Aleksandr Ptushko might be the only legendary director to have three films appear on Mystery Science Theater 3000. But that’s not his fault that he was lumped in with Ed Wood and Coleman Francis when it comes to American viewers. He didn’t make cheap clunky indie films. Ptushko (1900 – 1973) rose to filmmaking prominence during the era when the Soviet Union controlled the media. Instead of making quasi-propaganda movies that show the heroic nature of the working class, a majority of his work dealt with Russian folklore. This kept him from falling out of favor with the communist higher ups that controlled Mosfilm like other Soviet directors. He started out working with puppets in short films and became a sensation with his first film The New Gulliver that used stop motion animation. This led to Mosfilms letting him run the animation department and making a more films that pushed special effects at that time. Ptushko is often compared to Mario Bava and more importantly Ray Harryhausen for his ability to bring movie magic to the screen. Because of his great special effects, several of Ptushko’s films found themselves being distributed in the America at the height of the cold war. The American distributors hacked up the films, came up with their own dialogue and came up with names for characters and crew that couldn’t be traced back to Soviet figures. These mutated versions are the films that ended up on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in the early seasons. Even MST3K gang thought the films were made by someone from Finland.
Aleksandr Ptushko Fantastika Box contains four of the 10 feature films that Ptushko directed. They all have an enchanted quality allowing the director to conceive of amazing special effects to create a fairytale on the screen. You might have seen the first two movies on MST3K, but you’ve not truly watched them before. You won’t feel the need to talk through Ptushko’s work.
Ilya Muromets (1956) has the merciless Tugars attack and pillage a Russian village. Ilya Muromets (The Fall of Berlin‘s Boris Andreyev) is crippled and can’t do anything when they Asian hoard takes off with his fiancée, Vassilisa. He is miraculously cured with a magic potion and receives a legendary sword. He heads out to track down the Tugars and get his love back. He quickly prove his new status as a warrior when he defeats a mythical creature in the woods. He ends up tracking down the invaders to a siege of Kiev (Kyev) where the Tugar Czar (Shukur Burkhanov) is asking for a fortune to not attack the city. As if his massive army wasn’t formidable enough, turns out the Tugars have a three headed dragon the breathes fire. Can Ilya outsmart and out fight this enemy?
Boris Andreyev gives a larger-than-life performance as Ilya Muromets as both the helpless version and the massive hero. He’s as much of a special effect as the dragon. Speaking of which, it’s thrilling to see the flying three headed dragon that appeared before King Ghidorah fought Godzilla near a decade later. Ilya Muromets was released by Roger Corman under the title The Sword and the Dragon. They hired future 60 Minutes reporter Mike Wallace to narrate the movie. Having seen both versions, the original would not have been as good for the Bots to riff over.
Sampo (1959) is an interesting film since two different versions were made at once. The film was a Mosfilm co-production with a studio from Finland so it was shot with both a Cinemascope (2.35:1) and Academy ratio (1:33:1) cameras. Aleksandr Ptushko and Finland’s Risto Orko swapping off directing duties as they shot the same scenes with the different cameras. The version on the Blu-ray is the 2.35:1 so you get the majesty of Cinemascope.
What is Sampo? Turns out it is a magical mill that is like an alchemists dream as it can crank out so much wonderful stuff. The people of a sweet little village in the woods are hoping to soon have a Sampo except Ilmarinenm, the one person who can make one can’t start on the project until his sister Annikki falls in love. She’s starting to get a crush on Lemminkäinen. Before love can truly blossom, trouble hits. Across the water, an evil witch also wants a Sampo. Her crew can’t make it happen. She does the next big thing and kidnaps the sister using a magical cape. Ilmarinenm and Lemminkäinen build a boat and go to rescue her. The witch wants them to do a few feats before she’ll return Annikki, but can she really be trusted?
When Sampo arrived in America, Roger Corman slashed the film down to 67 minutes and gave it the new title The Day The Earth Froze. This made sense since at one point the witch steals the Sun. Eventually this was the version that played on Mystery Science Theater 3000. It didn’t make sense with that much butchering along with the pan and scan that lost nearly half the screen. The Bots once more had a field day picking it apart. Watching it in the complete form, Sampo is a fun filled fantasy with Ptushko’s special effects adding so much to the tale.
The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1966) is based on a Russian fairytale written by Alexander Pushkin (Eugene Onegin). Three sisters share their fantasies about what they would do if they married the Tsar (Vladimir Andreyev). The older sisters have dreams of a grand life and blowing a lot of money being the Queen. The youngest (Larisa Golubkina) merely wants to give the man a son. What the trio doesn’t know is that the Tsar is eavesdropping. He finds himself in love with the youngest sister and marries her. The older two sisters receive lesser roles in his court. They are jealous and pounce when the Tsar is away at war. While he’s supposed to get news that he’s the father of a son, the sisters shove their youngest sister into a barrel with the child and toss her in the water. Things get fantastical when the mother and son end up on an island with a magical Swan Maiden. Will they get to reunite with the Tsar?
Aleksandr Ptushko creates poetic visuals to go with Pushkin’s poem. The swan maiden is as beautiful as the words inspire. You’ll know to only make proper fantastical wishes outloud in case the Tsar is passing by your window. There’s so much to enjoy in The Tale of Tsar Saltan.
Ruslan and Ludmila (1972) was the last film that Aleksandr Ptushko produced as he’d pass away the following year. He pulls out all the stops for this epic tale of royalty, fighters and magic. The bogatyr Ruslan (Valeri Kozinets) after being a national hero is getting the ultimate reward. He’s marrying Ludmila (Natalya Petrova), the daughter of Prince Vladimir of Kiev. There is a vast wedding feast and the guest list includes Ruslan’s rivals Rogdai, Farlaf, and Ratmir. After the ceremony, the couple retreat to the bedroom. Before they can get all freaky and seal their wedding vows, Ludmila finds herself magically sucked out the window. When Ruslan returns to the ceremony to let everyone know what happened, his father-in-law doesn’t seem too compassionate. He announces that since they hadn’t gone all the way, whatever man safely returns Ludmila will get to marry her. Rogdai, Farlaf, and Ratmir immediately spring from their seats and head off for their potential chance at becoming royalty. Ruslan gets on his horse and heads out to the countryside to find out what happened to his almost wife before she gets a new husband. Turns out that Ludmila is the prisoner of Chernomor the Wizard. He is a short man with an incredibly long beard and full of magic tricks. There’s lot of illusions appearing on the screen. Aleksandr Ptushko splits the film into two parts since audiences probably needed a break to digest all the wonders they had seen.
Aleksandr Ptushko Fantastika Box proves that his movies when seen uncut with the original dialogue are not jokes. There’s a magic to what he created on the screen. These are films that don’t look or feel like a majority of the movies made by the Soviet Union. It’s strange to think it was Americans who butchered his films and not communist party members. Perhaps the ability to make his visions uncompromised by party dictates is the greatest trick Ptushko ever pulled off on screen.
It must be pointed out that along with the Aleksandr Ptushko Fantastika Box collection, the films are available individually on Blu-ray. You’ll want the get the boxset to complete enjoy this retrospective of his folklore fantasies.
Ilya Muromets
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer looks beautiful with scenes feeling like oil paintings in many cases. Audio is Russian DTS-HD MA 2.0. There’s a strong bass feeling coming from the soundtrack. The movie is subtitled in English.
Commentary by author, cartoonist and film historian Stephen R. Bissette gives both details on the filmmaker and the historical context for part of the movie. He compares a few part of the film to Zack Snyder’s 300. He explains how this Soviet film found itself in the hands of Roger Corman.
Restoration Trailer (3:26) gets into the vast nature of this film and the cast of 100,000. It shows off the crispness of the colors.
Illustrated Booklet with a reproduction of an article by Alan Upchurch about the film and director.
Deaf Crocodile presents Ilya Muromets. Directed by Aleksandr Ptushko. Screenplay by Mikhail Kochnev. Starring Boris Andreyev, Shukur Burkhanov, Andrei Abrikosov, Natalya Medvedeva & Yelena Myshkova. Running Time: 92 minutes. Rating: Unrated Release Date: September 16, 2025.
Sampo
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 4K restoration brings out the majestic qualities of the locations. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 5.1 with the Finnish dub. This was taken from the 4 track magnetic stereo tapes. Remember that the film was shot without sound so while there is no Russian soundtrack, it probably didn’t feature the voices of the original actors. The movie is subtitled in English.
Commentary by author, cartoonist and film historian Stephen R. Bissette
Theatrical Trailer (3:32) promises one of the greatest riddles coming to the big screen.
Interview with Micheal J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (71:39) has him in conversation with Dennis Bartok and comic artist Bob Fingerman. Mike gets into how Ptushko’s films ended up on MST3K.
Illustrated Booklet includes an article by Alan Upchurch and promotional materials when it was originally released as The Day The Earth Froze.
Deaf Crocodile presents Sampo. Directed by Aleksandr Ptushko & Risto Orko. Screenplay by Väinö Kaukonen, Viktor Vitkovich & Grigori Yagdfeld. Starring Urho Somersalmi, Ivan Voronov, Anna Orochko, Andris Ošiņš & Eve Kivi. Running Time: 91 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: September 16, 2025.
The Tale of Tsar Saltan
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 4K restoration transfer brings out the colorful brightness of this fairytale. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 5.1 mixed so you can appreciate the singing. The movie is subtitled in English.
Commentary by author, cartoonist and film historian Stephen R. Bissette points out that this film didn’t play in the United States unlike the previous two titles. He senses the Soviets wanted a high price for distribution in the market which pushed it out of the kiddie matinee.
Interview with Robert Stotak (69:36) lets the Academy Award winning visual effects arts (Aliens & Terminator 2) discuss the wonders of Ptushko’s films. He was blown away by seeing the US version of Ilya Muromets. He sees how Ptushko was ahead of what Hollywood was making at the time. We learn of other Fantastica films from this era out of the Soviet Union.
Deaf Crocodile presents The Tale of Tsar Saltan. Directed by Aleksandr Ptushko. Screenplay by Aleksandr Ptushko & Igor Gelein. Starring Vladimir Andreyev, Larisa Golubkina, Oleg Vidov, Ksenia Ryabinkina, Sergey Martinson, Olga Viklandt & Vera Ivleva. Running Time: 85 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: September 16, 2025.
Ruslan and Ludmila
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. Everything looks sharp when the magic takes over the screen. The Audio is Russian LPCM 1.0 mono. There’s a good range to the soundtrack. The movie is subtitled in English.
Commentary by author, cartoonist and film historian Stephen R. Bissette points out that the film didn’t play in America in the early ’70s. He points out one actor with a small part who in fact is the voice of the evil wizard.
Aleksandr in Wonderland: Folklore and Fantasy In the Films of Aleksandr Ptushko (16:25) is a visual essay from Walter Chaw. He goes into the Cold War between US and Soviet Union. There’s even a clip of President Reagan calling the Soviet Union evil. Remember those days? He talks about how most Soviet Union films were working class will rise up films. His perception was changed when he saw Ptushko’s Sampo. His movies didn’t follow the party dictates of realism. The folktales protected him from the government censor. Chaw goes into the director’s career.
2023 Restoration Trailer (1:42) gives us the huge scope of the film.
Illustrated Booklet with an essay by Peter Rollberg.
Deaf Crocodile presents Ruslan and Ludmila. Directed by Aleksandr Ptushko. Screenplay by Aleksandr Ptushko & Samuil Bolotin. Starring Valeri Kozinets, Natalya Petrova, Andrei Abrikosov, Vladimir Fyodorov & Vyacheslav Nevinny. Running Time: Rating: Unrated. Release Date: September 16, 2025.
