When Soviet Cinema gets mentioned, it’s easy to imagine a 3-hour movie about the glory of the proletariat during a wheat harvest. Heroism of the Working Class was the theme of movies that the government board in charge of films would permit. There were great directors who made masterpieces including Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky. However, their best films met resistance from the government and were either butchered or hidden in the vault for years. Somehow in the middle of the ’70s, Arūnas Žebriūnas and his team of filmmakers were able to make a groovy musical in Lithuania (which was part of the USSR at the time). The Devil’s Bride brought a religious tale to a land where the government preached atheism.
High up in the mountains sits God on a throne and angels dancing and singing. Things get out of control when angels go from white outfits to more colorful costumes. Their dance moves become more carnal. God casts them out of heaven and down to Earth. The fallen angel (and now devil) Pinčiukas (Gediminas Girvainis) ends up splashing into a countryside lake. He hatches an evil plot by offering to use his magic with older miller Baltaragis (The Stone Cross‘s Vasilijus Simčičius) to make the young Marcelė (Vaiva Mainelytė) fall in love with him. What does the devil get in return? A promise that the daughter of Marcele and Baltaragis will marry him when she’s old enough. What’s the baker got to lose? Everything goes great as Marcele falls in love with him and they have a child. But this is a deal with the devil and something extremely bad happens. The daughter Jurga grows up (and is also played by Vaiva Mainelytė). Instead of waiting for her Satanic suitor, she falls hard for the hunky Girdvainis (Regimantas Adomaitis). Can she really have eyes for anyone else? Baltaragis doesn’t want to offer his daughter up to the Devil so he offers him an alternative. But will the Devil take the deal?
The Devil’s Bride shows a playfulness that I’d never really encountered in Soviet cinema. While I don’t understand a word of Lithuanian, the songs of composer Vyacheslav Ganelin have that ’70s rock opera vibe. He tries to capture the sensations found in Jesus Christ Superstar. Director Arūnas Žebriūnas and cinematographer Algimanto Mockuas elevate the musical visually. There’s a great Ken Russell vibe to the outrageous action and locations. The angels and God opening grabs the eyes and Žebriūnas doesn’t let go. The family lives inside a windmill to keep the spaces looking unique when indoors. Vaiva Mainelytė is flirty and fun as both the mother and daughter. The whole film is filled with joyful energy. I’m going to guess the secret of this film getting past the Soviet censors is the fact that it’s about a miller so there’s that necessary wheat requirement. The Devil’s Bride is a mischievous musical masterpiece from Lithuania that didn’t sell out to the Soviet era devils.
The Video is 2.39:1 anamorphic. The color is as brilliant as the score. This movie looks beautiful. The Audio is DTS-HD 2.0 Stereo so you can enjoy the songs cleanly even if the lyrics are in Lithuanian along with any dialogue. The movie is subtitled in English.
Commentary Track by Michael Brooke, a contributor to Sight and Sound about Eastern European Cinema. He loves the rock opera aspect of The Devil’s Bride. He discloses that the mountain landscape in the opening musical number was filmed outside of Lithuania since that country is rather flat. He points out little things in a dance scene that should have been censored, but the music razzled and dazzled the members. He gives us information on the cast and crew to fully enjoy the movie after you’ve seen it the first time.
The One Who Carries A Turn: The Rock ‘n Roll Sessions and The Devil’s Bride (13:34) is a visual essay by Dr. Will Dodson and Ryan Verrill. Goes into the history of Lithuania under Soviet rule. We see how the rock opera became popular during the early ’70s. He lays out how The Devil’s Bride was allowed to be produced during this era. We see how the movie goes against so much that the Soviet Union wanted projected, but did it in sly ways to make it past the censors.
Interview with director Arunas Zeburiunas’ daughter Monika Edgar (54:30) is a chat with Dennis Bartok of Deaf Crocodile. She talks about the folktale musical and is happy to get her dad’s film back before the viewing public. She talks about his early years and how he played several sports at school to increase his food allowance. We learn how he became a part of Lithuanian filmmaking and the effect The Devil’s Bride had on his career.
Interview with Lithuanian film critic Ieva Sukyte (53:27) is another discussion with Dennis Bartok. This is a great talk about Lithuanian filmmaking during the time the Soviet Union controlled the country. There is talk of the films of Žebriūnas beyond The Devil’s Bride. We also learn about her life as a film lover. She’s a bit younger so her first films from the West she saw were the Harry Potter films and an ant movie.
Deaf Crocodile presents The Devil’s Bride. Directed by Arūnas Žebriūnas. Composed by Vyacheslav Ganelin. Screenplay by Arūnas Žebriūnas & Sigitas Geda. Starring Vaiva Mainelytė, Regimantas Adomaitis, Gediminas Girdvainis, Vasilijus Simčičius and Regina Varnaitė. Running Time: 77 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: September 16, 2025.
