Suite from The Snow Maiden
* Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Symphonies|

* Symphony No. 1 in E minor
* Antar (Symphony No. 2)

Concertos|

* Piano Concerto in C♯ minor
* Trombone Concerto in B♭ major

Cultural depictions|

* Rimsky-Korsakov (1953 film)

Related articles|

* Nadezhda Rimskaya-Korsakova
* Rimsky-Korsakov Apartment and Museum
* Rimsky-Korsakov Monument

* Category
* Audio

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